Music in the City is a monthly music series presenting live performances of classical and traditional Mississippi artists. This month, we are pleased to feature Danilo Mezzadri, flute; Susan Ruggiero, soprano; and Dr. Michael Bunchman, piano. 

Music in the City is generously sponsored by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral. 

Dr. Michael Bunchman: Pianist Dr. Michael Bunchman maintains a fulfilling schedule as a collaborative pianist with both singers and instrumentalists throughout the United States.  He is currently on faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi as the director of the Collaborative Piano Program, where he is honored to coach, teach and guide the next generation of collaborative pianists in both vocal and instrumental repertoire.  He has given masterclasses at such institutions as Arizona State University, University of Texas at Austin,  Texas Christian University, Illinois State University, Troy and the University of Albany to name a few.  Prior to working at the University of Southern Mississippi, Dr. Bunchman served as coordinator of Collaborative Piano at Truman State University from 2015 to 2017. Dr. Bunchman maintains an active performance schedule outside of his work in academia.  He has performed collaborative recitals with members of the Atlanta Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony and soloist from the Metropolitan Opera.  He has spent five seasons as a principal coach and collaborative pianist at the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater, as well as appointments with the Natchez Festival of Music and Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra. His many collaborations with opera companies also include Santa Barbara Opera, Opera Saratoga, the Princeton Festival and El Paso Opera.  Active as a concerto soloist, Dr. Bunchman has performed with the Ridgefield Symphony, the Breckenridge Music Festival, the Antara Ensemble in New York City, the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra and the National Repertory Orchestra. He and wife, singer Jessica Medoff, have been invited to opera houses and theaters nationwide to perform their highly acclaimed cabaret show ‘The Truth About Love…and the Usual Lies.” In the summer of 2017 Dr. Bunchman had the honor to be counted among the amazingly diverse and talented group of artists of A Prairie Home Companion, hosted by Garrison Keillor, on their multi-city European cruise.  In addition, Dr. Bunchman has served as the Director of Music and Collaborative Piano at the International Performing Arts institute in Bavaria, Germany since 2018.  This is an intensive three week festival for collaborative pianists and singers. Dr. Bunchman holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Peabody Conservatory, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano Performance from the University of Texas at Austin.  He spent three summers at the prestigious Aspen Music Festival.  His teachers have included Anne Epperson, Rick Rowley, Marian Hahn, Joseph Kalichstein, Antoinette Perry, Adrienne Sielaff and Doris Pridonoff-Lehnert.

Danilo Mezzadri: Danilo Mezzadri is Professor of Flute at the University of Southern Mississippi. Hi is also applied faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (MI) and InterHarmony International School of Music. Danilo is president and founder of International Flute Workshop (Italy) and Southern Flute Festival (MS). Danilo performances have been reviewed as “gorgeous” (Flute Quarterly and Detroit Press) “with a limpid sound, and coaxing every ounce of lyricism” (Jackson Patriot). His CD Brazilian Soundscapes, was regarded as “music of a high order that deserves a welcome from a global audience” (The American Record Guide). In his solo CD Epigrams, Danilo is described as having “glowing, golden tone” and “vivid musicality bringing each work to life, regardless of tonality” (Fanfarre Magazine). He also was described as having “a lovely ‘voice’ with and enviable dexterity” (British Flute Society). In his most recent CD, entitled Romantic Transcriptions, Danilo has been praised for his “large range of colors, dynamics, and emotions” (Flute Quarterly). Considered one of the “great names in Brazilian Music” (Gazeta do Povo), Danilo is prize winner in many competitions, such as the International Porto Alegre Symphonic Orchestra Young Instrumentalist Competition, Michigan State University Honors Concerto Competition, and the Brazilian International Flute Association Competition. His performances have been broadcast by Rede Vida Television in Brazil and by National Public Radio in the US. Danilo Mezzadri has appeared as a soloist with more than forty ensembles, including Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Pró-Música Symphony Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro, and Camerata Florianópolis. Upcoming performances include the North American Premiere of Magical Concerto by the Italian composer Armando Guidoni and the World Premiere of a new flute concerto by the Spanish composer Jose Ignacio Blesa Lull. Besides being Principal Flute Soloist at Gulf Coast and North Mississippi Symphony Orchestras, Danilo performs with Accento Trio, with soprano Susan Ruggiero and pianist Elizabeth Moak. A sought-after artist, Danilo Mezzadri has annually served as a guest teacher and soloist throughout the Americas and Europe. Danilo Mezzadri is the creator of the Spider Log interleaved practice system with graphic feedback. Through his system, Danilo has helped many young musicians develop repertoire and technical mastery on their instrument. Danilo Mezzadri earned his Bachelors degree at Escola de Música e Belas Arts do Paraná where he received the First Prize Award in his graduation class. He also earned a Bachelors in Public Law from the prestigious Universidade Federal do Paraná. He earned a Master of Music in flute performance, Master of Musicology, and Doctor of Musical Arts in flute performance from Michigan State University.

