Meet our Founders
Dr. Richard Antoine White is a recognized professor at the University of New Mexico and a seasoned consultant in higher education, specializing in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Holding a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute, and both master’s and doctoral degrees from Indiana University, Dr. White is also a certified DEI practitioner from Cornell University.
At an age when many of us were headed off to nursery school, a young Richard, aka "Raw Tuba," was homeless and coping with deprivation and poverty. Richard often went in search of his mother, who, while struggling with alcoholism, sometimes disappeared. Richard would go to all the places he had located his mom previously until he once again found her. One fateful night, Richard almost died searching for his mom in the snow and was taken in, fostered and eventually adopted by his grandparents.
It turned out to be his saving grace. Living with his grandparents was an adjustment. But then, Richard joined a band and discovered a talent and a sense of purpose. With support from a few caring educators and mentors, Richard began to thrive. He gained confidence and learned the valuable lesson that he could reach his full potential. First in his family to attend and graduate from college, Richard gained the limitless power that choice brings.
His vulnerability and willingness to share his life's story told by Early Light Media is the inspiration behind the award-winning documentary Hi, I'm Richard Antoine White. He is the bestselling author of the memoir I'm Possible: A Story of Survival, a Tuba, and the Small Miracle of a Big Dream, and an inspirational speaker who has traveled the world sharing inspirational thoughts and philosophies that have motivated him. He is also a Principal Tubist of the New Mexico Philharmonic and the Santa Fe Symphony.
His profound commitment to education and the arts is further exemplified by his founding of the R.A.W. Tuba Ranch in Cedar Crest, NM. Through the RawTuba Foundation, he champions inclusive after-school programs in music and art, catering to individuals aged 5-105, with the aim to inspire hope and elevate possibilities. Richard’s expertise and passionate advocacy for the arts and education make him a pivotal figure in shaping future generations.
Due to his work, Richard was recently awarded the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Community Champion Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions that address critical social, economic and environmental needs throughout our society and communities, including local communities.
With over two decades of performing on the world’s classical music stages, Richard has matured into a musician known for his clear sound and stylistic flexibility. He is the first African-American in the world to receive a doctorate of music in tuba performance.
Richard has performed with the Canadian Brass Quintet, Indiana University Faculty Brass Quintet, New Mexico Symphony Brass Quintet, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Sphinx Symphony, Chineke Orchestra and many others. He is also an Adams and Conn-Selmer Artist.
Prior to moving to New Mexico, Richard was one of the top freelance musicians in the Indianapolis area, where he recorded with such greats as movie film composer John Williams, Cincinnati Pops conductor Eric Kunzel, and the late great wind ensemble conductor Frederik Fennell.
Pamela Viktoria Pyle has been recognized for her interpretations of the chamber music literature since famed violin pedagogue, Dorothy DeLay, first engaged her at The Juilliard School. For nearly two decades, she served as a principal pianist in the studios of Miss DeLay and subsequently Itzhak Perlman. This immersion in the piano and string repertoire led to collaborations with members of the Juilliard, American, Ying, and Mendelssohn String Quartets, including Joel Smirnoff, Joel Krosnick, and Daniel Avshalomov, as well as other soloists such as violinists Ida Kavafian and Phillipe Quint, cellist Alan Harris and the Norwegian soprano Anne-Lise Berntsen. As an award-winning soloist and chamber recitalist, Ms. Pyle has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Brazil, at venues such as Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, and Wolftrap. She has toured throughout the Americas with the duo Diversity Matters that she created with tubist Richard Antoine White, and they are recognized speakers on matters of diversity and collaboration, represented by the American Program Bureau (APB).
