Musicians
At the heart of the ensemble is the unparalleled musicianship of the Bent Frequency performers, an eclectic mix of the most adventurous and impassioned players from the greater Atlanta area. This includes musicians from the Atlanta Symphony, Opera and Ballet as well as Atlanta’s fertile independent music community.
Bent Frequency's core musicians include: Sarah Kruser Ambrose, Tom Gibson (trombone), Ted Gurch, Helen Kim, Michael Kurth (bass), Tania Maxwell-Clements (viola), and Brad Ritchie .
BF concerts have also included the talents of: Esteban Anastasio (guitar), Diedre Augustin (harp), Adelaide Federici (violin), Karen Freer (cello), Laura Gordy (theremin), Kathryn Hartgrove (voice), Robert Janssen (bass clarinet), Tom Key (voice), Peter Marshall (piano), Courtney McDonald (marimba), Teresa Nikolova-Nolen (violin), Yvonne Peterson (oboe/english horn), Eun Jung Quon (percussion), Lara Saville (oboe), Jessica Peek Sherwood (flute), Tom Sherwood (percussion), Todd Skrbanek (piano), Mike Tiscione (trumpet), Rafael Veytsblum (violin), Sue Welty (horn), Colin Williams (trombone), Christina Wilson (horn), and Joli Wu (viola).
Sarah Kruser Ambrose (flute)
Sarah Kruser Ambrose is adjunct instructor of flute at Georgia State University
where she teaches applied flute, and is coordinator for the Community Music Programs
area. Mrs. Kruser Ambrose received the Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude
from Northwestern University and the Master of Music degree from Chicago College
of Performing Arts, both in flute performance. Her primary teachers have been
Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians Matheiu Dufour, Walfrid Kujala and Richard
Graef. In addition, she has performed in master classes for Julius Baker, Jeffrey
Khaner, Jim Walker, Carol Wincenc, Mindy Kaufmann, Martha Rearick and Sebastian
Bell.
Mrs. Kruser Ambrose is an extremely active performer. She made her Carnegie Hall
debut as a soloist on Gustav Holst’s Fugal Concerto in May, 2005. In addition
she has performed as principal flute with the Macon and Carrollton Symphony Orchestras
and is an active freelance musician in the Atlanta area.
Mrs. Kruser Ambrose is in great demand as a clinician and coach. Some of her most
recent engagements include guest artist/clinician for the Atlanta Flute Club;
section coach for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra; master clinician
for the Georgia State University High School Honor Band; and clinician for Lassiter,
Fayette County, Alpharetta, North Springs, Jonesboro, Sprayberry and McEachern
High Schools. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at Georgia State, Mrs.
Kruser Ambrose is artist affiliate in flute at Agnes Scott College and maintains
an active private studio.
Ted Gurch (clarinet)
Ted Gurch is Associate Principal/E-flat Clarinetist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1989. Prior to coming to Atlanta, he served for three seasons as Principal Clarinetist with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and the Mississippi Opera Orchestra. He attended the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Stanley Hasty and Charles Neidich, earning a Bachelor's Degree and the Performer's Certificate. While at Eastman he was active as a saxophonist in the school's jazz program, and was a member of the award-winning Eastman Jazz Ensemble. He continues to play saxophone on jazz, pop and classical programs, and has appeared as a concerto soloist with the ASO on saxophone as well as clarinet. An active chamber musician, he is also a member of the contemporary music ensembles Thamyris and Luna Nova. He teaches privately, coaches the clarinet section of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and is an Artist Affiliate at Emory University.
Helen Kim (violin)
Helen Hwaya Kim made her orchestral debut with the Calgary Philharmonic at the age of six, and has gone on to become a respected and sought-after artist. She recently appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops at Boston's Symphony Hall, as well as with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras. Ms. Kim earned her Master's Degree from the Juilliard School, where her teachers included Cho-Liang Lin and Dorothy DeLay. While at Juilliard, she was concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra, with which she also appeared as a soloist. She is the recipient of more than one hundred national and international awards. In 1992, she won the prestigious Artists International Competition in New York and, as a result, gave debut recitals at Carnegie Weill Hall and the Aspen Summer Music Festival. A native of Canada, Ms. Kim has been engaged by many of Canada's leading orchestras, including the National Arts Center Orchestra, Montreal Metropolitan Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, McGill Chamber Orchestra, and the Wind sor, Regina, Victoria and Prince George Symphonies.She has also appeared with the GreenBay, Cedar Falls , Dekalb , New Orleans,Aspen and Banff Festival Orchestras, and with orchestras in the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland.
A dedicated recitalist and chamber music performer, Ms. Kim has toured extensively throughout Canada and the United States, including performances at Alice Tully Hall and the Sante Fe and La Jolla International Music Festivals, where she performed with Cho-Liang Lin, Gary Hoffman, Andre Previn, and the Orion String Quartet. She performed Bach Double violin concerto wuth Hilary Hahn at the 2002 Amelia Island Chamber music festival. A featured performer duing the 1988 Olympic Arts Festival, she has given command performances for the Governor General and Prime Ministers of Canada. Ms. Kim has been profiled on national and international television and has appeared on CBC, PBS and CBS networks. Her performances have been aired on NPR and CBC radio networks. Ms. Kim currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia where she served as assistant and associate concermaster for the Atlanta Symphony for three seasons. She is currently the assistant concertmaster of the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and teaches violin and chamber music at Kennesaw State University.
Brad Ritchie (cello)
Brad Ritchie is from Portland, Oregon and is in his eighth season with the Atlanta Chamber Players and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, where he studied with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Janos Starker. His graduate degree was earned at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, where he studied with Adriana Contino. As a member of the Felici String Quartet, Mr. Ritchie was a winner of the Kuttner String Quartet scholarship at Indiana University and subsequently played in Japan, France and Germany. Prior to coming to Atlanta, he was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. He has twice performed chamber music on Japanese TV and recorded a CD in Tokyo, Chocolate Fashion. In the spring of 2001, he was featured in an ACP performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra. Over the past five seasons, Mr. Ritchie has also collaborated with performers in Mammoth Lakes, Ca. as part of the Chamber Music America Rural Residency Program.