Guest Artists
Cello
Dana Winograd, originally from Los Angeles, received her bachelor’s and master’s 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 Composers 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; and 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) and Santa Fe Pro Musica, and she 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 New Jersey and the Julius Grossman Orchestra in New York.
An active chamber musician, Dana plays regularly with Chatter, the Santa Fe Symphony string quartet, Taos Chamber Music Group and Serenata of Santa Fe. She is the orchestra director at St. Michael’s High School and works in the Santa Fe Symphony’s mentoring program, helping young string students in the Santa Fe Public Schools. Dana and her husband, Gil, live happily with two great dogs, Riley and Lily.
Violin
Carla Kountoupes, violinist, is a member of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra and Piazzolla da Camera Piano Trio. Carla has toured and performed professionally with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Central America, Taiwan, Germany and all over the United States, including as a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco and the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys performing and recording many genres in addition to classical, including Latin/world, alt-rock/pop and jazz.
A dedicated music educator, Carla holds a Master of Music degree in Music Teaching. She has taught private violin lessons to children and adults for more than 25 years and is currently on the faculty at the New Mexico School for the Arts. In 2016, Carla was awarded Music Teacher of the Year by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) of New Mexico, and she received the Santa Fe Public Schools’ 2017 Teachers Who Inspire Award. She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory (violin performance) and Oberlin College (English literature).
Carla’s violin was made in the 1740s and was inherited from her grandfather.
(Photo by Marghreta Cordero aka Nacha Mendez)
