2009-2010 Guest Performers
A Closer Look...
Performing Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf February 20th & 21st, 2010 Basil Bristow was born in London, England. He immigrated to the United States in 1947 and became a U.S. citizen in 1952. He served in the American Army from October 1948 to May 1952 with the Second Armored Calvary Regiment in Augsburg and Nurenberg, Germany during World War II. Mr. Bristow graduated from Albany Business College in New York in 1954 and has held a wide range of positions during his working life from being a shepherd boy at the age of ten to owning and operating his own gift shop. In 1987 he retired and moved to Ocala in 1990 with his late wife Evie. Basil and Evie were married for 42 years. He remarried in 2007 to Carol with whom he continues to share his home and activities here in Ocala. Basil is a very active member of the community serving in the Ocala Rotary Club, volunteering as a member of the speaker’s bureau for Habitat for Humanity and in the MRMC Compassionate Care Program. He has served as a board member for Interfaith Emergency Services, the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce, Ocala/Marion Leadership Partners Program and as a Friend of the Ocala Public Library. Mr. Bristow has also served on the allocations committee of the United Way and on the board of directors for the Fifth Circuit Public Guardian Corporation. His creative work includes writing award-winning short stories, newspaper articles including “America, The Land of Opportunity” published in the Ocala StarBanner on 12/7/97, a book of prayer, seven novels and painting sets for the Ocala Civic Theatre. The White House recently awarded him the President’s Silver Volunteer Service Award for contributing over 4,000 hours of service to others. Lastly, Mr. Bristow has been a long-time supporter of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra attending concerts, contributing, and of course volunteering!
Winners of the 19th Annual Young Artist Competition Featured as soloists with the OSO during the “Young Virtuosi” Concert Series March 27th & 28th, 2010
Junior Division:
Kaitlyn McMonigle – Mezzo Soprano from Ocala, FL Alexander Ishov – Flute from Gainesville, FL  
Senior Division:
Anastasiya Naplekova – Piano from Gainesville, FL 
Performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #1 Opening Night October 3rd & 4th, 2009 Hailed as a “real virtuoso” by the late Ruth Laredo, pianist and conductor Michael Shane Wittenburg served as a vocal coach and assistant conductor with Orlando Opera until the company closed its doors in May 2009. As an Assistant Professor of Music at Lee University where he served as Music Director of both the Chamber Orchestra and Opera Theatre, he led performances of Sousa’s El Capitan, Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All. He has made solo appearances as pianist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, The Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. He is also a violinist in the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, and has served as interim Conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2002 he joined the faculty of the Heifetz International Music Institute in Wolfeboro, NH as a collaborative pianist and sonata coach, and has appeared in collaborative recital with such artists as Metropolitan Opera soprano Stella Zambalis and concert violinist Livia Sohn. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mr. Wittenburg’s training includes Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he studied with Fernando Laires and Alan Feinberg, and held a Fellowship in opera coaching. In 2001 he finished a second Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His teachers include Henry Charles Smith, David Effron, Dr. Steven Bird, and, most recently, Michael Jinbo at the renowned Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians, where he was awarded the 2007 Osher Scholar prize. He was named a 2008 Mary Ragland Young Artist at Nashville Opera, where he directed 66 performances of the world premiere children’s opera, The Ugly Duckling. He received a Superior Performance in Piano award upon his graduation from Interlochen in 1992, was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate upon receiving his Bachelor of Music degree from Eastman in 1996, and has been granted inclusion in multiple editions of Who’s Who. View the 2008-2009 Guest Artists |
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