Board of Directors

Dr. Daredjan Baya Kakouberi, pianist, hailed as a “treat to watch and hear”, was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and made her debut at the age of eleven. After graduating from Tbilisi Special School of Music for the Talented and Gifted, she entered the Moscow Conservatory, where she continued her studies on the Master’s and Doctoral levels under the tutelage of professor Sergei Dorenski, and Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medalist, Vladimir Krainev.

Noted as an outstanding chamber music artist, Ms. Kakouberi is the Artistic Director of the Blue Candlelight Music Series in Dallas, Texas, where she enjoys collaboration with internationally renowned artists. She has appeared multiple times at the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, CO, where she was also a frequent soloist. She is a household name at the major venues in North Texas, such as the University of North Texas in Denton, TX, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts where she has appeared as a concerto soloist.

Website: www.bayakakouberi.com

Zarina Eleeva is a Director of IT with PwC. She has experience in technology strategy, design, development and implementation over a broad range of Information technology functions including governance, program and project management.

Zarina Eleeva was born and raised in a southern region of Russia called the North Ossetian Republic. She attended music school with a major in piano. After graduating from North Ossetian State University with degree in Mathematics, she came to the USA to study Business and Information Technology.

Compliance Professional, Trainer, Attorney and Manager, Dale is interested in training and teaching, marketing and compliance in all industries, retirement product roles and any form of policy and procedure development, process improvement or team building activities.

Specialist in process improvement, designing and delivering training programs and preparing and reviewing documented policies and procedures. Developer and manager of teams for Fortune 100 and small entrepreneurial firms. Focused experience in regulatory review of financial services industry marketing materials.

As a native Dallasite, Dee has enjoyed the arts all his life. After graduating from Texas Tech and receiving his Texas architectural license in the early 1970’s, he worked at creating Dallas SkylineCareer Development Center Architecture Cluster for DISD. Many prominent Dallas architects received their early training from this program. After spending a couple of years at El CentroCollege in their Pre-Architecture and Interior Design programs, he joined Corgan Associates in Downtown Dallas ultimately becoming a Principal in the 1990’s. His 30+ year Corgan career included projects for American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Dallas County, DISD, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, Boeing, Love Field, DFW International Airport, Hillwood, MIA International Airport and many others.

His most significant work includes the following. Lead architect for DFW’s Skylink stations which received a merit design award from the Dallas A.I.A. Chapter in 2005. For most of his career, he assisted AA with managing their headquarters’ facility design projects as well as handling design of many AA system worldwide roll-out projects such as new branding, oneworld graphics, new check-in processes, self-service devices, gate readers and implementation of airport facility integrations for several of their mergers. He was also successful in securing Corgan as on the three architectural firms to work for the Boeing team to implement the TSA’s baggage screening projects at all US airports after 9-11.

Now retired, Dee travels extensively, mainly overseas but with frequent trips to his favorite get-away at Disney World. Considering the arts, Dee is a 40+ year season subscriber to the Dallas Symphony and Dallas Opera. For several seasons, he was even a Dallas Opera supernumerary. He is also a long-time season subscriber to many of Dallas’s finest theatrical groups such as Dallas Theater Center, Winspear Broadway Series, Lyric Stage, DSM and others. He is the Blue Candlelight Board Vice President and actively participates in all board activities including concerts (usually at the check-in table) and assisting in managing the Board’s QuickBooks financial program.

Barry Crossman has had a distinguished career as CEO of two technology companies and several multinational energy companies. Upon opting for early retirement he has worked with numerous non profits around the world. His affiliations have taken him across several continents with his family where he has practiced a myriad of skills from negotiating to baking superb lemon bars.

Born in 1967, grown up in Zaporozhye, Ukraine moved to Tallinn, Estonia in 1984, married Viktoria in 1990. Emigrated to USA in 1993, first 13 years lived in Sioux Falls, SD where our two kids were born. Opened and operated Russian and European grocery store, received 2005 Businessman of the year by the Business Advisory Council of National Republican Congressional Committee. Sold business and moved to Edwardsville, IL in 2006 for Viktoria’s school. Moved to Frisco, TX in 2009, got my Real Estate license same year and am a full time Realtor for almost 10 years.

Amy was born on Long Island, New York, grew up in Maine and raised her family in Massachusetts, but is now a transplanted Texan where she lives with her husband and sons Quinlan and Sean. She received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Marymount College and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Amy has been active in the arts all her life and especially enjoyed many years in community theater where she contributed her talents both onstage and behind the scenes. In December of 2020, Amy retired from a 32 year career at MassMutual where she honed her skills in communications, marketing, and project and event management.

