Bios

Dr. Nicole Boguslaw has been playing cello since the age of eight and has been teaching for the past fifteen years. She earned her doctorate in cello performance from the University of Maryland in 2022, and taught at the university level both there as well as at Anne Arundel Community College. As an orchestra musician, she is a section cello member of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, and has played with the Washington National Opera Orchestra, the Maryland Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, and the Apollo Orchestra. In 2016 she won San Francisco Academy’s concerto competition and soloed with the SF Academy orchestra. She has performed while touring across Europe, the Caribbean, and North America. Recently she collaborated with artist Jonathan Latiano for his installation Love to the Letter and the Letters Spelled Death at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. She currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland where she frequently plays in her piano trio, Rock Creek Trio.

Cellist Pei Lu is the recipient of many awards and honors. These include: a top prize in the National Cello Competition in China, MTNA (Music Teachers’ National Association) competition, International Baltimore Music Club Competition, Carmel international Chamber Music Competition and the Gregor Piatigorsky Award from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She has given solo recitals and chamber music concerts in Europe, Asia and throughout the United States. She also toured in the Middle East, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and China with Apple Hill Chamber Players. She has been associated with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as the substitute of the cello section since 1996. At Apple Hill Chamber Music Center summer camp, she has served as a faculty member for more than 20 years. In 2018, she became the Associate Principal of Annapolis Symphony Orchestra A native of China, Ms. Lu began her musical education at the Xian Conservatory of Music. Upon her arrival to the United States, Ms. Lu was honored with full scholarship to study with world renowned cellist, professor Stephen Kates. She completed her studies with the most prestigious Artist Diploma in Cello Performance at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

Daniel Shomper is an active performer, chamber musician and teacher. The Baltimore Sun has praised his ‘virtuoso playing’ and complimented his ‘masterful performance’ and ‘lyrical expression.’ He has performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center, the National Art Gallery, and the Washington Arts Club, among others. Additionally, he has performed concerts and in prestigious music festivals in the United States and abroad, including venues in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Prague, Budapest, Helsinki, Quebec, Seseña Nuevo, Avila and Madrid.

Dr. Shomper is the founder and director of the Annapolis Cellovision Workshop, an organization that combines under one umbrella all of Dr. Shomper’s passions - performance, education, and creating community-based collaborations.

ACW began with the Annapolis Cello Festival, which includes a workshop for adult amateur cellists followed by a week long institute for young cellists ages 10 - 18, and faculty performances! It takes place at the beginning of August. ACW has expanded to include a chamber music institute for all classical instruments for young musicians ages 10 - 18 at the end of June, and an All-State preparatory workshop in September, and more exciting educational opportunities are planned for the future!

Dr. Shomper is also the founder and director of the Annapolis Cello Choir, an all ages, all abilities, all cello ensemble.

ACW also features a concert series which celebrates local artists, interesting collaborations and unique programs. As a passionate advocate for new, modern, and underperformed works Dr. Shomper created New Music Maryland, which has commissioned and premiered several works by local composers since its origin in 2018.

Dr. Shomper is passionate teacher. He is on faculty at the Annapolis Symphony Academy, the Riverhawk Summer Institute, the Annapolis Cello Festival, maintains a robust private studio, offers group classes through ACW and is on faculty at Anne Arundel Community College. He is a member of the Annapolis Symphony, performs regularly with the Charleston Symphony and many other orchestras in DC, Baltimore, and Pennsylvania.

Dr. Shomper received his DMA from the University of Maryland where he studied with David Hardy, Peter Wiley and the Guarneri Quartet, Kenneth Slowik and Evelyn Elsing.

Margaret Russell has been teaching ballet in Maryland and Virginia for the past twenty years. She is currently on the faculty of Anne Arundel Community College and the Director of the AACC Dance Company. She has taught for The Dance Academy, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Manassas Ballet Academy. In 2010, she was appointed Ballet mistress for Ballet Theatre of Maryland and in 2017 for The Dance Academy. Russell’s students have received scholarships to train with American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Academy in Moscow, Russia, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, Royal Ballet and other numerous renowned schools. Many of Russell’s students have been finalists at the Youth America Grand Prix and have danced professionally with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Texas Ballet Theatre, and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. She has choreographed neoclassical and contemporary pieces for Manassas Ballet Theatre, University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Dance Department, and South River High School’s Dance Company. Her choreography received top 12 at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2019.

Russell founded Greater Annapolis Ballet (GAB) in 2019 as a school for coaching, private lessons and supplemental technique classes. Since its establishment, Russell has grown GAB into a full time school, held virtual and in-person performances of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, CInderella and more, as well as founded The HOPE Dance Concert, a performance to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2020, GAB was accepted as a New Company into Regional Dance America’s Northeast Region. The school’s students have been awarded and recognized at Youth America Grand Prix and other competitions, as well as Regional Dance America’s Outstanding Soloists and Featured Performers. Russell looks forward to continuing GAB’s growth and debuting and performing many ballets. She is dedicated to providing students with proper training and guidance.

Margaret’s professional experience includes principal and soloist roles with Manassas Ballet Theatre and Ballet Theatre of Maryland. Her roles with MBT, under the direction of Amy Grant Wolfe, include Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote, Katrina in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, in addition to soloist roles in Les Sylphides and The Sleeping Beauty. Her roles with BTM, under the direction of Dianna Cuatto, include Cinderella in Cinderella, Dawn in Coppelia, Dew Drop and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, and Odette in Swan Lake.

Russell holds a B.A. in Dance from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she trained with Carol Hess, Doug Hamby, and Sandra Lacy. She began her training with the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia under the direction of Lisa Sheppard. She has studied with Orlando Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and Burklyn Ballet Theatre. She has worked with Fernando Bujones, John Gardner, Amanda

McKerrow, and Thom Clower. Russell’s international performances include the Tanzsommer Festival in Austria with the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre and the Fringe Festival in Scotland with the Burklyn Ballet Theatre.