MUSICIANS
Season Opener Soloists
Louise Lofquist, contralto and pianist, has had an unorthodox musical career. She debuted as a pianist with the National Symphony at 18 but initially pursued degrees in European History at Duke and Stanford. Eventually returning to music, she was pursuing a master’s in voice when a severe vocal cord injury cut short her singing career. She then earned a master’s in Accompanying from UC Santa Barbara and a doctorate in Keyboard Collaborative Arts from USC. A respected collaborative pianist, vocal coach, and voice teacher, she has performed with artists like Gilles Apap, Rod Gilfry, Zuill Bailey, and Fred Ormand, and as a soloist with the Ventura Symphony and CHICO. Joining Pepperdine’s music faculty in 2001, she taught voice, diction, and vocal accompanying and co-directed the Summer Music Program in Heidelberg for over 20 years. Her classical voice students have sung with major opera houses, including San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and at Carnegie Hall, while her musical theatre students have appeared on Broadway and throughout Southern California.
Now retired from Pepperdine and with her voice healed, she enjoys performing as a pianist and singer. Louise lives in Camarillo with her husband, attorney Grant Specht, and two sons, Dylan, an attorney, and Shane, a landscape painter.
Eleanor Shen is a violinist dedicated to building meaningful connections through music. She has been recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation, the MTNA Eastern Division National Student Competition, and is a prizewinner of the Feder Memorial, U.S. Army Young Artists, Friday Morning Music Club, and Landon Symphony Orchestra competitions, earning her a solo performance with the orchestra.
Eleanor is passionate about community engagement and has served as a Juilliard Morse and Gluck Fellow, teaching in New York City public schools and bringing live classical music to unconventional spaces. Her collaborative work spans a wide range of disciplines, including performances with dancers, jazz musicians, historical performance artists, and premieres of new chamber and orchestral works. She currently is part time faculty in Maryland Youth Orchestra’s summer program.
Eleanor holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Catherine Cho and Areta Zhulla.
Miles Goosby, 24, is a cellist based in New York City. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Natasha Brofsky. Miles has enjoyed solo, orchestral, and chamber performances at The Perlman Music Program, Norfolk Chamber Festival, Meadowmount, and Music Academy of the West.
As a devoted chamber musician, Goosby has worked with Laurie Smukler, Areta Zhulla, Don Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, Takács Quartet, Juilliard Quartet Steve Tennenbaum, Sam Rhodes, and Brentano Quartet. He is a founding member of the BECA Quartet, based at the Juilliard School. They have performed nationally, at the California Festival in collaboration with Kris Bowers, and WQXR at the Greene Space.
Goosby has played in masterclasses for David Requrio, Martti Rousi, Luis Claret, Zlatomir Fung, Alan Stepanaky, and Zvi Plesser. In addition to being an avid performer, Goosby is passionate about teaching. He teaches at the Third Street School of Music, and has been involved with community engagement projects around the city such as monthly visits to Mt. Sinai Hospital performing for rehabilitation patients. In April of 2025, Miles will be collaborating with the Iris Collective alongside his brother, Randall Goosby, to work with young music students and perform in their hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
Women in Classical Music Soloist
Pianist Natasha Kislenko, praised for her “vividly expressive” interpretations and “virtuosity that left the audience exhilarated” (Santa Barbara Independent), offers dynamic concert programs worldwide. A prizewinner in multiple international competitions, she has performed across Europe, Turkey, and the Americas. After winning the Grand Prize at the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition, she made her Carnegie Hall debut.
A resident pianist with the Santa Barbara Symphony since 2010, Kislenko has performed major concerti to critical acclaim and recently appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Turkey, Bulgaria, and California. An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with Glenn Dicterow, the Takács Quartet, and others, and released two acclaimed violin-piano CDs with Chavdar Parashkevov.
A devoted educator, Kislenko is on faculty at UC Santa Barbara and the Music Academy of the West. She holds degrees from the Moscow Conservatory, Southern Methodist University, and a DMA from Stony Brook University.