CCM music ensembles feature guests, student artists in weekend concerts

Annunziata Tomaro has built a distinguished international career as a conductor and educator, moving fluidly between symphonic, operatic, and contemporary music. Her work began in the United States, where she established herself as a conductor, educator, and advocate for new music, and has since taken her to leading orchestras, opera companies, festivals, and universities in the United States, Europe, and Argentina.

Tomaro is currently Director of the Orchestral Conducting Program at the National University of Cuyo (UNCUYO) in Mendoza and Professor of Contemporary Ensemble Conducting at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires. She previously served on the conducting faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she directed the Concert Orchestra, Contemporary Ensemble and the Winter Season Operas. Her teaching and mentorship have also taken her to institutions including the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, where she has taught and given masterclasses.

Her recent conducting engagements include performances with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina, Orquesta Nacional de Música Argentina “Juan de Dios Filiberto,” Orquesta de Cámara de Chile, CityMusic Cleveland, the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and orchestras throughout Argentina. Her international career has included appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano, as well as engagements at the Spoleto Music Festival and the Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca in Italy. At the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, she served as Assistant Conductor of the Orquesta Estable and Head of Stage Music.

A commitment to contemporary music has been a defining thread throughout Tomaro’s artistic career. During her tenure at Cincinnati’s CCM, she conducted world and regional premieres by composers including Kaija Saariaho, Cynthia Wong, and Conrad Susa. Her operatic repertoire encompasses works by Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Britten, Bizet, Stravinsky, Menotti, Weill, and Wolf-Ferrari, alongside a broad range of contemporary works. As founder and music director of The Phoenix Ensemble in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she developed innovative programs and collaborated with artists including composer William Bolcom and choreographer Peter Sparling.

Tomaro’s work has been recognized with numerous honors, including Second Prize at the International Pedrotti Conducting Competition, the Presser Music Award, the Thelma A. Robinson Award from the Conductors Guild, and recognition from the League of American Orchestras. She was a finalist in the Jesús López Cobos International Conducting Competition and a Fulbright Scholar in Berlin, where she pursued postgraduate studies in musicology at Humboldt Universität and furthered her conducting training at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. Her conducting teachers have included Mark Gibson, Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Gunther Schuller, Larry Rachleff, Donald Schleicher, and Jorge Perez-Gomez.

Across her work on the podium and in the classroom, Tomaro is deeply committed to the vitality of musical performance, the development of young conductors, and the exploration of repertoire that connects the traditions of the past with the voices of the present.

Soprano Yujin Zeng is an Artist Diploma candidate in Opera at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). In the 2026–27 season, she will perform the soprano solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and sing Zerbinetta in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos with CCM. During summer 2026, she was a Fellow with the Manetti Shrem Opera Program at Festival Napa Valley, where she covered Odette Kahn in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s The Judgment of Paris.

Her recent operatic credits include Violetta in La Traviata, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Micaëla in Carmen with Regina Opera, as well as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Utah Valley Operafest. Other roles include Musetta in La bohème and Adina in L’elisir d’amore, La Princesse in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges at Manhattan School of Music, Le Rossignol in the same opera at Chautauqua Institution, and Lu Mu-Zhen in Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen at Mannes School of Music.

Zeng holds a Master of Music from Mannes School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from Xinghai Conservatory of Music.

Wayne Bergeron is enjoying a career as one of the most sought-after musicians in the world. Studio sessions, film dates, international touring, jazz concerts, guest appearances, and clinics keep him busy not only in his hometown of Los Angeles, but worldwide.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1958, Bergeron moved to California at age one. He originally began on French horn before switching to trumpet in seventh grade, where he discovered a natural upper register ability. Bergeron credits his junior high and high school teachers, Ron Savitt and Bob Smith, for molding his talent into practical working skills.

Bergeron first caught the ear of many when he landed the lead trumpet chair with Maynard Ferguson’s band in 1986. He can be heard on Maynard’s recordings Body and Soul, Big Bop Nouveau, Brass Attitude, and The One and Only Maynard Ferguson. Bergeron demonstrates daily why Maynard remarked, “Wayne is the most musical lead trumpet player I’ve had in my band.”

