Artistic Director

Korean American adoptee, Casey Robards is a music director, pianist and vocal coach known for her sensitive musicality, expert collaborative skill, stylistic versatility and operatic conducting. She has given recitals throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America and Asia. 

Robards’ emerging career as a conductor includes guest conducting Three Decembers and The Gift with South Bend Lyric Opera, Carmen with MOSI (Music On Site, Inc.) and Die Zauberflöte, La Traviata, La Bohéme, Schicchi/Suor as Main Stage conductor at the Bay View Music Festival. In 2023 she was appointed music director of Ensemble Concept 21, a Midwest chamber group that promotes new works by emerging and established composers. She was music director for Derek McPhatter’s Water Riot in Beta, a work that draws on the under-acknowledged legacy of Black voices in Punk, Electronic, and experimental contemporary music production to highlight climate anxiety and eco-grief. Robards was associate music director of the world premiere of “BOUNCE: The Basketball opera” co-produced with Ardea Arts and University of Kentucky. At the University of Illinois, she has conducted student performances of Lucia di Lammermoor and premieres of operatic works by Jiwon Hahn/Jolie O’Dell and Caleb Liddell.

Robards’ 2021-23 recitals include duo performances with Ollie Watts Davis, LaToya Lain, Karen Slack, Charis Peden, Courtney Huffman, Kenneth Overton, Brian Downen, Salley Koo and Bernhard Scully as well as work with the National Chorale and American Spiritual Ensemble. She currently tours with singer LaToya Lain in a “Narrative of a Slave Woman,” a dramatic and moving lecture-recital formatted program of Negro spirituals and Ollie Watts Davis in an art song recital “Toward Justice and Shared Humanity: Art Song of Black Composer as Lens, Language, Vision and Hope.” Robards made her Carnegie Hall debut in November 2017 with baritone Christiaan Smith in a program singing popular Top 40 songs as art song. Robards created a “Shakespeare Cabaret,” an interdisciplinary theatrical project featuring contemporary art song by Glen Roven. She was pianist/coach for the premiere workshop and production of This Little Light of Mine, an opera based on the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, with Santa Fe and Kentucky Opera.

Robards has special interest in piano and vocal music by Black composers, having experience in Black sacred music genres. She is the foremost expert on the life and music of John D. Carter (1932-1981). Dr. Robards wrote a chapter on collaborative piano for “So You Want to Sing Spirituals” published by Rowman & Littlefield.  Interested in the intersection of music and social justice, Robards has created benefit recitals for MUSICAMBIA, a non-profit organization that creates music conservatories in prisons. 

Currently on the faculty of the University of Illinois, previous appointments include vocal coaching and collaborative piano at Indiana University, Oberlin Conservatory (postdoc) and Central Michigan University. She has been on the faculty of the Bay View Music Festival since 2008.

Robards was pianist on three recent CD releases celebrating ecomusicology, new music, and diverse styles: “Botanica: music for oboe and English horn” with Sara Fraker (MSR Classics), “Chinese Fantasies” with violinist Fangye Sun (Blue Griffin) and “Figments Vol 3” (Navona Records) with John Dee, oboe and Bernhard Scully, horn. 

Robards received the Henri Kohn Memorial Award for outstanding achievement at Tanglewood Music Festival. As a pianist/coach, Robards was a NATS Professional Intern, a Songfest Professional Development Program Participant and as a conductor, a participant in the Banff Opera in the 21st Century program. Professional memberships include IKCAS (International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society), NATS, Maestra, MUSE, Deus Ex Musica, and the National Opera Association (Chair of the Sacred in Opera Initiative).

The Musicians

(in alphabetical order)

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Ketevan Badridze is an award winning pianist. Since her first performance with an orchestra at the age of ten, Ketevan has appeared with Tbilisi Symphony, Georgian National Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Yerevan Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, and South Bend Symphony Orchestra. She is a seasoned performer of solo and chamber music in United States, Georgia, France, Austria, Holland, Italy and Germany. Her collaborations include performances with Lisa Batiashvili, Alexander Korsantia, Gregory Fulkerson as well as Euclid and Georgian National Quartets. Mrs. Badridze recorded Mozart Piano Concerto in C Minor with Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra. Most recent album features Violin and Piano works by Prokofiev with Violinist Jameson Cooper. 

