Members
The core members of the And Friends Ensemble consist of performers from Illinois, Texas, and South Carolina.
Christine Cicha
Co-Director
Christine Cicha is a Kansas City native who has been transplanted to Central Illinois. She was the principal cellist in the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra, is a substitute musician for the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and other regional orchestras, and has performed with the Midwest Institute of Opera. Before moving to Illinois she played with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, the Mississippi Valley Orchestra (MN), Bloomington Civic Theater (MN), the Theater in the Park (KS), as well as pit orchestras for the operas at the University of Minnesota. Ms. Cicha has also been a member of the Oskaloosa (IA) Chamber Music Festival and has performed at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. Ms. Cicha maintains a large private studio and she previously taught with the Illinois State University String Project. She received her Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of Minnesota and her Masters of Music in performance from Illinois State University. She has studied under Dr. Adriana Ransom (Illinois State University), Tanya Remenikova (University of Minnesota), and Lawrence Figg (of the Kansas City Symphony).
douglas temples
Co-director
Douglas Temples is a South Carolina native currently living in Central Illinois. As a chamber musician, he has performed at the Spoletto Music Festival, the Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival, The American Viola Society Festival, and the Southeastern Composers Symposium. During the upcoming season he will be performing with Sinfonia Da Camera and the Illinois Symphony. As an avid champion of new music, Douglas has performed with the Durward Contemporary Music Ensemble, the University of Tennessee Contemporary Music Ensemble, and on the Illinois State University Music Factory and Red Note concert series. He has premiered works by Laura Schwendinger, Ellen Reid, and others. While working on his Master’s at Illinois State, Douglas along with two colleagues presented and performed at the American Viola Society Festival in Los Angeles.
Douglas began his musical studies on piano but later switched his focus to the viola. He completed a Master’s degree in viola performance with a secondary emphasis on orchestral conducting at Illinois State University where he was a graduate teaching assistant studying with Dr. Kate Lewis (viola) and Dr. Glenn Block (conducting). He graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee where he studied with Hillary Herndon. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Outstanding Graduate of the School of Music, an award based on academic excellence and career promise. He has served as principal viola for Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra, The University of Tennessee Symphony, Opera, and Chamber orchestras as well as for the Marble City Opera Company and the Clarence Brown Theater Pit Orchestra. He has also performed with the Johnson City Symphony, Peoria Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Champaign BACH Society, and the Midwest Opera Institute.
Aaron gomez (on hiatus)
Composer in residence
Aaron Gomez, a San Antonio native, attended the University of Texas at San Antonio where he received his Bachelor's degree in Music Composition. Gomez studied under Dr. Ethan Wickman, Dr. James Balentine, and Professor James Syler. In Conjuction with his studies in composition, Gomez began to study conducting with Maestro Terence Frazor and was mentored by Dr. Eugene Dowdy, former Director of Orchestras at UTSA.
After graduating from UTSA, Gomez decided to continue his education at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Gomez is currently enrolled at Illinois State University receiving a Master's degree in music composition, and a Master's degree in Orchestral Conducting. Under the tutelage of Dr. Martha Horst, Dr. Roger Zare, and Dr. Roy Magnuson, Gomez finished his composition degree in the spring of 2019 and will be finishing his conducting degree in the spring of 2020 under the mentorship of Dr. Glenn Block.
As a composer, Gomez was awarded the Reed Holmes Composition Award in the spring of 2015 by the UTSA Department of Music. Additionally, Gomez was the winner of the Texas Orchestra Directors Association Composition Competition in the summer of 2017. Gomez has had readings and performances of his works by ensembles like the UTSA Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Dal Niente, the ISU Concert Choir, Opus '17 Quartet, ...and friends ensemble, among others.
As a conductor, Gomez has rehearsed and conducted both large and small orchestral ensembles performing works by composers including Tchaikovsky, Saint-Säens, Brahms, Stravisnky, Bizet, Gomez, Beethoven, Dvořák, and Mozart.
Gomez has been playing the cello since he was nine years old and has studied under cellists Ken Freudigman, Lachezar Kostov, Dan Zollars, Ryan Murphy and Adriana Ransom. Gomez has performed in various orchestras and ensembles in Texas and Illinois including The Orchestra of the Incarnate Word, Symphony Viva, Opus '17 , the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Valey Symphony Orchestra, the "...and friends" chamber ensemble, and the San Antonio Chinese Orchestra.
Kelsey Klopfenstein
Expressed as having finesse and a lyrical tone, Kelsey Klopfenstein is an emerging soloist and chamber violinist, both in the classical and jazz traditions. Ms. Klopfenstein is a recent graduate of Illinois State University where she held the Graduate Violin Assistantship under Dr. Sarah Gentry. Awarded a Masters of Music in Performance from ISU, Ms. Klopfenstein also holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from Bradley University (2012), where she was the Presser Scholar (2011-2012). She has studied with award winning violinists such as Dr. Scott Conklin (University of Iowa), Marcia Henry Liebenow (Bradley University), and Elizabeth Rust (formerly of the Western Illinois University). Conducting has always been a passion for Ms. Klopfenstein who began studying privately as an undergraduate with Brian Dollinger (Muscatine Symphony Orchestra) and furthered her skills at summer festivals with pedagogues such as Donald Portnoy (University of South Carolina) and Apo Hsu (Bard College). Ms. Klopfenstein, a dedicated teacher, volunteered for a year at L’ecole Musique Sainte Trinite in Port-au-Prince, Haiti as a violin teacher, orchestra conductor, and theory tutor. This marks her twelfth year of private violin teaching. Besides music, Ms. Klopfenstein enjoys biking, eating chocolate, Harry Potter, and hot summer days.
Molly wilson nogaj
Violinist Molly Wilson Nogaj is an active member of the fine arts community in Central Illinois. You can find Molly on the stage playing with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Heartland Festival Orchestra, Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Midwest Institute of Opera, and many other local orchestras and chamber music initiatives. Molly's passion for music education is a driving force in her career. Molly teaches young violinists at the Youth Music Illinois Suzuki School of Music, as well as adult beginner students, some of whom live across the United States and tune in for lessons on Zoom. For her undergraduate degree, Molly studied with violinist Marcia Henry Liebenow at Bradley University, and then went on to study with Janet Sung, Carolyn Stuart, and Ann Setzer at DePaul University School of Music for her masters degree. When the violin is in the case, Molly enjoys spending time in nature on local hiking trails.
Mark wirbisky
Violist Mark Wirbisky is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College and Illinois State University, and plays in many orchestras in central Illinois. While at Gustavus Adolphus College, he studied with Jonathan Magness and Kenneth Freed of the Minnesota Orchestra, as well as Dr. Warren Friesen. While a graduate student at Illinois State University, Mark studied the viola with Dr. Katherine J. Lewis. He can be found playing with orchestras such as Sinfonia Da Camera, Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. When he is not playing the viola, Mark can be found running the Constitution Trail in Bloomington-Normal.