Gary Levinson enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician and a pedagogue. In 2013 he accepted the prestigious post of Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. Praised for his intense musicality and adroit technique by American and European critics, he has served as the Senior Principal Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony since 2002. He was chosen by Zubin Mehta to join the New York Philharmonic before the completion of his undergraduate degree from the Juilliard School in 1988. Mr. Levinson then made his New York Philharmonic solo debut in 1991, under the baton of Erich Leinsdorf, coinciding with the completion of his Master’s of Music degree at The Juilliard School, where his teachers included Dorothy DeLay, Glenn Dicterow and Felix Galimir.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Levinson began studying the violin at the age of five with Professor Sergeev at the Leningrad Special Music School. After immigrating to the United States in 1977, he won the top prize at the 1986 Romano Romanini International Violin Competition in Brescia, Italy, as well as becoming the top American Prize winner at the 1987 Jacques Thibaud International Violin Competition in Paris, France.

Barbara Lochridge Hogue was raised in Athens, Texas and received a Bachelor of Science from North Texas State University. She taught elementary school education in Plano, San Antonio and Dallas before starting her own business in McKinney, Texas. She was co-owner of the business, The Picket Fence, a children’s clothing store, while raising her family. She later became the first Executive Director of PHCC of Dallas, a national trade association of plumbers and heating contractors. Her duties for the association include putting together a golf tournament and chili cook off as well as holding their monthly meetings. She was also a past president of the Dallas Ski Club and presently a member of the board of the Methodist Hospital Guild. She was a charter board member of the Blue Candlelight Music Series in Dallas.

Elena Osadchy was born in Moscow, Russia, to a musical family. Her father, Professor Nikolai Kolesnikov, was an opera singer and a vocal professor at the prestigious Academy of Theatrical Arts (G.I.T.I.S) in Moscow. Elena started her musical education at the age of 5 on piano, and was later accepted to the Specialized English School for Gifted and Talented Children. After finishing high school, Elena continued her education at the Pedagogical Academy, where she received her Masters degree in Education. During her years at the University, Elena began taking vocal lessons from her father and attended numerous master classes from variety of professors in order to deepen her knowledge and understanding of music and singing. While studying at the University, Elena co-founded a vocal trio which became a winner of numerous local competitions. Elena has always been interested in literature, poetry, theater, ballet, and has done extensive studying on these subjects. After moving to Vancouver, Canada, she spent 15 years as the General Manager for the Vetta Chamber Music and Recital Society, and worked a year with the Vancouver Recital Society as the Box Office Manager. Elena was also involved in organizing exhibition of the Russian Art in Vancouver. When she moved to Dallas, Elena became the Executive Manager of the Blue Candlelight Music Series. Elena is currently the office manager for Dr. Inna Kogan.

Arlington Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1973, but his family moved to Dallas, Texas in 1976 when his father received a job transfer. His musical journey started at an early age because of his parents’ music heritage and vast album collection. He began studying piano at age eight, started playing in church, and took drum lessons as well. His extraordinary talent and great passion for music soon blossomed. Watching him play now, no one could guess that he told his parents he wanted to stop taking lessons after the first week! Yet, with encouragement from them, he persisted. Arlington’s study of classical music was later combined with jazz studies in college. He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree from Southwest Texas State University in music, composition, arranging, performance, theory, and jazz studies. His main jazz music influences are Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington. Claude Debussy is his favorite classical composer. Arlington expresses, “When I began taking piano lessons, I never imagined music would affect me in the way that it has. Playing music has become my destiny, my responsibility, my aspiration.” His soulful style, lush harmonies, and impeccable groove are what he is known for. Whether performing solo or with his band, Arlington Jones & The Brethren, he has the gift to take listeners of all ages on an unforgettable journey – a contagious toe-tapping, finger-snapping, hand-clapping, head-bobbing experience! Not only is he pleasing to listen to but also exhilarating to watch! Right through each note, Arlington exudes energy from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet! Notable for always being dapper, he matches vintage threads and contemporary fashion with his eclectic tie and sneaker collection. Over the years, Arlington has distinguished himself as a successful independent recording artist, composer, and producer under his label Zamaria Records. His music reveals the history of traditional and modern jazz, influenced by ragtime, stride, classical, blues, Latin, funk, and sacred styles. He has multiple album recordings and piano music books. He branded his own jazz piano techniques book, master class, and music web series entitled The Way I Hear It™. Arlington is a Steinway Artist. He tours internationally and has shared the stage with many music artists and groups. He contracts commissioned works, specializing in jazz piano concertos and modern sacred choral pieces. Performing around the world provides a constant outlook on the music industry and helps him relate to music students and aspiring musicians. Arlington has years of experience as an educator, clinician, adjudicator, and guest lecturer in all levels of elementary, secondary, and higher education. He partners with a variety of music education programs, schools, universities, and organizations. He uses his innovative hands-on teaching techniques to educate piano students, other instrumentalists, and composers of all ages and genres. He created a special interactive presentation for kids called I Can Improvise™ Youth Concert, a fun way to learn about song form, improvisation, music history,…