Her media recordings include CD’s on the Albany and Prairie labels and she has appeared on numerous television and radio broadcasts, including CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, PBS, National Public Radio, the Martha Stewart Show and the Charlie Rose Show. Ms. Pyle is currently Professor of Piano and Director of the Collaborative Piano Program at the University of New Mexico and has been a Visiting Professor at Shandong University in Weihai, China. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of the New Mexico Chamber Music Festival and is Vice-President and co-founder of the newly established RawTuba Foundation, bringing music and art experiences to people of all ages. Recently she appeared in the independent film, RawTuba, centered on the life of tubist Richard White.
As a leader in faculty governance, Professor Pyle served as the UNM Faculty Senate President for four terms and represented her constituents as a multiple term Chair of the Faculty Senate Governmental Relations Committee, the Senate Business Council and the UNM Public Art Committee. A dedicated advocate for education, her fundraising work with the State Legislature and private donors has helped to raise over half a million dollars for the College of Fine Arts and the University of New Mexico.
Ms. Pyle began piano studies with her mother at the age of four and later studied with Patricia Zander at New England Conservatory, Ann Schein at the Aspen Music Festival, and Yoheved Kaplinsky, Samuel Sanders, and Jonathan Feldman at The Juilliard School. At these institutions, Ms. Pyle also devoted herself to chamber music under leading exponents Eugene Lehner, Louis Krasner, Joseph Fuchs, Robert Mann, Felix Galimir, and Benjamin Zander.
Coverage of the 2011 Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies by the online media site violinist.com, quoted N.Y. Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow as saying that Ms. Pyle made the piano “sound like the heart of an angel”. In print media, she was featured in Strad magazine in an article about collaborative pianists, which focused on the importance of a balanced partnership in musical collaborations.
Meet our Board of Directors
Andrea (Andi) Yannone had spent nearly 30 years in the cultural arts sector in San Francisco before relocating to Albuquerque, NM in 2021. Andi worked at San Francisco Ballet from 1995-2001 and from 2011-2021. She was promoted to the position of Director of Education and Training at San Francisco Ballet in 2015, establishing the new department and all functions, including oversight of SF Ballet School administration, itsstudent residences, and all education, community, and engagement programs for youth, families, adults, and school children, as well as strategic planning and board relations as a member of the senior executive management team. She was instrumental in establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion planning both within her department and organization-wide, raising DEI to a strategic priority. Just prior to leaving SFB in 2021, an 8-year partnership with the SF Conservatory of Music came to fruition with the opening of the Bowes Center Student Residence, giving SFBS students ages 13-19 a state-of-the- arts accommodation, just steps from SF Ballet School. From 2001-2011, she held three positions at the San Francisco Symphony in the Education and Electronic Media departments, culminating with designing and launching the acclaimed Community of Music Makers program. Her career in arts administration in San Francisco began in 1994 when she was the program director for The Hills Project, an afterschool arts program for underserved youth in the SF Western Addition neighborhood, which was a model for private-public partnerships—one of the first such collaborations in San Francisco—involving the SF Unified School District, the SF Department of Children, Youth and Families, and the SF Ballet, SF Symphony, SF Opera, and SF Museums of Fine Arts.
Andi has gained a wealth of experience in partnerships and collaborations, program design and development, and strategic planning from her career in arts administration and education. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute, with additional graduate studies at Ithaca College and the Florida State University. She had performed as a professional musician and instrumental music teacher for several years before shifting to the administrative side of the arts and education. Andi is currently working as a consultant in the arts management sector (Arts Allied Consulting LLC), focusing on administrative infrastructure, strategic planning, and program design and development. She is a board member of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program (NM), the RAWTuba Foundation (NM), and the Postpartum Support Center (Marin County, CA), and she is on the advisory committee of the Jackie McGehee Young Artists Competition (NM). She recently stepped down from the advisory board of the Bay Area Women’s and Children’s Center. Andi’s hobbies include hiking, bass fishing, and cooking.