Susan Ruggiero: Soprano Susan Ruggiero is an active performer and educator based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She has been described as having a voice that is “stunning and pure”—State News, East Lansing, Michigan. Ms. Ruggiero has performed as a principal artist with New Orleans Opera, Natchez Festival Opera, Shreveport Opera, Mississippi Opera, Opera South, Blue Lake Opera, Wildwood Opera Theatre, Kentucky Opera, and Opéra Louisiane. She has sung the roles of Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario, Pamina and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief, Frasquita in Carmen, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Laurette in Le docteur Miracle, Amor in Orfeo ed Euridice, Elizetta in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Cupid in Orpheus and the Underworld, Despina in Così fan tutte, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Siebel in Faust, Musetta and Mimi in La Bohème, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Little Red Riding Hood in Little Red Riding Hood, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, and Serafina in Donizetti’s Il campanello di note among others. Ms. Ruggiero is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. She is a two time Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions District Winner, First Place Award Winner in Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year Competition, the Mozart Award in the National Orpheus Vocal Competition, Third Place Award Winner in Mobile Opera’s Scholarship Competition, Finalist in the Palm Beach Opera Advanced Division Vocal Competition, the recipient of a University of Michigan School of Music Fellowship, The Joseph Frank Spada Award in the Connecticut Opera Guild Young Artists’ Scholarship Competition, Tanglewood Vocal Fellowship, Resident Artist with Natchez Opera Festival, Marie Mountain Clark Scholarship, the Budres Foundation Award from Michigan State University School of Music, and a teaching assistantship and doctoral enhancement award from Louisiana State University. An active recitalist, Ruggiero performs regularly both as a soloist and a chamber musician. With Accento Trio, a group she founded with flutist Danilo Mezzadri and pianist Elizabeth Moak, she has performed concerts at Scuola Musicale di Milano and Sala San Tommaso del Palazzo Boncompagni-Roccasecca in Italy, The Natchez Music Festival, FestivalSouth, and many other venues throughout the United States. As a concert soloist Ms. Ruggiero has performed with the Festival Orchestra at Festival Música nas Montanhas in Poços de Caldas, Brazil, the Universidade Federal do Paraná, Escola de Música et Belas-Artes do Paraná, and the City Public Library in Curitiba, Brazil. Additionally, Ms. Ruggiero soloed with the PUCPR (Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná) Orchestra performing Mendelssohn’s Salve Regina for a nationally televised broadcast concert, and she performed the Mozart Alleluia with Videira Civic Band (Santa Catarina, Brazil). In the U.S., she has performed as a soloist in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde with New Orleans Opera, Handel’s Messiah with the Shoals Symphony at UNA in Florence, AL, J.S. Bach’s Coffee Cantata with Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise and Haydn The Creation with William Carey University’s choirs and orchestra, Bach’s Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten (Wedding Cantata) at the University of Southern Mississippi, Orff’s Carmina Burana with Blue Lake International Choir and Symphony, and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Meistersingers of Hattiesburg, MS. Additionally, Ruggiero performed a unique one-woman show called Home Sweet Home, homage to Adelina Patti based on the life of the world-famous 19-century opera singer Adelina Patti. She has performed this program for Mississippi Opera and the Natchez Music Festival.  Dr. Ruggiero is an Assistant Professor of Music at William Carey University where she teaches applied voice, applied flute, music theory and directs the operas. In the summers she escapes the Mississippi heat and teaches with the faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from Louisiana State University, a double Master of Music in Voice and Flute Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Michigan State University. Susan enjoys power walks, yoga, cooking, eating dark chocolate, and spending time with her husband Danilo and their two children Giuseppe and Gabriella.