Cello Section
Daniel Miller, Principal
– Vera List Chair
Daniel Miller is an active concert, theater, and recording musician. In the New York area he performs with numerous ensembles, including the American Ballet Theater, American Symphony, Glimmerglass Festival, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the New York Pops, for which he is the assistant principal cellist. He has appeared as soloist with the Greenwich Symphony, Little Orchestra Society, New Amsterdam Symphony, Yonkers Philharmonic and at the Mostly Mozart Festival. Mr. Miller has been heard on many Broadway original cast recordings and in concert with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Liza Minelli, Smokey Robinson, Frank Sinatra and James Taylor, among others. He is currently playing the Broadway production of Wicked. A former member of the Orchestra del Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Italy, he is also the cellist with Cuartetango the tango string quartet whose latest album, Masters of the Bandoneon, received two Latin Grammy nominations.
Mary Costanza, Assistant Principal
– Virginia and Richard P. Case Chair
Mary Costanza enjoys a multifaceted career as a teacher, performer and recording artist. She has developed a thriving private studio for students of all ages and currently serves as Instructor of Cello at the Kent School and the Gunnery. Mary is also a teaching artist for the ASAP Inter-district Strings Project with the Waterbury Symphony. She previously served on the music faculty at the Hotchkiss School. Ms. Costanza also performs with other regional ensembles such as the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Berkshire Lyric and the Windham Chamber Music Festival. She played for many years with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and previously performed with the National Orchestra of New York, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Canton Symphony. Her recording of the complete Cello Suites of J.S. Bach (MSR Classics) has received critical acclaim, including Music Web International’s designation as a Recording of the Month. Ms. Costanza holds a B.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music (Case Western Reserve) and a M.M. from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Zara Nelsova.
Bethany Fuscaldo began her career on cello at age nine through the Fairfield, CT public school system. She studied privately with Cheryl Labrecque and Christopher Finckel of the Manhattan String Quartet. Bethany has performed with the Ridgefield, Greater Bridgeport, and Greenwich Symphonies. In addition to her orchestral work, she does freelance solo and chamber music work in the greater New York and Connecticut areas. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Maryland in 2007, where she studied cello privately with Evelyn Elsing (UMD) and Glen Garlick (National Symphony Orchestra), and her Master's degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan in 2013. Bethany has also attended conducting workshops at the Juilliard School and has participated in music festivals in the U.S. and abroad and has presented at the Connecticut and New Jersey State Music Education Conferences. She currently serves as the Greenwich High School Orchestra Director and is responsible for daily instruction of the three orchestral ensembles. She has been teaching in the Greenwich Public Schools since 2007.
Cheryl Labrecque has been a cellist with the Greenwich Symphony since 1990. The opportunity to perform under the leadership of David Gilbert with the superb musicians of the GSO for so many years has been one of Cheryl’s greatest honors. She is a member of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony and performs regularly with the Ridgefield and Wallingford Symphony Orchestras. She performs as a chamber musician in various ensembles in Connecticut, and has been performing with the Silver Bay String Quartet at Lake George during the summers since 2014. Cheryl has spent many summers studying and performing at music festivals including the Tanglewood Institute and the Pierre Monteux School. She began her cello studies with Andrew Salvo, and later studied with Misha Nieland, Alexander Wilson, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Mary Lou Rylands, and Warren Lash. She attended Boston University and the University of Connecticut receiving degrees in both Performance and Music Education. She later completed her Master of Science, Master of Arts, and a 7th year in Music Education. Cheryl is committed to guiding and sharing her love of music with young string players. She has been an orchestra teacher in the Fairfield Public Schools since 1990, a position she greatly enjoys.
Carlo Pellettieri first became interested in music in the fifth grade when he began singing in the boy choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in his native NYC. He later studied at the Eastman School of Music with Steven Doane where he received his Bachelor of Music Degree and at Northern Illinois University with Mark Johnson, cellist of the Vermeer Quartet, for his Master's Degree. Immediately upon graduation he toured Europe as Principal Cello of the New American Chamber Orchestra. He has also toured throughout the U.S. with the New York City Opera National Company. Other groups with which he has performed include the Orchestra of St Lukes, the Martha Graham Dance Company, the New York Oratorio Society, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and the Ridgefield Symphony. He is also active as a Broadway musician and has played in some 30 Broadway shows. As a Chamber music player he is a founding member of the Gainsborogh Trio with which he has traveled throughout the world as group-in-residence aboard the QEII. Carlo is very proud to have been playing with the Greenwich Symphony for 20 years under the superb leadership of Maestro David Gilbert.
Peter Prosser, formerly the cellist of the Royale Trio and winner of the Manogue International and National Arts Club competitions, has had a multifaceted career, working as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher, record producer and conductor. Highlights include recording the Saint-Saens, Lalo and Dvorák concerti for Alabama Public Television, the Haydn D major Concerto for Kentucky Educational Television, producing CDs for the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, making his Broadway conducting debut in 2003 with the production of Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters, and conducting the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra at the Centennial Gala for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Radio and television appearances include The Listening Room and Young Artist Showcase on WQXR (New York), Around New York on WNYC, West Coast Weekend on KQED (San Francisco), the Today show with Bernadette Peters, The View and Good Morning America with Patti LuPone, the Today show (weekend edition) with Eartha Kitt and Saturday Night Live. Having joined the faculty of the Mannes College of Music in 1991 he has also taught at the Aspen Music Festival and the Meadowmount School of Music. His teachers include David Cowley, Bernard Greenhouse, Alan Harris and William Pleeth. Mr. Prosser is also inordinately fond of eating breakfast out.
Evelyn Wadkins is an active performer and ardent supporter of new music. As a young cellist, Evelyn had multiple opportunities to work with and perform music of living composers, including a concerto written for her by Marti Epstein in 1994. Solo appearances include SUNY Fredonia’s Ethos New Music Festival and Composers Now at El Museo del Barrio. Evelyn’s solo playing is featured on the soundtrack of the documentary Memories of a Penitent Heart, composed by Angélica Negròn, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. A co-founder of the new music quintet TRANSIT, Evelyn regularly premieres works by emerging composers. TRANSIT’s album “Corps Exquis” for New Amsterdam Records was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. In addition to her dedication to new music, Evelyn’s eclectic freelance work has included performances at venues across New York City including Le Poisson Rouge, Issue Project Room, Galapagos Art Space, Zankel Hall, Bargemusic, Radio City Music Hall, and for Broadway shows. Orchestral festivals include Lucerne Academy Festival with Pierre Boulez and Pacific Music Festival with Riccardo Muti. Evelyn holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music.
Melissa Westgate joined Greenwich Symphony in 2019. Previously, she has held the position of Principal Cellist of the Ridgefield Symphony and Assistant Principal of the Springfield Symphony (MA). She has been a member of the New Haven Symphony and Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra as well as Principal Cello of the Radio City Music Hall Spring Spectacular. In addition, Melissa has added her talent to several recordings including music for daytime TV’s One Life to Live and A Rockin’ Midsummer Night’s Dream by the 12.14 Foundation. In 2018, Melissa began composing, specializing in chamber music for cello duo and other small ensembles. Her work covers a range of musical styles and is available as sheet music and sound recordings on her website, melissawestgate.comBM. She attended The Hartt School for her Masters of Music and the Manhattan School of Music.