Mary Jo White is the professor of flute at UNCW and principal flutist of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and frequently the Opera Wilmington Orchestra. Previously, she taught at Central Michigan University, Truman State University and Boston College. Her degrees include a bachelor’s in flute performance from East Carolina University, a master’s in flute performance from Michigan State University and a doctorate in flute performance from Boston University. She was the principal flute for the Alma and Traverse City Symphonies in Michigan and second flute/piccolo for the Lansing Symphony. A winner of the 2006 National Flute Association Performer’s Competition, she performed at the NFA convention in Pittsburgh and the 2005 National College Music Society convention in Quebec City. In fall 2008, White recorded the complete solo flute works of Benjamin Boone on her CD Flute, Naturally. She has performed with Christina Brier (harp) by invitation at the 2016 and 2018 National Flute Association conventions (San Diego and Orlando) and with Michael d’Angelo (marimba) at the 2016 National College Music Society Conference in Santa Fe. She also recorded a CD with Christina Brier entitled Modern Music for Flute and Harp.
Christina Brier is principal harpist of the Wilmington Symphony, Carolina Philharmonic, and Opera Wilmington Orchestra. She performs as a second harpist with the North Carolina Symphony. A cofounder of three chamber ensembles, Brier presents chamber music in a variety of settings. She performs with Manhattan harpist Kathryn Sloat as a member of the international prize-winning harp duo Lilac 94. In September 2018, Lilac 94 placed third in the International Harp Competition in Saluzzo, Italy. Lilac 94 performed “Freude” from Karl Stockhausen’s twenty-one hour chamber work Klang with Analog Arts in Philadelphia in 2018 and at Montreal’s New Music Festival in 2019. As a member of the Sandpiper Duo with Mary Jo White (flute), Brier recorded the album Available Light: Modern Music for Flute and Harp, funded by the Charles L. Cahill fund. With the Brierwood Ensemble, Brier presents Candlelight Christmas annually at the Tryon Palace in New Bern, NC. In 2018, Brier and Wilmington violinist Linda Estep founded the Brooklyn Arts Music Academy, a nonprofit community music school in Wilmington, NC, which serves more than 500 students of all ages. Brier teaches harp at UNCW and is president of the Coastal Carolina Chapter of the American Harp Society. She received her master’s in harp performance from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Kathleen Bride.
Mitch Hebert holds a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from Oklahoma City University where he studied with David Steffens and served as graduate assistant. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education from Alma College, studying with Dave Zerbe. Hebert is an active freelance percussionist and educator in the Cape Fear region, performing with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Wilmington Symphonic Winds, Onslow Winds Jazz Ensemble, and frequently in the pit orchestra with Opera House Theatre Company and Thalian Association Community Theatre. He has performed with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Lansing Concert Band, Capitol City Brass Band, the award-winning Alma College Pipe Band, Petoskey Steel Drum Band, and many more. As a member of the Alma College Percussion Ensemble, Hebert performed across the Midwest including the Detroit International Jazz Festival, Notre Dame Jazz Festival, and others. He has attended and performed at numerous Michigan, Oklahoma, and North Carolina Music Educators Association conventions. As a high school band director in Edmond, Oklahoma, he conducted in Carnegie Hall.
Elizabeth Loparits is an active performer and educator, serving as lecturer and vocal/instrumental accompanist at the UNCW Department of Music. She has performed solo and duo-piano recitals in Hungary, Costa Rica, and the United States, including appearances at UNCW’s Piano Masterworks Series, Lumina Festival, New Music Festival, and with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. As chamber musician, she has given recitals at Indiana University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Miami, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Southeast Missouri State University, the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, and the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition. She performed the world premiere of Stacy Garrop’s Tantrum (2002); Meira Warshauer’s Ocean Calling III (2014), and the North Carolina premiere of Ocean Calling I-II (2013). Top prizes include the National Bartók Piano Competition in Hungary, the Kodaly-Bartók Chamber Music Competition, and the North Carolina Symphony/UNCG concerto competition.
Loparits holds degrees from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Pécs, Hungary, Illinois State University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has spent two summers as a principal young artist at Opera North, and is a coach/accompanist at Opera Wilmington, serving their outreach events, concerts, and summer productions.