Dr. Carl Donakowski

Carl Donakowski pursues a international career in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Early in his career he was a finalist in the Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin. Since then, his recital performances have been enjoyed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Merkin Hall in New York City; and aired on WQRS Detroit, WQXR New York, and Südwestfunk Baden- Baden. He has performed at the Manitou, Fontana, Staunton, Tanglewood, Blue Lake, and Beethoven music festivals. Mr. Donakowski has performed on four continents, most recently (2017) in Guangzhou, China. As a member of the Arcos Trio, he was awarded an Artistic Excellence grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to perform and record piano trios by Latin American composers on the Centaur label. Of his performances at the Fontana Festival a reviewer wrote “Cellist Carl Donakowski is ideally suited to perform these romantic works. His tone is rich in resonance and passionate in approach, displaying the big sound that could sustain a charming longing.”

Donakowski is Professor of Music (Cello and Chamber music) at the James Madison University School of Music in Harrisonburg, VA where he received the distinguished teaching award. For over a decade he was Artist-in-Residence at the Bay View Music Festival. He has served on the faculties of Central Michigan University School of Music and Alma College. He is a frequent presenter at the American String Teachers Association national conference and a contributor to American String Teacher. He served as president of the Michiana Cello Society and currently edits the Cello Forum for the Virginia String Teachers Association. Donakowski was a student of Janos Starker at Indiana University. He also studied with Timothy Eddy Gary Hoffman and William Pleeth. 

Dr. Gabriel Dobner

Gabriel Dobner has recorded for Ottavo, MDG and Hänssler Klassik Profil. His first recording for MDG, consisting of songs of Liszt, Dvorák and Mahler with mezzo-soprano Cornelia Kallisch, won high praise from BBC Music Magazine, Fono Forum and the West German Radio in Cologne, who referred to Mr. Dobner as a “master among collaborative pianists”. Mr. Dobner’s first recording with Metropolitan Opera star, Gerhard Siegel was released in the fall of 2015 for Haenssler Klassik Profil, a program featuring songs of Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg and Kurt Hessenberg.  Mr. Dobner’s latest recording with Baritone Laurence Gien was completed in early fall, 2016 and will be used for a feature film focusing on Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle. Gabriel Dobner has also recorded extensively for radio broadcasts, including those for Saint Paul Sunday, the Bayrischer Rundfunk, Südwestfunk, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk and the Chubo-Nippon Broadcasting Company in Japan.

Gabriel Dobner first appeared in concert in Europe in 1991 as part of the Villa Musica Chamber Music Festival in Mainz, Germany. 1993 marked the beginning of his nine years in Germany, after having been awarded a German Academic Exchange Scholarship (DAAD) to study Lied accompanying in Munich with Helmut Deutsch. The following year he won the special collaborative pianist’s prize in the International Hans Pfitzner Lieder Competition held in Munich.

While living in Augsburg, Mr. Dobner quickly established himself as a successful collaborative pianist performing regularly with such notable singers as Cornelia Kallisch, Gerhard Siegel, René Kollo, Christiane Oelze, Alexandra Petersamer and Kevin McMillan. He has also performed with instrumentalists such as Lawrence Dutton (Emerson Quartet), Allan Vogel (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra), Ulf Rodenhäuser (formerly of the Berlin Philharmonic), Eugenia Zukerman, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Nancy Ambrose King and Paul Ellison. In addition, Mr. Dobner performs regularly (including an appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.) with pianist Lori Piitz as part of a piano duo team. These musical collaborations have led to performances in many of the major concert venues throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.

Mr. Dobner received his Bachelors Degree in piano performance from Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, where he studied with Ludmila Lazar. He then went on to Indiana University in Bloomington to earn his Masters Degree with James Tocco, as well as his Doctoral Degree with Leonard Hokanson.

Gabriel Dobner joined the faculty at James Madison University in the fall of 2001. Previous teaching engagements include Indiana University and the Nürnberg/Augsburg Hochschule für Musik in Germany.