Elena Levina, Artistic Director
Ukrainian collaborative pianist Elena Levina was born into a musical family. Her mother is also a pianist, who graduated from the historic Stolyarsky school in Odessa. Ms. Levina has performed throughout Europe and the United States. Her passion for art song began over a decade ago while living in Germany and studying with Jean Efflam-Bavouzet at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold/Münster. She also received a masters degree in chamber music and art songs at the Hochschule für Musik Trossingen in the Black Forest. While living in Europe, she co-founded AlpenKammerMusik, a chamber music festival in the Austrian Alps where she served as its co-director. It was at this festival that she established its unique vocal program where singers and instrumentalists work closely together, learning and performing unique repertoire not regularly heard in concert. Elena received her masters degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying under Tim Bach. In the past 10 years she has been a part of many local ensembles including Bella Sorella (an award-winning soprano ensemble), Camerata Sospiro and the Ives Trio. She has served as a judge for the National Federation of Music Clubs and has been a frequent collaborative pianist for numerous competitions, festivals and concert series. She is currently based out of Redwood City where she maintains a private piano studio and is a proud mother of two.
Grace Fisher, Composer
In 2014 during her senior year of High School, Grace Fisher’s spine was ravaged by a virus leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. In the days following, she was diagnosed with Acute Flaccid Myelitis and sent to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver, CO. There she was introduced to music therapy and adaptive art. This not only helped strengthen her neck, but also helped heal her mind and soul. Nearly 8 months after her arrival home she was approached by Make A Wish foundation in Santa Barbara, CA. Grace’s wish before she turned 18 was to help other children with disabilities through art and music. This is her way to pay it forward and she is eternally grateful to the people of the Make a Wish Foundation and the teamwork at Santa Barbara Foundation to make her dream a reality. To learn more visit https://yoocanfind.com/Story/835/a-road-less-traveled
Nicole Adler, Activist
I am 24 years old and I attend community college at the College of San Mateo. I graduated with a high school diploma in 2014 and received a Certificate of Specialization in Communication Studies in 2019. I am currently working towards my Associates Degree in Communications and Political Science. While attending college I am a member of the California Disability Commission appointed by Governor Jerry Brown since 2014. I still am an active participate until recently I resigned to accept one of Governor Brown’s last appointments to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities as a council member. I am looking forward to serving my community. I am also a member of the Redwood City Women’s club where I volunteer my time in the community. One of my dreams is to end the R word. Not only do I want to ban the R word, I also advocate for all people with differences, not just Down Syndrome. During my free time I enjoy traveling, writing poetry and spending time with friends and family.
Artivism Board of Directors
Edwin Outwater
Edwin Outwater is a visionary conductor who is reinventing the concert experience with major orchestras and institutions throughout the world. Equally adept at interpreting canonical masterworks, premiering new commissions, and connecting audiences with repertoire beyond the mainstream, he is, in the words of Michael Tilson Thomas, “one of the most innovate conductors on the scene today.”
Outwater’s recent projects include “Sound Health,” a collaboration with soprano Renée Fleming, The Kennedy Center, and the National Institutes of Health, as well as a jazz version of Mussorgsky’s /PicturesatanExhibition,/w ithWyntonMarsalis,theJazzatLincolnCenter Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony. He also appeared with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall in a concert for families featuring a world premiere of composer Caroline Shaw, narrated by actor John Lithgow.
A long association with the San Francisco Symphony continues this season with S&M2, a collaboration with Metallica and the opening performance at San Francisco’s new Chase Center arena.
Stephen Buck
As an arranger and program designer, Stephen Buck has played an important role in some of the most innovative, entertaining, and stimulating concert experiences today. He has worked with actor Bill Murray, cellist Jan Vogler, violinist Mira Wang and pianist Vanessa Perez in New Worlds; baritone Thomas Hampson and pianist Lara Downes in the Beyond Liberty project; pianist Hélène Grimaud; and violinist Daniel Röhn in the musical exploration Roaring 20’s. His arrangements have been performed on the most important stages in the United States, and through 2018-19 will be brought to audiences in Iceland, Scotland, Germany, Greece, New Zealand and Australia. His work also appeared on CBS Sunday Morning and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Stephen draws on his ongoing experience as a pianist, chamber musician, and pedagogue in finding ways to help other musicians create and refine concert experiences. He is a tremendous supporter of new music, and is currently working on a solo program featuring the complete piano works of composer Huang Ruo, highlighted with pieces by Schubert, Liszt, and Bach.
Stephen made his Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall debut through Artists International in New York, and serves on the academic faculty of the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. Dr. Buck received a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, studying with Anton Nel, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 1995, where he studied with Ann Schein at Peabody Conservatory.
Laura Dahl
Pianist Laura Dahl is an active international performer and educator, appearing in venues including Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall and Stern Grove Festival, Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University, the Carmel Bach Festival, and the Henley Festival in Great Britain. A specialist in collaborative performance and chamber music, Dahl is the founder and artistic director of Music by the Mountain, a chamber music festival in northern California, and the A. Jess Shenson Recital Series at Stanford University. Dahl is a member of the music faculty at Stanford University, where she teaches collaborative and solo piano, chamber music, art song interpretation, and diction. The first musician to be named a German Chancellor’s Scholar of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), Dahl holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Michigan School of Music.