Recognized worldwide as a musical phenomenon, Grammy-nominated Andrés Cárdenes parlays his myriad talents into one of classical music’s most versatile careers. An intensely passionate and personally charismatic artist, Cuban-born Cárdenes has garnered international acclaim from critics and audiences alike for his compelling performances as a violinist, conductor, violist, chamber musician, concertmaster, and recording artist.

Since capturing Second Prize in the 1982 Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition in Moscow, Mr. Cárdenes has appeared as a soloist on four continents with over 100 orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Sinfonica Nacional de Caracas, Sinfonica de Barcelona, and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra.  He has collaborated with many of the world’s greatest conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir André Previn, Leonard Slatkin, Jaap van Zweden, David Zinman and Manfred Honeck.

This year and next Mr. Cárdenes continues his project to record many standard and contemporary concerti.  Released in 2009 are recordings of concerti by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Barber and David Stock on the Artek and Albany labels. A recording of the complete works for violin by Leonardo Balada was released on Naxos in January 2011. The complete Sonatas by both Hindemith and Brahms, along with the Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius Violin Concertos and the complete Schubert Sonatinas and Fantasie are to be released on Artek in the summer and fall of 2016. Plans to record the complete Beethoven violin and piano sonatas with Ian Hobson are slated for 2015/16. Cárdenes’s discography includes over two dozen recordings of concerti, sonatas, short works, orchestral and chamber music on the Ocean, Naxos, Albany, Sony, Arabesque, RCA, ProArte, Telarc, Artek, Melodya and Enharmonic labels.

As an ambassador for music of our time, Mr. Cárdenes has commissioned and premiered over 70 works by American, Turkish and Latin American composers such as David Stock, Mike Garson, Erberk Eriylmaz, Leonardo Balada, Ricardo Lorenz, Eduardo Alonso-Crespo, Roberto Sierra, and Marilyn Taft Thomas. His concerto repertoire includes over 100 works, ranging from the Baroque era to the present.

Mr. Cárdenes has thrice served as President of the Jury of the Stradivarius International Violin Competition and in 2011 joined the jury of the Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A Cultural Ambassador for UNICEF from 1980-1991 and an indefatigable spokesperson for the arts, Mr. Cárdenes has received numerous awards for his teaching, performances, recordings and humanitarian efforts, most notably from the Mexican Red Cross and the cities of Los Angeles and Shanghai.  He was named Pittsburgh Magazine’s 1997 Classical Artist of the Year and received the 2001 “Shalom” Award from Kollell’s International Jewish Center and the 2013 Chesed-Kindness Award from the Chabad Foundation for promoting world harmony and peace through music.

Mr. Cárdenes was appointed Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra by Maestro Lorin Maazel in 1989 and departed after the 2010 season to concentrate on his conducting, solo and chamber music careers.