Ketevan is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions, such as Newport International Piano Competition -UK, The World International Piano Competition – Cincinnati, New Orleans International Piano Competition, and the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition.

She received her Master of Music and Postgraduate degrees from Tbilisi State Conservatory and in 1993 she was appointed to the piano faculty there. In 2000, Ketevan moved to the United States to study at Indiana University South Bend with Professor Alexander Toradze, where she received her Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma. Ketevan has appeared with Toradze Piano Studio at numerous music venues around Europe and the United States, including Columbia University in New-York, Wigmore Hall in London, Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Academia of Santa Cecilia in Rome, Settimane Musicali di Stresa e del Lago Maggioreand Ravenna Festival in Italy, Ruhr Keyboard Festivalin Germany, and the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festivalas a part of “World Rising Stars” series broadcast on the National Public Radio (NPR). 

Since Spring 2005 Ms. Badridze serves as a member of music faculty at Indiana University at South Bend.

Originally from Arlington Heights, Andrew Cierny began playing drums at the age of 4.  Soon after, his repertoire grew to include concert percussion and piano. A versatile musician,  Andrew balanced formal musical training with a strong interest in improvised styles of music, performing in the Chicago Youth Symphony alongside jazz and rock projects. While attending DePaul University, Andrew was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was also awarded a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center.  In 2002, he traveled to Japan to participate in the Pacific Music Festival.  After graduation, Andrew joined the New World Symphony in Miami Beach where he toured with the orchestra to Rome and New York City, performing at Carnegie Hall.  

In addition to EC/21, Andrew is currently Principal Percussion with the Illinois Symphony, as well as a member of the Lansing Symphony, South Bend Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, and Northwest Indiana Symphony. He also frequently performs with the Chicago Philharmonic, Chicago Opera Theater and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. For ten seasons he performed regularly with the Milwaukee Symphony. In 2012, he returned to Carnegie Hall with the Milwaukee Symphony performing in their “Spring for Music” festival. Prior to this, Andrew held full-time positions with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, performed with the Chicago Symphony including in their MusicNOW contemporary series, has recorded for television commercials and promotional music, and is the drummer for the Chicago jazz group Bopology. In addition to performing, Andrew has taught percussion as well as a diverse blend of traditional and popular music on the piano.  In his free time, Andrew produces original electronic music and enjoys running.

Jameson Cooper, originally from Sheffield, England, began playing the violin at age 6. At 13 he joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and later became concertmaster of the National Youth Chamber Orchestra. He studied at The Royal Northern College of Music, where he earned a Graduate of Music Degree with Honors and a Professional Performance Diploma. Mr. Cooper first came to the U.S. as a participant in the Aspen Music Festival. Since then, he has studied with Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, and Roland and Almita Vamos. He earned Masters Degrees in Violin and Conducting from Kent State University, where he later served as Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at the University’s Hugh A. Glauser School of Music. Recipient of numerous prizes, he has performed as soloist with orchestra, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the U.S. and Europe. In the 2001-02 season, Jameson played in the Audubon Quartet in its Beethoven Quartet cycle series.

In addition to his recordings with the Euclid Quartet, Mr. Cooper has recorded a disc of new music for violin, to be released this season. Jameson has given masterclasses at many colleges and universities, including Oberlin College Conservatory, Virginia Tech and Skidmore College, and is a former faculty member of the Lyceum Music School of Oldham, England and Morningside College.

A versatile instrumentalist and a member of EC/21’s core ensemble, Christopher French is an accomplished clarinetist, saxophonist, and flutist. He received B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Juilliard School where he was a scholarship student of Leon Russianoff and Joseph Allard.  Concurrently with attending Juilliard, he studied jazz with Adolphe Sandole and Warne Marsh, and worked with traditional and modern jazz groups in New York City.

After briefly playing with the Orquesta del Estado de Mexico, he returned to Los Angeles and continued playing jazz and classical music with symphony orchestras, Broadway show pit orchestras, and recording studios until 1997, when he moved to Goshen, Indiana.

Mr. French is on the faculty of Indiana University South Bend, St. Mary’s College, University of Notre Dame, and Goshen College where he is the director of the jazz band. He plays regularly with Symphony orchestras and jazz performing groups in Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois. He has been featured soloist with the Elkhart Youth Symphony, Maple City Chamber Orchestra, Elkhart Municipal Band, St. Joseph band, Truth in Jazz, Elkhart Symphony and the Elkhart Jazz Festival.

