Bach Birthday Celebration Performers

Violinist Paul Primus grew up in the Chicago and Cleveland areas, before attending Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in music from UWM. Paul won an audition with the Denver Symphony in 1984, and was promoted to Principal Second Violinist in 1985, the position he still holds. He coordinated the chamber music program at Denver School of the Arts from 2013-2018. Paul is a founding member of the Colorado Chamber Players, which he and his wife Barbara Hamilton began in 1993. He performs approximately 30 concerts a year with the CCP, and can be heard frequently on Colorado Public Radio. Mr. Primus has performed numerous unaccompanied violin recitals over the years, most memorably one of the complete Paganini Caprices in 1986. Paul is an active teacher in the Denver area and has also taught and performed at Eastern Music Festival, Rocky Ridge, and the Lamont Pre-College Academy at DU. He is a frequent coach for the DYAO. As a harpsichordist, Paul has attended the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Oberlin Baroque Institute, and has studied with Charlotte Neidiger, Frank Nowell, Joe Gascho, and currently studies with Robert Hill at CU/Boulder School of Music. He performs on a double manual French model.

Barbara is currently Artistic Director and Violinist/Violist with the Colorado Chamber Players, a position she has held for 29 years. She served as principal violist with the Eastern Music Festival from 1990-2005. Barbara has played as principal violist and soloist with the Colorado Symphony, the Orquesta Ciudad de Barcelona, and the Orquesta de Valencia (Spain). She was a member of the New York Philharmonic for one season. Dr. Hamilton received the DMA from Yale School of Music in 1992, where she completed a dissertation on the Alexander Technique and studied with Jesse Levine. She was a prize winner in the Fischoff, Aspen Festival and Woolsey Hall Competitions, as well as the Young Artists of YM-YWHA (New Jersey). For the past eight years, Barbara has explored the study and performance of the Baroque, including performances at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. She is fascinated by period instruments. Barbara has studied Baroque Violin/Viola, Viola d’Amore and performance practice with Thomas Georgi, Brandon Chui, Stefano Marcocchi, Marilyn McDonald, Peter Harvey, Jeanne Lamon, Ivars Taurins, Robert Mealy and Cynthia Roberts. She plays on a Martin Biller Viola d’amore and a Blaurock baroque viola.

Sarah Biber has played viola da gamba and cello across the United States, Australia and China. In recent collaborations with dance, she has been featured with the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing solo Bach for the company’s first performance with period instruments. Ms. Biber earned her doctorate from Stony Brook University after double-degree studies at Oberlin Conservatory and College and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She recently relocated to Golden, Colorado where she teaches and plays with the Baroque Orchestra of Colorado, Colorado Bach Ensemble and Byrd on a Wire, her viol consort. Sarah plays an 1815 Lockey Hill cello and a 2015 gamba by François Danger. She enjoys playing both Baroque and Modern styles. A Colorado native, she has been delighted to be a part of the growth of Early Music in this beautiful state. Sarah has performed with the Colorado Chamber Players since 2019.

Miriam Kapner’s oboe playing has been described by the New York Times as “a sensitive exploration of the oboe’s singing character and its technical armory”. She has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Opera, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Symphony Silicon Valley, and Ballet San Jose. She is a member of the Colorado Bach Ensemble and Principal of Colorado Pro Musica. Ms. Kapner has been heard on NPR as part of Studio 360, discussing the art of oboe reed making. Her writing has been published by the National Library of Poetry, in the International Double Reed Society Journal, and online in various arts webzines. Ms. Kapner is the oboe instructor at Regis University in Denver. She recently founded a house concert series called Small Batch Concerts. Additionally, she composed the score for a documentary short subject film, entitled Out of the Darkness, about the musicians who played for first responders in the weeks and months following 9/11. She was also the Executive Producer of this film, which was screened at four different film festivals last year. B.M. degree from New England Conservatory, M.M. from Manhattan School of Music.

Praised for her “darkly pretty voice,” mezzo-soprano Rebecca L. Robinson is quickly making a name for herself as a rising talent in the opera world. She recently completed the Professional Certificate program at the University of Colorado–Boulder where she was seen in Eklund Opera productions as the title role in Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella), Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, as well as in recital with the world-renowned Takács Quartet. She was awarded 3rd place in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild competition in 2016, and named a finalist in the Bruce Ekstrand Competition, which recognizes and awards development grants to promising graduate students. After two busy and successful years at CU, Rebecca decided to call these mountains home and is now based in Denver, CO. No stranger to concert work, Rebecca recently made her debuts with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Bellingham Festival of Music (Bellingham, WA), and with Guillermo Figueroa and the Lynn Philharmonia (Boca Raton, FL). She has been seen locally with Central City Opera, the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, the Colorado Bach Ensemble, and as a soloist with the Colorado Masterworks Chorale. She is also active in recital, performing in communities throughout the U.S.