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Dr. Jerome Stover is a distinguished tuba player and educator with an extensive academic and performance background. He holds degrees in music from Indiana University, DePaul University, Yale University, and Boston University. Currently, Dr. Stover serves as the Assistant Professor of Tuba at Sam Houston State University, where he is a dedicated teacher and clinician in the Houston area. His previous teaching appointments include positions at the University of Hawaii, Rochester College, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Texas Southern University.
Dr. Stover is an accomplished performer who has played with some of the most prestigious orchestras in the United States and beyond, including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Alabama Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Korean Broadcasting System Symphony, and the New World Symphony. He also held the interim principal tubist
position with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Dr. Stover has been featured with the Honolulu Symphony, Yale University, University of New Mexico Schools of Music, and the International Tuba and Euphonium Association. His recordings include
performances with the Chicago Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, and the DePaul Wind
Ensemble.
In addition to his academic and orchestral achievements, Dr. Stover is a proud member of the Gateways Brass Collective, a chamber group dedicated to connecting and supporting classical musicians of African descent. Through this ensemble, Dr. Stover actively contributes to expanding opportunities for underrepresented musicians and fostering a more inclusive classical music community.
Dr. Stover’s experience also extends to music festivals, where he has been a principal
musician at the Tanglewood Music Center, Cascades Music Festival, Sun River Music
Festival, and has performed at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival. His performances have
taken him across North America, Europe, Asia, and South Africa.
Beyond his performing and teaching roles, Dr. Stover is the owner of Professor
Mouthpiece, an online retailer specializing in mouthpieces and accessories for tuba and euphonium players. His expertise and passion for brass music are reflected in every aspect of his career, making him a respected figure in the global tuba community.
Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world's top stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. Captivating audiences and critics around the globe, he has been hailed as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” (The New York Times), “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars” (The Guardian), and “one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world today” (NPR).
Brownlee begins his 23-24 season with Opera Rara at London’s Wigmore Hall in September for a recording of Donizetti’s rarely-performed song repertoire alongside pianist Carlo Rizzi, before joining the 2023 George Enescu International Festival to perform the Fioravanti Selections from La foresta d’Hermanstad. Following this, Brownlee will join tenor Levy Sekgapane for a duo recital at the Grand Théâtre Genève. At the end of September 2023, Brownlee returns to the Wiener Staatsoper to perform as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia ahead of his role as Tonio in the Lyric Opera of Chicago production of La Fille Du Regiment in November. In December, Brownlee joins the Wiener Konzerthaus for their 2023 Christmas in Vienna Gala before reuniting with longtime friend, collaborator, and fellow Rossini expert Michael Spyres for KAPOS - World Opera Stars’ “Game of Tenors: Brownlee & Spyres Battle of the High C’s”. Brownlee kicks off 2024 with recital engagements at the Dallas Opera and the La Jolla Music Society, in addition to bringing his acclaimed Rising program to San Francisco Performances in February 2024 and to the Concertgebouw in June 2024. In May of 2024, Brownlee will make his anticipated return to the Teatro alla Scala as Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Brownlee’s season ends with the return of his Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Bayerischen Staatsoper.
The 22-23 season featured Brownlee in several of his signature Rossini roles, including Rodrigo in Otello at Opera Philadelphia, the title role of Le comte Ory at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Count Almaviva at the Royal Opera House, in addition to his return to the Metropolitan Opera as Tamino in a new production of Die Zauberflöte. Brownlee also shared the stage with Michael Spyres in a program titled, “Amici e Rivali” at the Theatre des Champs-Élysées in January 2023, in addition to the premiere of his new album Rising which featured Brownlee along with pianist Kevin J. Miller and was released through Warner Classics. The duo performed newly commissioned songs by composers Shawn Okpebholo, Damien Sneed, Joel Thompson, and others with texts drawn from James Weldon Johnson and other great Black writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Brownlee and Miller toured “Rising” at venues across the U.S. including Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, Calderwood Studio at GBH Boston, and the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts at Emory University. The Boston Globe praised how "Brownlee is smartly applying his star power to uplift music that might not otherwise be heard, and spread the names of composers on the verge of greater recognition… all the commissions are worthy of repeat performances…”
16 years teaching school orchestras and thirty years as a private cello instructor. Her work as an ensemble educator has received top honors in New Mexico, including two honor orchestra awards by the New Mexico Music Educators Association where she presented two concerts for the New Mexico Music Educators Conference. One of her orchestras also received the New Mexico Activities Association first place at the Orchestra State Champions. She has worked for the Albuquerque Public Schools, Rio Rancho Public Schools, Farmington Public Schools, and the New Mexico Schools for the Arts where she also served as Outreach Director. Her term as the NMSA Outreach Director produced numerous workshops and concerts throughout the state of New Mexico for Drama, Dance, Music, Visual Arts, and Creative Writing.
