ABOUT US

JODY MILLER – Artistic Director
Jody Miller has an academic background in music education, but he studied recorder along the way to satisfy his passion for the instrument.  His teachers include Steve Rosenberg, Aldo Abreu, and Eva Legêne, but he credits harpsichordist Dr. Dana Ragsdale for early guidance in Baroque performance practice.  Miller conducts Lauda Musicam of Atlanta, a community collegium that performs multiple concerts each year.  In addition, he currently performs with Ritornello Baroque Ensemble and with Eighty-Eight & Eight, a contemporary music duo with Lisle Kulbach.  Miller has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, New Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Victoria Bach Festival Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, and Emory Baroque Artists.  Miller is music director for Mountain Collegium Early Music and Folk Music Workshop, and he also teaches at other workshops throughout the country.   You can keep up with his teaching and performing schedule at www.fippleflute.com.

ERIK SCHMALZ – Artistic Director
Erik Schmalz received degrees in trombone performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, but discovered early music and period instruments shortly thereafter and was hooked. With a current historic instrumentarium ranging from a 14th century straight trumpet copy to original romantic era trombones, he has been a historic trombone specialist and performer for more than fifteen years. As a member of Piffaro, The Renaissance Band, and Dark Horse Consort; a regular performer with large ensembles such as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society, Tafelmusik, Trinity Baroque Orchestra; and an active freelancer, Erik can be heard on many stages and on numerous recordings. His musical and instrumental versatility also led him to be cast as one of the seven instrumentalists in the Globe Theatre’s Tony nominated production of Shakespeare on Broadway. Erik currently resides in Collinsville, CT.

KELLY BRZOZOWSKI – Administrative Director
Kelly Brzozowski is a harpist who continues to find herself in new and unusual musical endeavors. She is an avid and enthusiastic educator in the fields of classical and traditional music and has performed throughout Europe and the United States. Fortunate enough to be raised between traditions, she has a lifetime of experience in both Celtic and classical music. 

Kelly performs regularly in chamber ensembles on the renaissance harp, triple harp, lever harp, and modern pedal harp, with repertoire ranging from medieval to 21st century compositions. She maintains a large teaching studio in her home in Atlanta, GA, and coaches students for competitions throughout the country. Kelly tours regularly with the Celtic/Appalachian duo, The Reel Sisters, and has performed in venues from New Mexico to New York. She is a National Scottish Harp Champion, has received a BMUS in Classical Performance, and holds a Masters Diploma from the University of North Wales in performance and traditional musicology.

ROSALIND BUDA is a versatile and diverse performer and educator, playing and teaching music from Scottish smallpipes and Highland bagpipes to classical bassoon. Rosalind is passionate about teaching musicians of all ages, and her years of experience in both classical and folk music give her a unique perspective and a multi-faceted, holistic approach to learning. Rosalind firmly believes that everyone can develop their own style, expand technique through new approaches, and find their greatest enjoyment in music-making at any stage in their learning. Rosalind brings her musically encouraging approach to her private students, college students, and to workshops around the country.

As a performer, Rosalind freelances and tours regularly with the Celtic/Appalachian pipe and harp duo, The Reel Sisters, on smallpipes, whistles, and vocals. The Reel Sisters have toured from New Mexico to New York and revel in sharing traditional tunes and stories. In addition to her duo, Rosalind performs regularly as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and reader with various ensembles including Houston-based Istanpitta Early Music Ensemble as well other bagpipe-centric bands. As a bassoonist, Rosalind is an avid performer of chamber music and orchestral music in the Southeast. Rosalind received her MM in bassoon performance from New England Conservatory.

JONATHAN DELOACH began recorder studies in earnest in the early music ensembles at Florida State University, where he earned his B.A. in Music with studies in piano, organ, and music history. He has been music director of Ritornello Baroque Ensemble for its numerous Atlanta appearances since its debut in 2000; he has also performed with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, New Trinity Baroque, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He holds a Master of Sacred Music from Emory University and is the music director and organist at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Atlanta.

DR. GREGORY HAMILTON was born in Livonia, Michigan, and attended Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio for his undergraduate work. His interest in musicology and early music took him to London, England, and the Royal College of Music. He completed his M.Mus and recital diploma while studying several early music instruments, including lute and theorbo. He returned to the United States and began organ study with Dr. Marilyn Mason, completing his doctorate in sacred music/organ in 2000.

He is an active recitalist, playing organ recitals and early music concerts, as well as chamber music concerts and piano accompaniment in the U.S. and abroad. He has performed at the York Music Festival (York, England), The Boston Early Music Festival and Music in Time Festival (Stanford, California), and has appeared on WFMT (Chicago) and BBC England. He is featured on several CDs, including a recent recording of the Vespers of 1610 by Claudio Monteverdi as recorded by Apollo’s Fire on Koch Classics. Future projects include recording the organ works of Dom Paul Benoit.

Mía Mangano is a Cuban multi-instrumentalist who has lived in Georgia since 2017.  Her cello studies began at age 7, but she was a fulltime cellist with the Villa Clara Symphony Orchestra by the time she was 20.  She also performed with National Symphony of Cuba, Soloists of Havana, and Katedra Studio de la Musica Antigua.  As viola da gamba soloist she toured with Los Tiempos Pasados.  Mía currently performs on cello or double bass with Pensacola (FL) Symphony Orchestra, Shoals Symphony (AL), LaGrange (GA) Symphony Orchestra, Jackson (TN) Symphony Orchestra, Johnson City (TN) Symphony, and Albany (GA) Symphony Orchestra.  She also regularly appears with Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, New Trinity Baroque, and Saint Petersburg Baroque.  Mía studied cello and double bass at the Higher Institute of Arts of Cuba, with a mention in bowed continuo period instruments.

BARBARA WEISS is a versatile and engaging musician with diverse musical experiences ranging from recording and performing ancient classical Cambodian music to directing a baroque opera company to chairing a university’s early music program.  She started out as a clarinet and piano player and learned recorder in high school. She studied recorder and shawm at Indiana University, where she had opportunities to perform Brandenburg concertos and the Telemann suite – what fun! In addition to being the director of Recorder Society chapters in Michigan and Minneapolis, she has been on the faculty of both the Oberlin Conservatory and the Peabody Institute.  She has taught at summer workshops such as the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, the Madison Early Music Festival, Mountain Collegium, and Indiana University’s Recorder Academy.  She currently lives in Asheville, NC, where she performs with Muses Delight, Pan Harmonia, and the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra. Her collaborations include Belladonna, the Newberry Consort, Quicksilver, Chatham Baroque, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the King’s Noyse, Apollo’s Fire, the Chicago Opera Theater, Ensemble Vermillion and Piffaro. She has recorded with the Dorian, Flying Fish and Harmonia Mundi labels. She is currently selling recordings of her accompaniments to Baroque solo pieces for treble instruments. Luckily for her, she is the director of western North Carolina’s first melodica band, Next Road Over, and, sometimes, cursing technology, is teaching harpsichord long distance at Swarthmore College.