Hailed by Wynton Marsalis as “a remarkable virtuoso, a consummate artist,” Judith Lynn Stillman is the Artist-in-Residence and a Professor of Music at Rhode Island College. Dr. Stillman received Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, where she won the concerto competition and was awarded the Dethier Prize for Outstanding Pianist. Winner of 18 competitions including First Prize in the International Opera Vision/ Opera Harmony Quarantine Competition as composer, music director, and pianist for her mini-opera starring Grammy-Winner Will Liverman, Stillman has performed at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide, including at Marlboro, Tanglewood, Grand Teton, Cactus Pear, Lancaster, Mostly Mozart, Yale at Norfolk festivals, international festivals in France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Costa Rica, conservatories in Russia, China (Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing), Scotland (Royal Conservatoire), and the Czech Republic (Prague Conservatory), where she served as visiting guest artist, Carnegie Hall, world premieres at Avery Fisher/David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, at the GRAMMY’s celebration for Rostropovich, the Academy Awards Uniting Nations, guest artist with the Borromeo, Cassatt, Shanghai, Muir, and Lydian String Quartets, The Beach Boys, Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater, featured artist with Herbie Hancock on a Bose commercial, and collaborations with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lincoln Center Chamber Players. Her duet album with Wynton Marsalis on Sony Classical was on the Billboard Top Ten. She has recorded on North Star Music, Naxos, Sony, and Classics for Kids. Stillman has served as musical director for events at Trinity Rep, The Gamm Theatre (Amadeus), Bridgewater State University (Urinetown, Cabaret, etc.), Rhode Island College (Cry Baby and bi-annual cabarets), San Diego Rep, La Jolla Country Day Theatre (Les Mis, Working), All Children’s Theatre (Annie, Oliver!, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever), Academy Players (My Fair Lady), Classical High School (Wicked, A Chorus Line), Operafestival di Roma in Rome and Verona, Italy, arranger for Wichita Rep Theatre (Amadeus). Stillman’s compositions have been premiered by Will Liverman of the Metropolitan Opera, featured at the Czech Embassy, Cactus Pear Festival, Sandpoint Festival, Lancaster Festival, etc. She was named Honored Artist of The American Prize in piano and composition, Creative Services Industry Leader by PBN, and was an inaugural Pell Award Winner for Excellence in the Arts. As a first Pell Award winner, Stillman performed a special solo piano tribute for Tina Fey and Kelli O’Hara at the awards ceremony in 2025. At RIC, Stillman received the Thorp Award for Outstanding Creative and Scholarly Activity, the Faculty Award from RIC Alumni Services, and the Maixner Award for Outstanding Teaching. In 2024, Stillman’s play-within-a concert® format received official trademark status from the US Trademark and Patent Office. Some of her play-within-a-concert® productions include Dvorak: A Bohemian Rhapsody, April in Paris with Poulenc, Music, Mystery, and Madness, Women Trailblazers in Music and Mozart’s Musical Mystery Tour. Visit judithlynnstillman.com.
Tony Estrella has been the Artistic Director of The Gamm Theatre for 20 seasons. He is an actor, director and writer and has appeared on many area stages including The Gamm, Huntington Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare and the Trinity Repertory Company. His Film/TV credits include appearances in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and The Good House. Since his first show with The Gamm Theatre (Antony & Cleopatra), he has appeared in or directed more than 70 productions. His favorite roles include Frank in Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, George in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Shannon in The Night of the Iguana, Hamlet in Hamlet, Moe Axelrod in Awake and Sing!, Valere in La Bete, Katurian in The Pillowman, Teach in American Buffalo, and Vanya in Uncle Vanya. Directorial highlights include Hangmen, Bad Jews, Describe the Night, Assassins, JQA, True West, Festen, Sara Kane’s 4:48 Psychosis, A Streetcar Named Desire, Red, and the U.S. premieres of Howard Brenton’s Paul and Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch. Tony has written several works for The Gamm stage including A Lie Agreed Upon (2021), and adaptations of Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler, and Barry Unsworth’s acclaimed novel Morality Play. In addition to The Gamm, he has appeared on numerous regional stages. He most recently appeared in Joshua Harmon’s A Prayer for the French Republic at The Huntington Theatre in Boston. e is a recipient of the Claiborne Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts and is both a graduate and long-time faculty member of the University of Rhode Island’s theatre department.
Tony Estrella and Judith Lynn Stillman have collaborated on various projects including Amadeus at the Gamm Theatre (with Tony Estrella, Director, and Judith Lynn Stillman, Music Director, pianist, and score designer), and Stillman’s Beethoven: Torment and Triumph, a play-within-a-concert®, in which Estrella played the role of Ludwig van Beethoven. Plans are in the works to reprise the production in 2027 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death.
Hailed by John Williams as “an outstanding cellist and truly dedicated artist”, cellist Emmanuel Feldman is known for his intense soulful playing and vibrant career working as a soloist, chamber musician, composer, and inventor. Using his invention, the TekStand™, his concerto “Standing Tall” won the silver medal at the 2022 Global Music Awards. Co-founder of Cello e Basso with bassist Pascale Delache-Feldman, they were called “a musical Lewis and Clark” by NPR. He has performed with the Boston Symphony, Elmar Oliveira, Robert Levin, Jupiter Quartet, and pop artist Bobby McFerrin. Gramophone described his playing on “Our American Roots” with Joy Cline Phinney pianist (Delos) as “an artist who combines communicative urgency with tonal splendor”. Feldman performs worldwide at venues including the Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, teaches at Tufts University and was a guest artist at the Celebrity Series Boston, Phillips Collection, Manhattan School, Heifetz and International Cello Institutes and the University of Taipei.
Gregory Vitale is the concertmaster of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, which is led by conductor Benjamin Zander, and he has a long history with Zander, having played in his youth orchestra over four decades ago. He has also served as concertmaster of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, where he has been a featured soloist, and is frequently engaged to perform with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Vitale won numerous competitions in his youth, including first prize in the New England Conservatory Solo Competition and was a semifinalist in the ARTS Competition. A sought-after chamber musician and orchestral player, he has performed with the Boston Pops at Tanglewood and is a member of both the LiveARTS String Quartet and the Triptych String Trio, contributing searing solos in Mahler performances. Gregory attended The Wharton School and Phillips Exeter Academy, bringing a diverse background to his musical career.