A member of EC/21’s core ensemble, Rebecca Hovan has enjoyed a multi-faceted career as a teacher and performer for over 35 years. She was the flutist for national tours of The King and I and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and has appeared in recital as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player throughout the United States.   Previously, Rebecca was the Flute Instructor at Indiana University South Bend, Goshen College, and in her private studio.  She is a member of the National Flute Association and has served the organization in prominent leadership roles as Masterclass Performers Competition Coordinator and Pedagogy Committee Chair.  In addition, she has contributed to the organization as a reviewer of newly-published materials for the Flutist Quarterly, the quarterly journal of the NFA.  Rebecca is a published author of instructional flute method books and original arrangements of music for a variety of instrumental combinations including selections from her first CD, A Silver Christmas.  She has presented numerous workshops and clinics at colleges and universities, professional conferences, and flute festivals at the local, regional, and national level. Her training includes a Master of Music from the University of North Texas where she was a Teaching Fellow in Flute and studied with Mary Karen Clardy.  www.noteworthyflute.com

A member of EC/21’s core ensemble, David Machavariani was born in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. His official musical training started at the age of eight in a special music school for gifted children in Georgian capital Tbilisi. David debuted at the age of fourteen with the Georgian National Symphony Orchestra, performing Haydn’s Concerto in C major. He continued his studies at the Tbilisi State Conservatory under the tutelage of Eldar Isakadze and Tamara Gabarashvili (both pupils of Mstislav Rostropovich), and earned his master’s and post graduate degrees with highest distinction. During these years David played numerous recitals as a soloist and chamber musician, he has successfully toured in Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. In 1982 David won first prize at the Transcaucasian chamber music competition. After graduation he was invited to become a part of the cello faculty at central music school for gifted children. During 1990-92, David was a part of the cello faculty in Tbilisi State Conservatory. He was member of Georgian Chamber Orchestra under Liana Isakadze and was touring in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, West Germany, and Austria.

In 1992, David moved to United States and earned his master’s degree and artist diploma at Indiana University South Bend. As a soloist David played many times with a Georgian National Symphony, Georgian Radio and TV Orchestra, IUSB Philharmonic, Elkhart Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Machavariani has performed in very prestigious venues such as Settimane Mussicaly di Stressa (Italy),Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo (Michigan), Oxford, (England), at Santa Cecilia in Rome (Italy), and Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon (Portugal). 

Currently Mr. Machavariani is a member of South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo and Southwest Michigan symphony Orchestras, coprincipal cellist in Summer Festival Chamber Orchestra (Columbia MO). He serves as an adjunct faculty at Goshen college and Valparaiso University.

Pianist Jennifer Muñiz, D.M.A., has performed in Spain, Italy, Mexico and the United States. Muñiz has garnered numerous awards and honors since her concerto debut at age eleven, including several public radio broadcast performances, a four-year performance grant for chamber music from the Liberace Foundation, her New York solo debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, performances at the United Nations, Steinway Hall, and the Polish Embassy in Chicago, and a solo recital at the Auditorio Principe Felipe in Oviedo, Spain.

Muñiz performs as a solo and collaborative pianist, with an emphasis in contemporary music, and has given recent recitals and masterclasses in Tennessee and North Carolina. She presents lecture-recitals, at conferences such as the Goshen College Piano Institute, and the College Music Society, with a presentation at the national conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts in fall 2013, and lecture-recitals at regional conferences in New York, North Dakota and Nebraska. Muñiz regularly performs with members of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. She is a member f EC/21’s core ensemble.

For nine years preceding college, Ms. Muñiz studied with Beatrice Laurain, then earned her Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, as a student of Lydia Artymiw, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Ms. Muñiz completed her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music as a student of Phillip Kawin.

She has taught on the keyboard skills faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and served there as a vocal accompanist, and at Barnard College. She maintained a private studio in New York City for seven years. Muñiz served as a piano instructor and accompanist at the University of Notre Dame for four years, including Opera Notre Dame, and taught as an associate faculty member at IU South Bend. From 2012-2013, she served on the faculty of the Swinney Conservatory of Music at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri as Assistant Professor of Music, Piano and Theory. Muñiz is Associate Professor of Music at Indiana University South Bend. Muñiz is especially interested in examining music development in specific environments, and has created two original courses: “Music in New York,” and “Music in Chicago.”

