Winters School of Music will present a recital by Accento Trio on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. in the recital hall of Thomas Fine Arts Building on the William Carey University campus. The program will feature selections for soprano, flute, and piano, from Accento Trio’s upcoming CD project. They will perform works by J.S. Bach, Franz Schubert, Léo Delibes, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and others.
The Accento Trio is a flute-voice-piano ensemble with flutist Danilo Mezzadri, soprano Susan Ruggiero, and pianist Elizabeth Moak. The group is based at The University of Southern Mississippi and gives concerts around the United States and abroad. Since its inaugural performance in 2007, the Accento Trio has performed in national and international venues such as the Natchez Opera Festival, Blue Lake Fine Arts Festival, FestivalSouth, la Scuola Musicale di Milano, and la Sala San Tommaso del Palazzo Boncompagni in Italy. Accento Trio offers an extensive variety of repertoire ranging from Baroque music to American Broadway.
Soprano Susan Ruggiero is an active performer and educator based in Hattiesburg. She is the recipient of several prestigious opera awards including: Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year Competition, Mozart Award in the National Orpheus Vocal Competition, and district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has performed roles with New Orleans Opera, Natchez Opera, Mississippi Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera South, Wildwood Opera, Blue Lake Opera, and Opéra Louisiane. In addition to her performing activities, Ruggiero teaches voice and theory at The University of Southern Mississippi, and flute and voice at William Carey University. Ruggiero holds a double master’s degree in voice and flute performance from the University of Michigan, and a DMA from Louisiana State University.
Pianist Elizabeth Moak has performed throughout the United States and internationally. Winner of the Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition, Moak holds the Diplôme de Virtuosité from the Neuchâtel Conservatory (Switzerland). In addition to honors for her solo playing, Moak has been recognized for her collaborative work by the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University and the Music Academy of the West (California). Moak is currently on the USM faculty and previously was selected for a Teaching Fellow at Peabody Conservatory, and received the “Outstanding Young Faculty” Award from Millsaps College.
Danilo Mezzadri is associate professor of flute at The University of Southern Mississippi and principal flute at Gulf Coast and North Mississippi Symphony Orchestras. He is founding member of CATEGORY5 quintet, Quarteto Brasilis and Accento Trio. Mezzadri has appeared as a soloist with more than 35 ensembles including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Pró-Música Symphony Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro. He has won several competitions, such as the International Porto Alegre Symphonic Orchestra Young Instrumentalist and the Brazilian International Flute Association Young Artist. Mezzadri earned undergraduate degrees in flute performance at EMBAB and law at UFPR (Brazil). He earned a Master of Music, Master of Musicology, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Michigan State University.