Meet the Artists

José Alejandro Guzman Music Director

Maestro José Alejandro Guzman has been Music Director of the Bronx Symphony Orchestra since 1998.  He was already a part of the Orchestra's 50-year history in his 10-year association from 1976 to 1986, learning and growing with the orchestra.   Eventually, in 1994, he returned to Bronx Symphony for a year as its Associate Conductor and then for a season as its Principal Conductor.  He gained wide experience and acclaim in the intervening time in the choral, symphonic, and operatic fields.  He has been a guest conductor with the Bronx Arts Ensemble, the Riverside Symphony Orchestra, the Bel Canto Opera Company, the Bronx Chamber Orchestra, the New Rochelle Opera Company, and the Brooklyn Heights Orchestra, among many others.

Alex has also been the Artistic and Music Director and Principal Conductor of several groups.  Currently he finds time to be the Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, a professional ensemble that presents a regular concert series, is the performing orchestra for the Regina Opera Company (of which he is the Principal Conductor), and has an ongoing program of performance combining literature, ballet, and classical music in the New York City public schools.  For 10 years, he was the Music Director of the New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble, one of the finest community orchestras in New York City. He will be making his debut this season as guest conductor for the Centre Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Guzmn has conducted the Staten Island Philharmonic since 2005 and has recently been named its music director.

Meliset Abreu

Classical guitarist Meliset Abreu performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician. Active as a performer of both traditional and contemporary repertoire, she is a top prize-winner of competitions such as the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition and the Great Lakes International Competition. Soundboard Magazine has described her playing as “confident, daring, and amazingly accurate.”

Meliset Abreu is a founding member of Stretto (www.stretto.org), a trio of oboe, violin and classical guitar. She has created repertoire for the trio by transcribing the works of composers such as Bach, Schumann, de Falla and Stravinsky.

Meliset has been a soloist for the Performer’s Showcase at Caramoor; the Cuban Cultural Center’s “Cuban Masters” series; the Aranjuez Guitar Strings “New Talent” series; the Friends and Enemies of New Music festival; the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society’s historic “Women and Their Guitars” showcase; and Guitarfest at William Paterson University, among many other engagements. She has given masterclasses at colleges and conservatories throughout the U.S. Her solo and chamber music performances have been broadcast on WNYC’s Around New York and Soundcheck.

Meliset is a graduate of Mannes College of Music, where she studied with Michael Newman. She also studied with Oscar Ghiglia at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. In 1987, she was selected to participate in the Andrés Segovia masterclasses held at Manhattan School of Music, where Maestro Segovia invited her to play for him at the closing recital. She currently teaches privately.

Contemporary Ballet Theatre Pepper, Founder and Artistic Director

Contemporary Ballet Theatre (CBT), established in February 2000, is a South Bronx based multi-ethnic professional dance company which uses classical ballet as a foundation. Fusing a variety of dance styles including modern, hip-hop, jazz and salsa, CBT juxtaposes the classical with cutting edge music, lighting, costumes and staging techniques. CBT integrates community youth and adults from the Bronx with upcoming and seasoned professional dancers, actors, singers, and musicians from around the world in some of its productions.

In addition to its professional productions, CBT consists of year round dance programs including: Arts-in-Education and Health Through Arts programs for ages 3-103 including the physically and mentally challenged; our Empowerment Program, an internship in dance, technical, theater, administration and sales emphasizing the business of the arts as well as the culmination of a production; Summerdance Intensive, a daily dance camp; Summerdance Festival, an outdoor dance festival and CBToo, a retail dancewear store.

Deborah Longino

Recent debuts for soprano Deborah Longino include Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera with the New York Grand Opera, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Symphony by the Sea, Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly, and Mimi in La Boheme.  Other recently performed roles include the title role in Tosca, soprano soloist in Verdi's Requiem, the title roles in Suor Angelica and Carlyle Floyd's Susannah, Fiordiligi, Donna Elvira, Desdemona, and Micaela.  Ms. Longino also enjoys an active schedule as a recitalist and orchestral concert artist. She is a founding member of the improvisational opera company, Play It By Ear, led by Artistic Director Rhoda Levine.