Violinist Jacob Murphy established his career as a founding member and second violinist for 18 years of the Euclid Quartet, one of the most highly regarded ensembles of its generation. Captivating audiences and critics alike, as part of this ensemble he consistently performed to enthusiastic acclaim throughout the country, everywhere from school classrooms to Carnegie Hall. Highlights of Jacob’s career in the Euclid Quartet include significant global recognition as a member of the first American string quartet to be awarded a top prize at the prestigious Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. Prior to its Japanese laurels, the quartet also won awards in numerous United States
competitions, including the Hugo Kauder International Competition for String Quartets, the Carmel Chamber Music Competition, and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. In 2009, the Euclid Quartet was awarded the esteemed “American Masterpieces” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jacob has been a frequent guest at American and Canadian music festivals, among them those of Aspen,Great Lakes, Kent/Blossom, and Orford, and has collaborated with internationally renowned artists including James Dunham, Gregory Fulkerson, Warren Jones, Paul Katz, Joseph Silverstein, and AlexanderToradze. Early in his time with the Euclid Quartet, the ensemble was twice awarded the String Quartet Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, where it was invited to return for the subsequent summer’s concert season. The quartet was also invited to study with the Emerson String Quartet at the Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshop.

Teaching and outreach have long been important parts of Mr. Murphy’s career. He is a devoted violin teacher and chamber music coach, and has served on the music faculty for nine years at Indiana University South Bend and for six years at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. During his time in South Bend, he was the coach for seven consecutive years to the Geoffroy Prize-winning ensemble at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. This prize is awarded to the highest-ranking local ensemble in the competition. He is also passionate about presenting the highest quality classical music to
young audiences. As a teaching artist, he has performed for thousands of students and young adults, in part through support from the National Endowment for the Arts and collaborations with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association.

Active in the recording studio, Jacob can be heard on several recordings. As a member of the Euclid Quartet, he recorded a pair of CDs comprising the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók for Artek Recordings. The American Record Guide raved about these discs, “rarely has a group found such meaning and vision.” He is also featured in the quartet’s debut CD on Centaur records, which features the first four quartets of Hugo Kauder, a refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria who fled to the United States in the 1940s, who defied the atonal trend of his generation with his uniquely harmonic, contrapuntal style. As a soloist, he is featured on “The Harlequin” (Centaur Records) performing John Ferrito’s Intersezione for solo violin. In addition to performing on these recordings, he also served as audio editor of the recording of Kauder string quartets, as well as numerous Euclid Quartet demo recordings.

Raised in a small collection of towns, he claims Fresno, California as his home town. He began his violin studies at the age of 6 through a unique school music program, and later continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music and Kent State University. His principal teachers included Charles Castleman, Gregory Fulkerson, Camilla Wicks, and Claudia Shiuh. He performs on a 2008 violin by Greg Alf. Jacob is a member of EC/21’s core ensemble.

Jessica Roberts is a soprano of stunning vocal agility and exceptional musicianship. She has her Master’s degree in Sacred Music with vocal concentration from the University of Notre Dame, and she received her Bachelor’s in Music Education from Ball State University.  She is an active roster member of choral groups Choroynsthesis in Seattle and Concordia at Notre Dame.  She has also been a frequent soloist for the special projects of Notre Dame Vocale, Ensemble Concept/21 and Kosmologia, under the direction of Carmen-Helena Téllez. Her academic and vocal pursuits have brought her to Rome, Salzburg, and cities across the United States.  Her most recent opera performance was as the illustrious Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) April 2016 with Notre Dame opera, and since then has focused on numerous church, chamber, and virtual performances. Equally at home in solo or choral repertoire, her particular interests are in sacred music, chamber chorus, oratorio, and new music. A versatile performer and interpreter, she finds music to be a spiritual and collaborative endeavor, and enjoys creating transcendent experiences for her audiences.

Jessica is also a composer/arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, liturgist, and music educator. In the past she has been a co-director with the Notre Dame Children’s Choir, vocal studies adjunct faculty at Saint Mary’s College, and has directed the adult and student choirs at Christ the King Catholic Church as Director of Music and Liturgy. She lives in South Bend with her husband Connor and their three daughters, Avery, Alexandra, and Abigail.