When Alexander Rom joined the Dallas Opera after a successful preparation of its chorus for Prince Igor in 1990, he came to a historically Italianate company nicknamed La Scala West. The company was proud of its Italians: co-founder, conductor, and artistic director Nicola Rescignio and Maestro Roberto Benaglio, the legendary chorus master of La Scala. Having studied Italian opera with his longtime mentor and friend Maestro Dick Marzollo, at the time the main vocal coach of the Metropolitan Opera, Alexander Rom successfully continued Dallas Opera’s great musical traditions. His deep knowledge of operatic singing and vocal technique along with his experience as Russian opera coach at the Metropolitan Opera has greatly contributed to the sound of today’s Dallas Opera chorus: full, vocally expressive, rich, and capable of both pianissimos as well as full fortissimo singing. To step into the shoes of Maestro Benaglio was a challenge, but Alexander Rom succeeded to lead the Dallas Opera chorus to new heights. A native of Kharkov, Ukraine, Alexander Rom graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory of Music, now The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, with a master’s degree in choral conducting. He was a student of Avenir Mikhailov, a Music Director of the St. Petersburg Singing Cappella, historically the first professional chorus in Russia, founded by Peter the Great. Since immigrating to the United States, Maestro Rom has worked in many musical venues as a performer, conductor, educator, voice teacher, opera coach, and composer. Recently, he finished his 23rd season as Chorus Master at the Dallas Opera, where he has prepared its chorus to much critical acclaim. Maestro Rom has served as opera coach for numerous companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Savonlinna Opera Festivals in Finland, Cincinnati Festival, and Ravinia Festival. In his coaching career he has worked with world-renowned singers such as Paul Plishka, Martti Talvela, Franz Mazura, Mirella Freni, Nikolai Ghiaurov, Aage Hogland, Jorma Hynninen, Helga Dernesch, Dawn Upshaw, Joyce di Donato, Stephanie Toczyska, and Jerry Hadley. Maestro Rom is an Honorary Visiting Professor at Sibelius Academy and the Helsinki Conservatory of music in Helsinki, Finland, and was a Visiting Professor at the Savonlinna Opera Festival Music Institute for ten years. He also staged and musically prepared a production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Retretti Performance Hall with an international cast of young and rising stars from Russia and Finland. He was a founder and Music Director of the Grace Choral Society of Brooklyn, New York, which he directed for 19 years. His music and arrangements for voice, chorus, piano and other instruments have been performed in many prestigious venues. Maestro Rom maintains a private voice studio in Dallas, Texas.

Son of symphony and jazz musician father and vocalist mother, Mr. Masinter was raised in New Orleans where he began performing music professionally at the age of fifteen. The next year he was composing and cutting his first record. Mr. Masinter attended Trinity University in San Antonio where he spent much of his time composing music for theater department plays and musicals while earning a degree in Geology and Music Composition and an MA in Musicology with a minor in Speech and Drama.His life has been filled with numerous musical opportunities – as Buyer for a record store chain, as Music Director and Arranger for many theater productions, Pianist in private clubs and as Music Director in churches including the Brooks AFB Chapel where he received an award from the Air Force Chief of Chaplains for Meritorious Service.He is esteemed as a music teacher and his piano studio was featured on a PBS episode of Heritage. His one man show Mozart which he wrote and in which he acted has been presented to 1000’s of school children. He is a Past President of the San Antonio Music Teachers Assn. and is nationally certified by the Music Teachers National Assn.His musicological interests led him to become one of the premiere piano restorers and historians in the Southwest. Stories on his work have appeared in Piano Guild Notes, San Antonio Homes and Gardens, Texas Highways, Reed Organ Society Bulletin and other publications. His home is filled with antique pianos, harpsichords, organs and other musical instruments.Mr. Masinter has composed the score for nine original musicals, music for the Cap’n Gus TV Show, the theme song for a television special on aging (PBS) and the “People Helping People” United Way jingle. His compositions and arrangements are published by Warner Bros., Alfred, Noteworthy, RBC and Star Dreams publishing companies. His composition student Casey Adkisson won First Place in the TMTA Original Composition Contest. Mr. Masinter has been a judge for the NGPT Original Composition Contest.His musical, GONE TO TEXAS won the ATAC Globe Award for Best Original Score and has had seven productions including a staging at The York Theatre in New York with a Broadway cast. One recent memborable event was when Mr. Masinter accompanied Kitty Carlisle Hart in concert at Leeper Hall at the McNay Art Museum.He is a recipient of the San Antonio Public Library’s 2009 Arts and Letters Award for his contribution to the musical and theater arts. He has served on the boards of the San Antonio Opera Co. and Josephine Theatricals. He is currently President of the Alamo Theatre Arts Council and President of the Allegro Stage Co. of which he is a founding member.

Blue Candlelight Young Starlights Program:

Young Starlights are secondary or college students who are or have worked with Blue Candlelight pedagogues in developing their musical talents with a likelihood of becoming professional musicians. They have access to the leadership of Blue Candlelight Music Series for music knowledge and career counseling.  In return, Young Starlights offer their perspective on Blue Candlelight concerts, current music pedagogy, and the state of classical music today.

Advisory Council Members:

Elliot Cornelius

Quin Facey

Daniel Uglunts