Honoring the Pursuit of Perfection

DR. WALTER BUSSE has been a professional musician since the age of 14. Awarded a full scholarship to Berklee, he earned degrees in Music Education and Electronic Music. Invited to teach music technology, film scoring and engineering at UM where he completed a Masters in Media Writing & Production and a Ph.D. in Education, his career spans four decades and a wide array of disciplines. As an educator, performer, composer, producer, and arts administrator, he taught music, computers, and math for 35+ years at of Miami’s top schools. Directing over 30 musicals, he led tours to Italy, France, Israel, Ireland, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and NYC. His groups appeared at Carnegie Hall and he led two Easter Masses at the Vatican. He’s recorded 1,000+ projects as producer, composer, arranger, engineer, and/or performer. He stays active as church music director, gigging musician, piano tuner, and ASCAP investigator under Busse Music Enterprises, Inc.

KATHERINE DRISCOLL began her piano studies at age 6. She holds Masters and Doctoral degrees in piano from Indiana University. She has taught at Indiana University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Miami Dade College, and for 30 years, in Miami-Dade Public Schools.

ERIC FIRESTONE, Born and raised in Miami, Eric attributes his music career as life-saving. Growing up in Miami, he attended Coral Reef Senior High and then the University of Miami, as a vocalist and pianist. Receiving his Bachelor of Music Education with a minor in Music Theory and Composition, he has devoted his life to creating the same experiences for students for the last 19 years. His choral programs were sought out by residents, earning superior ratings, first place trophies, honorable mentions and Best in Competition as choirs and solo singers. He is currently the Director of the Chancel Choir at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Pinecrest. He is a sought after conductor and adjudicator around Florida. He is happily married to rock star performer, teacher and amazing person, Anjane Girwarr. Recently he opened a branch for his real estate brokerage, Avanti Way Realty. Still wanting to stay connected with the music community of Miami, he is beginning a new position as Executive Director of Magic City Opera.

RAFAEL DE GUZMAN first started singing and acting in public at the age of 9, as a member of the children’s chorus of the Metropolitan Opera’s Touring Company in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He studied voice under Maria Justina Pereira de Aldrey. He has performed on stage, television and nightclubs in San Juan, Boston, and New York. His Broadway Theatre credits include lead roles in Musical Comedies: Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Oliver, On A Clear Day, Fiorello, The Roar of the Greasepaint The Smell of the Crowd, 1776, The Rothschilds, Applause, Man of La Mancha and in numerous Zarzuelas and Operettas.

CHIE HOBAN was born in Seoul, Korea. Due to her father’s work with he Korean Reserve Bank, the family was transferred to Tokyo, Japan where she attended school from 9th grade to 12th grade, when she transferred with a student visa to Miami. She graduated from Miami Norland Senior High and Barry University, received her MSM from FIU, and became a CPA. She studied piano from age 5 through college. She plays the piano as a church accompanist. And sang with various choruses all throughout her school years, and beyond. She sings with the Greater Miami Civic Chorale, University of Miami Collegium, and the Jewish Chorus. Chie has also had bit parts in several local operas.

DR. ERYNN M.MILLARD, a recent arrival to South Florida, is the Director of Choral Activities at Florida International University at the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music and Performing Arts. She received her Bachelor of Vocal Music and Masters in Secondary Music Education from Old Dominion University. Prior to coming to FIU, she was Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State in Moorhead. Before she received her doctorate, she taught elementary, middle and high school choral music for ten years in the Newport News Public Schools. Her choral ensembles earned top ratings at local, regional and national events and represented their schools in local and statewide honor choirs. She also performs with The Festival Singers of Florida under the direction of Kevin Fenton. Dr. Millard is in frequent demand as an adjudicator with numerous Festivals of Music.

WILLIAM “BILL” QUESENBERRY has been a musician since the age of 6, conducting a rhythm band.  He began playing trumpet in 5th grade and played all through Senior High at Coral Gables.  His choral career began when he joined the chapel choir in college because there was no band.  Since 1997 he’s been singing in various church choirs, as well as the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami.  He’s performed in the Berkshire Choral Festival, in Vancouver and Prague, Czech Republic.  In 2012 he joined the Second Avenue Jewish Chorale, performing in the Jewish Choral Festival in the Catskills for two seasons.  For the past five years, he has been singing with the professional High Holy Day ensemble at Temple Bet Shira.  Bill is a native Miamian, and lives in Coral Gables.

KEVIN RUTLEDGE, a native of Miami, is a graduate of Howard University in Washington DC, with a Bachelor of Music Education, and the University of Miami with a Master of Music in the Business and Entertainment Industry.  He is an accomplished vocalist, pianist and choral technical and director.  In the early 1980’s he interned at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown.  He served as Lead Teacher of the Performing and Visual Arts Center (PAVAC) as well as Fine Arts Department Chairman at Miami Northwestern SHS from 2004 to 2008.  Since 2008 hye has been the Music Teacher at Benjamin Franklin K-8 Center.  He has been honored as Teacher of the Year at three different schools.  Since 2016 he is the Music Director for Universal Truth Center in Miami Gardens.

ANDRES TRUJILLO began his musical studies at age five.  In 1972 he enrolled at the Escuela Provincial de Artes, receiving violin lessons from renowned Russian Professor Emil Chalbach.  In 1979, he resumed his studies in Caracas, at the Emil Friedman Music School and became the orchestra’s concert master.  He received his degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela.  Andres participated in multiple national and international festivals;  the Antonio Vivaldi Violin Festival in Venezuela and Radio France Music Festival in Montpelier.  He lives in Miami with his wife Darlene and is co-founder of the Trujillo Academy of Music.

DARLENE TRUJILLO began her piano studies at the age of five, at the Conservatory of Music “Guillermo Tomas” with Hortensia Upmann.  Exiled to Venezuela, she continued her training with Professor Daniel Bernard at the “Emil Friedman” School of Music and under Mrs. Geomar Narvaez at the Conservatory “Juan Jose Landaeta”.  She took advanced courses with painist Sadao Muraki.  In Miami she studied at FIU with the renowned pianists Miguel Salvador and Kemal Gekic.  Darlene and Andres both perform concerts of classical repertoire as well as Cuban and Latin-American art songs and dances, and previously taught music at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School.