Andrew Smith is an Associate Professor of music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Principal Cellist of The Las Vegas Philharmonic. He is an original member of the Camerata Deiá, a group founded in 2001 to be the resident ensemble with The Festival Internacional de Deiá , a summer festival in Majorca, Spain. He was also a founding member of The Adriatic Chamber Music Festival, a summer music program in southern Italy, where he taught and performed from 1998 - 2008.
An active recitalist, Andrew has collaborated with pianist Alfredo Oyagüez in cello/piano recitals in Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Argentina, and Japan, as well as in Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia. Recent recitals include performances at the Emilia Romagna Festival, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Smith/Oyagüez duo recently released a CD entitled, “Spanish Music for Cello and Piano,” on the Delos label in January, 2017. Of the CD, the American Record Guide said the duo plays “with verve and sensitivity,” and recommended the program “without reserve.” During summers, in addition to The Festival Internacional de Deiá, in Spain, and The Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Italy, Smith has taught and performed in several music festivals, including the Marrowstone Music Festival, Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo, CA, the Rocky Ridge Music Center, the Blue Mountain Festival, Dakota Chamber Music, The Green Valley Chamber Music Festival, the Tuacahn Summer Arts Institute, and The Las Vegas Music Festival.
Mr. Smith is a recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a member of the Young Artists String Quartet. He has also earned a Master's degree from The Mannes College of Music in New York, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, CT. He has studied cello with Timothy Eddy, Bernard Greenhouse, Leslie Parnas, Ron Leonard, and Geoffrey Rutkowski.
Fritz Gearhart, Festival Director
VIOLIN and VIOLA
Violinist Fritz Gearhart, has performed for audiences from coast to coast, and internationally in Austria, Germany, Croatia, Spain and Korea. He has appeared in major halls around the country including the Kennedy Center, the 92nd Street Y in NYC, Alice Tully Hall, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie. He is heard frequently on National Public Radio, including past live broadcasts on WFMT Chicago, WQXR in New York as well as Public Radio’s nationally syndicated program Performance Today. A sampling from the press: "...a sizzling performance..."(The Wall Street Journal), "...supple and imaginative..."(The New York Times), "...a superlative evening of musicmaking..."(New York Concert Review), and "Gearhart is a bold assertive player..."(Strad). He has since recorded numerous compact discs for Albany, Koch Entertainment, Centaur Records and Bridge Records. His 2014 release on Centaur Records, Music of a Lifetime, features the music of his father Livingston Gearhart. Gearhart received his Master's Degree and prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Donald Weilerstein. Earlier studies at the Hartt School included work with Charles Treger and members of the Emerson Quartet. In 2015 Gearhart directed a ten week study abroad program in Vienna, Austria, where he taught violin and chamber music. Gearhart taught on the university level for most of his career up until 2022, with appointments at Indiana University at South Bend, East Carolina University, University of Oregon and University of Colorado Boulder.
Miya Saito-Beckman, Faculty
VIOLIN
Miya Saito-Beckman serves as secretary on the board of directors and also as faculty of the Redfish Music Festival. She earned both her BM in Violin Performance and her MM in Violin Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oregon. Graduating summa cum laude for her Bachelor’s, she was also awarded the “Graduate Performer Award” for her Master’s degree. While at the U of O, she studied abroad in Vienna, Austria performing and studying both classical and gypsy music. Ms. Saito-Beckman has been a violin soloist with the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra and a two-time soloist with the Central Oregon Symphony. She has studied with the Calder Quartet and the Ariana String Quartet and has taken master classes with violinists James Ehnes and Rachel Barton Pine. In addition to her classical interests and accomplishments, Ms. Saito-Beckman is also deeply involved in alternative strings music. She has studied with members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble after being accepted to attend the Global Musician Workshop and is a recipient of the ASTA Alternative Strings Award. A four-time finalist at the National Fiddling Championship, Ms. Saito-Beckman is also the four-time Oregon State Fiddle Champion. She has performed alongside musicians such as Darol Anger, Abigail Washburn, Hanneke Cassel, Alex and Tatiana Hargreaves, Bruce Molsky, Roy “Futureman” Wooten and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). She has served on the faculty at the Chamber Music Camp of Portland, the University of Oregon Symphony Camp, the Fiddlestar Youth Camp in Nashville, TN, Corvallis Youth Symphony Camp and the Northwest Suzuki Institute. Prior to COVID-19, she resided in Brooklyn, NY where she taught classical violin and alternative strings at Manhattan’s Third Street Music Settlement as well as at the Bronx Conservatory.
Genevieve Feiwan Lee
PIANO
A versatile performer of music spanning five centuries, Grammy® nominated Genevieve Feiwen Lee has thrilled audiences on the piano, harpsichord, toy piano, keyboard, and electronics. She enjoys finding music that challenges her to go outside of her comfort zone to sing, speak, act, and play new instruments. She has given solo recitals at Merkin Concert Hall, NY, and the Salle Gaveau in Paris. Since her first concerto engagement at age twelve, she has appeared with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, Brazil; the Vrazta State Philharmonic, Bulgaria, and The Orchestra of Northern New York. Her concerts in China appeared on Hunan State Television, and her performance from the Spiegelzaal at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was broadcast on live radio.
Ms. Lee was nominated in the Best Chamber Music Performance category at the 58th Grammy® Awards for the recording of Tom Flaherty’s Airdancing and she can be heard on the Innova, Albany and Reference labels. In the Los Angeles area, Ms. Lee has been a guest performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music series at Disney Hall, Southwest Chamber Music, Jacaranda, Piano Spheres and the Hear Now New Music Festival. She is a founding member of the Mojave Trio and was a member of the Garth Newel Piano Quartet when they performed in Carnegie Hall. Ms. Lee received her degrees from the Peabody Institute, École Normale de Musique de Paris, and the Yale School of Music. She is the Everett S. Olive Professor of Music at Pomona College, California. Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was broadcast on live radio.
Ms. Lee was nominated in the Best Chamber Music Performance category at the 58th Grammy® Awards for the recording of Tom Flaherty’s Airdancing and she can be heard on the Innova, Albany and Reference labels. In the Los Angeles area, Ms. Lee has been a guest performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music series at Disney Hall, Southwest Chamber Music, Jacaranda, Piano Spheres and the Hear Now New Music Festival. She is a founding member of the Mojave Trio and was a member of the Garth Newel Piano Quartet when they performed in Carnegie Hall. Ms. Lee received her degrees from the Peabody Institute, École Normale de Musique de Paris, and the Yale School of Music. She is the Everett S. Olive Professor of Music at Pomona College, California.
