The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

Kristin Bacchiocchi-Stewart

Kristin Bacchiocchi-Stewart is currently pursuing her DMA in Flute Performance at The Peabody Conservatory of Music where she is also a flute faculty member and a chamber music coach.

An active performer of contemporary music, Bacchiocchi-Stewart is also a dedicated chamber musician. She has been a member of TRITONIS (flute, cello, and guitar) since 2001, and frequently concertizes with guitarist Joel Brown, percussionist Michael Zell and I Venti Semplice, a chamber group of various instrumentations. As an orchestral musician, she has played with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Catskill Symphony, and The Albany Pro Musica. She has given concerts, lectures and master classes throughout the United States and has also performed in several groups throughout Europe and Japan.

She was a prize winner at the 2002 National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition, a participant in the First Beijing Nicolet International Flute Competition and has appeared as a semi-finalist in the Myrna Brown and Ducrest Young Artist Competitions.

Bacchiocchi-Stewart has served on the faculty of Frostburg State University, Schenectady County Community College, Ithaca College, the Savage Mountain Summer Chamber Music Series and Flauto Musicale. Her academic achievements include a M.M. from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a B.M. from Ithaca College. She has participated in the Aspen Music Festival, the Colorado College Music Festival, and the Zurich 2000 Masterclass series. Her main teachers have been Marina Piccinini, Bradley Garner, Wendy Mehne, Claudia Anderson and Selma Moore.

Oluwafemi Oladeji

Born in London to Nigerian parents, Oluwafemi Oladeji, has had an eclectic past, ranging from modeling and commercial work, to film actor and singer for the Soultans, a London-based soul/pop touring group. Since moving to Vienna, Oladeji has continued his work in a variety of fields, as a licensed Shiatsu therapist in a private medical clinic in the heart of Vienna and as a fitness and Pilates instructor at Holmes Place and the John Harris Club.

Colette Valentine

Pianist Colette Valentine, hailed for her “clean, sparkling technique” (Salt Lake Tribune) and for her “consummate skill and musicianship” (Classical New Jersey), has performed extensively throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe in settings including New York City’s Merkin Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; the Corcoran and National Galleries, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Suntory Hall and Casals Hall in Tokyo; Hoam Hall in Seoul; and the Louvre in Paris.  She has recently appeared as concerto soloist with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, the North Shore Symphony Orchestra, the Antara Chamber Orchestra, and the New Jersey City University Symphony Orchestra, and has been a guest artist with the Left Bank Concert Society, Meet the Composer, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, and at the Grand Teton Music Festival.

As a free-lance musician in New York City, Ms. Valentine performs with singers and instrumentalists of every variety, and has collaborated on recordings for the Albany, Antara, CRI, fontec, and Well-Tempered labels.  Her ensemble, Ecco Trio, praised by The Washington Post for capturing “the intimacy of chamber music at its best,” has repeatedly toured the United States and Japan to critical acclaim.  She serves as assisting pianist for numerous national and international competitions and masterclasses, including the Washington International String Competition, Young Concert Artists, Concert Artists Guild, and the William Kapell International Piano Competition, and is on the faculties of Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus, New Jersey City University, and the Interlochen Summer Chamber Music Conference.  Ms. Valentine received BM and MM degrees from the University of Maryland with Dr. Nelita True, and a DMA from Stony Brook University with Gilbert Kalish.

Guest Lecturers

Steven P. Finley

After having received his bachelor's degree and artist diploma credits from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Steven P. Finley began a 20-year tenure at Verne Q. Powell Flutes, of which he spent the last five years as Vice-President of Artistic Quality and Design. His primary teachers include Britton Johnson, Bernard Z. Goldberg, Doriot Anthony Dwyer, and James Pappoutsakis.

Finley has performed with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Boston Academy of Music, Pittsburgh Symphony, and was formerly assistant principal flutist with the Caracas Philharmonic in Venezuela. He has performed with many great conductors, including Bernstein, Dutoit, Ozawa, and Commissiona.

Finley performs regularly with the Fensgate Chamber Players (Boston), and teaches students at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As founder of FluteFX and repairman extraordinaire, he presents lecture recitals on flutes, flute-design, and flutists, throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.