PACIFIC NORTHWEST CULTURAL EXCHANGE COUNCIL

Roger Briggs has been Artistic Director of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra since 1996 and under his leadership the orchestra has expanded to an award-winning regional orchestra that was most recently honored with an ASCAP award from the League of American Orchestras for Adventurous Programming. With an international reputation as a composer, Roger most recently received the prestigious Lieberson Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York.

Music Director Chip Bergeron has been playing the cello for about 50 years. After obtaining a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of North Texas he performed in various orchestras in Mexico, then went to Bogota, Colombia for 3½ years as co-principal cellist with the National Symphony of Colombia and the Camerata Bogota. After returning to the USA, he played with the Ft. Worth Symphony and Opera Orchestras. In 1984 he toured as principal cellist in the pit orchestra for the musical Showboat for over 200 performances throughout all of Europe. After getting a Master of Music (University of Houston) in Cello Performance in 1988 he toured with the Mantovani Orchestra as principal cellist throughout the United States, Japan, South Korea and China. He has just retired from public school teaching in the Bellingham schools since 1994. However, he continues to direct the North Cascades Community Orchestra and the Bayshore Symphony in addition to maintaining a cello teaching studio.

The young Chinese conductor in the US, perhaps the first Chinese visiting scholar at the University of Washington School of Music, and Hua Ma is the graduate from Shanghai Conservatory of Music with Master degree. She is currently the director of the Music and Art Center of Shanghai Maritime University and the board member of the China Wind Music Association. She was the host of the "Classic 947" music program at the Shanghai Oriental Broadcasting Center. She has directed many domestic and international youth symphony orchestras and band orchestras, and won many awards such as outstanding conductors and excellent artistic directors in the "Shanghai Spring" International Music Festival, New York, Chicago Music Festival and related competitions. She has held more than 30 special concerts and lectures at home and abroad, promoting classical music and art to communities, schools and enterprises. Participated in the writing and publication of the key art textbook of the Ministry of Education, "University Music Appreciation", and published more than ten papers.

A versatile performer and experienced instructor of all ages of instrumental and choral groups. Director of Mt. Baker and Fidalgo Youth Symphonies, she is active as an adjudicator, recording studio musician, and has conducted, orchestrated, and performed in numerous Northwest musical theatre productions. 

Victoria Parker began studying the violin at age two-and-a-half with her mother, Sharyn Peterson, and was performing with her family quintet by age 5. She has been featured both as soloist and concertmaster with numerous orchestras across the US, including Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Mozart Festival, One World Symphony (NY ), and Philharmonia Northwest (Seattle).

Yu Lina, native of Northeastern China, is a young soprano already designated as a national level singer. Admitted to the Hebei Art School to study vocal music  in 1983, she pursued further studies with vocal educator Jin Tielin, and after graduation she joined the Hebei Province Song and Dance Theatre to become a soloist, a position she has occupied since 1999. She frequently wins First Place in national singing competitions. She has great breadth of tone color and a variety different singing styles, she specializes in traditional folksongs of North China, especially those of Eastern Hebei Province. She is the most prolific recording artist among young Chinese singers today.

Matthew Rehfeldt, cellist and guitarist, was born into a musical family. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands with a major in cello performance and a minor in classical guitar. He studied cello with Rick Mooney, Joyce Getting (U of R), Barton Frank, Ray Davis (principal cello, Seattle Symphony) and guitar with Terry Graves (De Falla Trio). Matthew was honored with the University of Redlands

Chen Suwei, Tenor, born in 1979 in Suzhou. Good at singing Western opera. In 2001, Zhou Xiaoyan Opera Center played Earl Nanaimo Reno, Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” in Donizetti’s “Love glycol. Lensky in cooperation with the Ukrainian State Tchaikovsky Conservatory Opera Center in 2003, played cano LeonCavallo “Harlequin” Tchaikovsky “Evgeni · Onegin” multi-the Alcatel Fulie in Verdi’s “La Traviata”. Chensu Wei is a Chinese Ukraine protagonist, played on the opera stage. Personal first bel canto group the Chen Suwei in the 14th CCTV Young Singer Grand Prix!

Rowena Hammill is Associate Principal Cello of the Los Angeles Opera. She divides her time between LA and Seattle, where she is Co-Director, with her cellist husband, Douglas Davis, of Vashon Chamber Music. A graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, she was teaching assistant to the esteemed Janos Starker before being appointed Professor of Cello at California State