Being an active professional symphonic musician performing with the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Opera Southwest, and San Juan Symphony my skills and knowledge in the field have provided students with numerous opportunities to understand the qualities of achievements in music. Carla has also organized student tours throughout the United States and Canada and offered students concerts performed by esteemed orchestras including the LA Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Chamber Orchestra, and recording sessions in Disney Land.
Carla was elected to represent string teachers in New Mexico as the Vice President of Orchestra for the New Mexico Music Educators Association. Carla received her bachelor degree in Cello Performance at the University of Arizona where she studied with Gordon Epperson. She also recently completed her Masters Degree in Music Education.
“Olga Perez sang with smoky tones and proved to be a dependable companion for Carmen.”
~International News/Opera Japonica, October 2005
Cuban-American mezzo-soprano, Olga Perez Flora was the first prize winner of the American Prize: Women in Song & Oratorio 2022 and has performed several roles and recitals with companies across the United States, Cuba, and in Italy. Dr. Flora’s recording of Cuban songs named Canciones de mi Corazon is set to release January of 2025 and she will also sing Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in the Spring of 2025.
Most recently featured in the opera Frida by Rodriguez with Opera Southwest as the fiery Lupe Rivera and as the Mother and the Sea in Jorge Martin’s Before Night Falls, she has performed with opera companies and symphonies across the country and internationally and is best known for her sultry Carmen, which she has performed numerous times, including her debut with Amarillo Opera. Recent performance highlights include the title role of Carmen in Carmen with Opera Southwest, mezzo-soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem in Rome, Italy with Performance International, and the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes with Chatter. Dr. Flora was featured in Michael Ching’s Completing the Picture (November 2020 release) which was recorded and filmed remotely during the pandemic, for Opera Company Middlebury.
Opera roles include performances with Opera Southwest/Carmen (Carmen), Zorro (Toypurina)and Before Night Falls (Mother & Sea), Opera Company Middlebury/A Streetcar Named Desire (Eunice), Opera Columbus/Madama Butterfly (Suzuki), Erie Chamber Orchestra/Die Zauberflöte (Third Lady), Arizona Opera/La Cenerentola (Tisbe), Opera in the Heights/Don Giovanni (Zerlina), Opera Company Middlebury/Eugene Onegin (Olga), Northeast Symphony/La Traviata (Flora), Amhurst Orchestra/Carmen (Carmen), New Jersey Opera Theater/Gianni Schicci (Zita), Lyric Opera Theater/Ariadne auf Naxos (Der Komponist) Opera Festival di Roma/Le Nozze di Figaro (Marcellina) and more.
Orchestral soloist highlights include Verdi Requiem with the Hollywood Concert Series, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Israel in Egypt at Disney Hall, Hayden’s Lord Nelson Mass and Bach’s Cantata BWV 4 with the Southeastern Ohio Symphony Orchestra, a concert in NYC with the Jupiter Chamber Symphony Players in Alkan’s Marcia funerale morte d’un pappagallo, and a New Year’s Eve performance with the North State Symphony. Recent performances include concerts featuring her as the mezzo-soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th symphony with the University of Redlands, West Side Story highlights with the Reno Philharmonic, and a concert with Cuban composer Leo Brouwer from Havana, Cuba.
