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Soprano Alexandra Rose Hotz is a first-year Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) candidate at the Eastman School of Music, where she also received her Masters of Music, under the tutelage of Anthony Dean Griffey. Originally from Toledo, OH, she completed her undergraduate studies in Vocal Performance and Musical Theatre at Miami University in Oxford, OH where she studied with Dr. Alison Acord. During her time at Eastman, she has performed as Mademoiselle Silberklang in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor and was to play Johanna in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, prior to its cancellation due to Covid-19. She has also been seen in opera scene programs and Lieder recitals. With Miami Opera, she performed as Monica in Menotti’s The Medium, Anne Egerman in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, Rose in Weill’s Street Scene, and Ally in Dan Levy’s The Martian Chronicles. As a concert soloist, she has performed soprano solos in Haydn’s The Creation, Bach’s BWV 105 cantata, Handel’s Messiah, and has covered soprano solos for Haydn’s The Seasons.
Alexandra has a passion for American music written by contemporary composers and worked with Stephen Hartke on a performance of his piece, Iglesia Abandonada for soprano and violin and also with Ben Moore on selections from his song cycle, So Free Am I. Most recently, she was seen in a virtual production called Our Voices, a collaborative project between Eastman Opera Theatre and American composers. She worked with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Anthony Davis, on a performance of an aria from his opera Tania. Alexandra's doctoral studies are focused on French music of the Impressionist period, American art song, opera, and musical theatre, and the relationship between the body and the voice. In April, she will be presenting selections from Lili Boulanger’s Clairières dans le Ciel with pianist Maeve Berry.
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In demand as both an instrumental and vocal collaborator, pianist Brock Tjosvold has performed throughout the United States with many up and coming musicians, as well as established ensembles. Brock is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Dr. Andrew Harley. Most recently, he was a collaborative piano fellow at the 2018 Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA., studying with Jonathan Feldman. Other recent performance highlights include Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the National Repertory Orchestra and a performance at Carnegie Hall with clarinetist Amy Humberd.
Brock is an active orchestral keyboardist, and has performed in professional orchestras such as the Albany Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, in addition to the large ensembles at Eastman.
In addition to the Music Academy of the West and the National Repertory Orchestra, Brock has attended the 2015 Aspen Music Festival, where he studied with Rita Sloan and Anne Epperson. In 2013, he attended SongFest, where he studied with Martin Katz and Margo Garrett.
New music continues to be a large part of Brock’s career. He has worked with several living composers, including Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, John Musto, Ben Moore, John Luther Adams, Charles Wuorinen, and Nina C. Young, in addition to student composers while in school. While at Eastman, he has performed with Musica Nova, the resident new music ensemble.
Currently the music director at First Universalist Church of Rochester, Brock enjoys playing organ and directing the choir in addition to his work as a pianist. He has formerly been the organist at Liberty Christian Church (Martinsville, IN) and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral (Laramie, WY).
Brock began his primary musical training at the age of six with Patricia Randolph, later earning a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the University of Wyoming, magna cum laude, under the tutelage of Dr. Theresa Bogard. He previously completed his master’s degree at the University of Michigan with Martin Katz and a Performer’s Certificate at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, studying with Anne Epperson and Kevin Murphy.