As a sideman, Bergeron’s list of recording credits reads like a “who’s who” in contemporary jazz and pop, running the stylistic gamut from Ray Charles to Green Day. Other artists include Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé, Idina Menzel, Leslie Odom Jr., Herb Alpert, The Jonas Brothers, Burt Bacharach, Dirty Loops, Seth MacFarlane, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Seal, Diana Krall, Tito Puente, Christina Aguilera, Dianne Reeves, Michael Bolton, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Pussycat Dolls, My Chemical Romance, The Mars Volta, Chicago, Rosemary Clooney, Diane Schuur, Barry Manilow, Lee Ann Womack, Lou Rawls, Eric Marienthal, Kenny G, and David Benoit.

Bergeron has worked on over 500 TV and motion picture soundtracks. A partial list of film credits includes Moana (2025), Nobody 2, Mario Bros 1 & 2, Toy Story 5, Red Notice, Turning Red, Soul, Bob’s Burgers, Ford vs. Ferrari, Toy Story 4, Frozen 1 & 2, The Lion King (2019), The Secret Life of Pets, Wreck-It Ralph 2, Crazy Rich Asians, Sing 1 & 2, Moana, Frozen 1 & 2, Get On Up, Toy Story 3, Monsters University, High School Musical 3, Get Smart, Superman Returns, The Simpsons Movie, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Mission Impossible 3, Ice Age 2, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Team America, and South Park.

Bergeron’s featured trumpet solos can be heard in Hoppers, Naked Gun 2, Zootopia 2, West Side Story (2021, directed by Steven Spielberg), La La Land, Sing, The Incredibles 1 & 2, Rocky Balboa, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Rough Night, Jazzman’s Blues, Vacation Friends, Ted 2, Minions, Minions 2: The Rise of Gru, Spies in Disguise, Jersey Boys, The Green Hornet, The Interview, Despicable Me 1, 2 & 3, Duplicity, The Princess and the Frog, The Perfect Game, Hey Arnold (The Movie), The Rat Pack, Child Star, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, High Crimes, and many others.

Numerous television credits include the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, NBC, ESPN & TNT sports themes, American Idol (2001–02), Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Animaniacs (Reboot), Big City Greens, Ted, Ted Animated Series, Family Guy, American Dad, The Simpsons, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, The Cleveland Show, Green Eggs and Ham, Jeopardy! (Theme), America’s Funniest Home Videos, Will & Grace, Phineas & Ferb, The Emperor’s New School, Mouse Works, Have a Laugh, House of Mouse, King of the Hill, Futurama, Buzz Lightyear, Hercules, and Hey Arnold.

Bergeron’s greatest love is playing lead trumpet in big bands. He has recorded and performed with some of Los Angeles’ most respected bands and leaders including Gordon Goodwin, Arturo Sandoval, Pat Williams, Sammy Nestico, Jack Sheldon, Chris Walden, Tom Kubis, John La Barbera, Bob Florence, Joey Sellers, Ray Anthony, Bill Watrous, Bob Curnow, and Quincy Jones.

Bergeron is principal trumpet in the newly formed Pacific Jazz Orchestra conducted by Chris Walden. He also performs regularly with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra during the summer season. In addition, Bergeron has made guest appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Taiwan Symphony, and Tokyo Philharmonic.

After working behind the scenes for many years, Bergeron stepped out on his own with his first solo effort, You Call This a Living? This debut project earned him a Grammy nomination in 2004 for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, as well as rave reviews from fans and press worldwide. Bergeron’s second CD, Plays Well With Others (Concord Jazz, 2007), was met with equal acclaim. Bergeron’s most current (and personal favorite) CD, Full Circle, was released in January 2016.

Bergeron is a National Artist for Yamaha Corporation of America and co-designer of the YTR-8335LA trumpet and YFH-8315G flugelhorn. He also designed a series of trumpet mouthpieces with Gary Radtke of GR Technologies, available through Bergeron’s website.

Bergeron was mentored by legends Uan Rasey, Bobby Shew, Warren Luening, Gary Grant, Rick Baptist, and George Graham. He hopes to inspire a new generation of young players and greatly enjoys his work as a clinician and educator. “Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than hearing a young musician say that I inspired them or had a positive influence on their life. For me, that’s the real payday.”

Bergeron is currently on faculty at California State University, Northridge.

Perhaps Grammy-winning composer and bandleader Gordon Goodwin said it best:
“Wayne is a once-in-a-lifetime lead trumpet player.”