Music of the Spheres ::: Chamber Ensemble Bios

Praised by The Santa Fe New Mexican for his “fluid phrases, rich focused tone, rhythmic precision, and spot-on intonation,” Violinist David Felberg, an Albuquerque native, is Concertmaster of The Santa Fe Symphony and also performs with Santa Fe Pro Musica. He is Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Chatter, a groundbreaking series, exploring both new and old music, that produces more than 60 performances a year. Chatter was recently mentioned in The New York Times in an article about curated silence, one of the main features of their performances. David plays in, and conducts, many of the shows—often premiering 20th- and 21st-century pieces of music that have never before been heard in New Mexico.

David has been featured soloist with The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, New Mexico Symphony, Albuquerque Philharmonic, Los Alamos Symphony, Palo Alto Philharmonic and Balcones Orchestra. He has performed recitals and chamber music all over New Mexico and the Southwest, and most recently has performed at the Oregon Bach Festival. David also specializes in contemporary solo violin music, having performed solo works of Berio, Boulez, Sciarrino, John Zorn and Luigi Nono.

David regularly conducts the New Mexico Philharmonic and The Santa Fe Symphony, and has collaborated with such soloists as Anne-Marie McDermott, Rachel Barton Pine, Conor Hanick and Benjamin Hochman. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Arizona and a Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of New Mexico, and has taken advanced string quartet studies at the University of Colorado with the Takacs Quartet. David also attended the prestigious American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival.

David plays an 1829 J. B. Vuillaume violin and uses a c. 1830 Claude Joseph Fonclause violin bow.

Nicolle Maniaci is Principal Violin II and orchestra personnel manager of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. She is also the director of the string program at Bosque School in Albuquerque. Nicolle was a member of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra First Violin Section for 11 years and is now a first violinist with the New Mexico Philharmonic.

Nicolle is a founding member of the Eleganza String Quartet and Chamisa Chamber Players. She also enjoys performing with the Taos Chamber Music Festival, Chatter, Orchestra of the Duke and Opera Southwest. She was a sectional coach for the Albuquerque Youth Symphony for 18 years.

Nicolle was born in Long Island, New York and moved to New Mexico with her parents in 1974. She grew up in the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program while studying violin with Kathie Jarrett and received her music degree from the University of New Mexico, studying with Leonard Felberg. She spent her summers studying the violin at various festivals around the country. Nicolle makes her home in Albuquerque with her loving husband John Witiuk and two children, Joseph and Juliana.

Violist Kimberly Fredenburgh, originally from New York, is Professor of Viola and serves as Head of the String area at the University of New Mexico.  Ms. Fredenburgh has been featured as a soloist and chamber musician across the United States, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy and Monaco. She is the Principal Violist of The Santa Fe Symphony and the Santa Fe ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and is Assistant Principal of the New Mexico Philharmonic. She has performed many seasons with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Santa Fe Opera and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. She is a regular performer on the Chatter Chamber series. She has served on the faculty at Arizona State University while also performing as Associate Principal of the Phoenix Symphony for seven years. She was a Principal Violist in the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. She has delivered pedagogical papers and performed at several national string conferences and international competitions. Her interest in contemporary music has resulted in the creation of many new works for her instrument.

Originally from Los Angeles, cellist Dana Winograd received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in performance from the Juilliard School in New York where she studied with Harvey Shapiro and Channing Robbins, as well as members of the Juilliard String Quartet for chamber music. After graduation, Dana led an active freelance career in New York City, including performances at Carnegie Hall with the American Composer’s Orchestra and the American Symphony, Broadway appearances (both in the pit and on stage) with Phantom of The Opera, Cats, Beauty and the Beast,and Once Upon a Mattress, as well as playing backup for Rod Stewart, Luther Vandross, Lyle Lovett, Manhattan Transfer, and Harry Connick Jr.

Since moving to Santa Fe in 1999, Dana has been a member of the New Mexico Symphony (now New Mexico Philharmonic), Santa Fe Pro Musica, and is principal cellist of the Santa Fe Symphony. She has appeared as soloist with the Santa Fe Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, the Plainfield Symphony in NJ and the Julius Grossman Orchestra in NY.

An active chamber musician Dana plays regularly with Chatter, the Santa Fe Symphony quartet, Taos Chamber Music Group and Serenata of Santa Fe.  She is the orchestra director at St. Michael’s High School, and has worked in the Santa Fe Symphony’s mentoring program, helping young string students in the SFPS.  Dana and her husband Gil live happily with two great dogs,  Riley and Lily.