Internationally known as a recitalist, Dr. Flora was the first prize winner of the American Prize: Women in Song & Oratorio 2022 and has performed several recitals with companies across the United States, Cuba, and in Italy. She has also created a Cuban Song Recital named Canciones de mi Isla: Songs from my Island, featuring Cuban composers, poets and collaborators that has been enthusiastically received by audiences. In the Spring of 2019, Dr. Flora travelled to Havana, Cuba to perform in two concerts with Cuban composers José María Vitier and Leo Brouwer in her first visit to her families’ homeland.
Dr. Flora is currently an Associate Professor of Voice and Head of Voice at the University of New Mexico and the Artistic Director of the Gobbi Villa summer young artist program in Rome, Italy.
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Dr. Kevin Sanders serves as dean of the School of Music at Baylor University. He was previously director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis.
At Memphis, Sanders led the School of Music through a transformational time with the planning, construction, and grand opening of the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, an 82,000 sq. ft., $40 million facility boasting state-of-the-art recording studios, large rehearsal spaces, and a 900-seat concert hall. Under his leadership, the school moved forward in several areas, including the highest number of applications and student enrollment in its history, a substantial increase in the diversity of faculty, the establishment of international partnerships, the launch of the school's annual Blue Note magazine, and a broad expansion of the school's marketing and communications team. Sanders also served as the catalyst for new academic programs, including an undergraduate music therapy major, and focused the school on modernizing the undergraduate curriculum and leveraging campus and community partnerships to provide professional opportunities for students.
Sanders established new initiatives to expand access to music education in the community and enhance the student experience, including the Scheidt Music Extension, an after-school and evening program that allows the school of music to provide educational opportunities for music enthusiasts of all ages. In addition, the school's summer programming expanded to include adult classes and camps for elementary and popular music, which led to a 176% increase from the previous enrollment record in its first year. Sanders also established the school's Student Success Center, a centralized office for students to receive professional advising, career services, and improved access to university resources.
A classically trained musician and former tubist, his scholarly musical interests concentrate on pedagogy. His work includes eight recordings and dozens of publications, commissions, and presentations he has given around the globe, including in the U.K., China, Brazil, Australia, and Costa Rica. He has performed on five continents with some of the world's finest orchestras, including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Macau Orchestra in China, and the Melbourne Symphony in Australia. He has also performed as a soloist with the United States Army Orchestra in Washington D.C. His students have been highly successful in national and international auditions, competitions, and summer festivals and hold teaching and performance positions across the U.S.
Previously, Sanders served the University of Memphis as the Dean's Fellow for Research Development, where he developed cross-campus initiatives that supported research and creative activity in the arts, and as the Associate Director for Graduate Studies and Professor of Tuba and Euphonium. Prior to that, he taught at the Crane School of Music at SUNY-Potsdam and the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Outside the university, Sanders is an ICF-certified coach and consultant who works with faculty and academic leaders in higher education and a sought-after keynote speaker represented by APB Speakers Bureau.
Sanders graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and holds degrees from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, the Juilliard School, and Michigan State University, with additional certifications from Cornell University and Harvard University.
Jessica Jenkins spent over a decade working with nonprofit organizations in northern New Mexico to streamline operations and build capacity through effective fundraising and oversight of community programs. Over the years, she has had a hand in many facets of nonprofit operations, but her passion lies in helping nonprofits see beyond data and impact numbers to tell their incredible stories.
Jessica is currently a grant writer for Goodwill of Colorado, a statewide organization promoting economic independence for underserved communities. Over the last year, she has raised over $750,000 through government and foundation grants and worked with Colorado U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper’s office to submit a $2 million congressionally directed spending request that is currently under review by the US Senate Appropriations Committee. She now lives in Colorado Springs with her amazing partner, three dogs, and a cat.