Annie Wolaver-Dupre is one of the pre-eminent violinists and vocalists working today. In 2002, she began touring as lead singer and first violinist with the Annie Moses Band, a group comprised of her six siblings. Since that time, she has starred in multiple PBS specials including the Emmy-nominated The Art of the Love Song, released by Warner Classics, and has recorded over a dozen albums including the chart-topping American Rhapsody, This Glorious Christmas, and Tales From My Grandpa's Pulpit. She has toured extensively, performing in many world-class venues.
A classical prodigy, Annie won numerous state and national competitions from an early age. At 18 she was awarded a scholarship to the Juilliard School’s collegiate program. Annie carries a passion for educating young people in music and the arts. For over twenty years, she had co-directed the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival, a week-long arts event that culminates in multiple professionally produced shows, all featuring young artists. In 2013, together with her mother, Robin, she launched the Annie Moses Foundation, a non-profit that exists to promote Christian values and musical excellence.
Annie currently lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and four children. When she is not on the road performing, she teaches at the Conservatory of Annie Moses, the “motherhouse” of the Foundation’s weekly arts program based in historic Columbia, TN.
Robin Wolaver holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Oklahoma City University. She is an author/speaker/songwriter living in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and fellow composer, Bill Wolaver, and their seven children.Robin travels with her family in a group called the Annie Moses Band and her book, The Song of Annie Moses, published by Guideposts Books, chronicles the family’s story from the cotton fields of depression era Texas to the halls of the Juilliard School and on to world renown stages.
An award winning lyricist, Robin has been twice nominated for a Dove Award in both the Song of the Year and Best Children’s Musical categories. She has been awarded the honor of Gospel Song of the Year by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, (ASCAP), as well as the Nashville Songwriters Association. Robin, in collaboration with her husband, Bill, has had numerous musicals and choral works published by foremost Christian publishers.
Because of her leadership in arts education, and her work developing extraordinary excellence in the musical skill of her family, Robin has become a leading voice on nurturing artistic success in children. She believes we are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of this generation primarily through the influence of the arts.In order to counter this trend, Robin began the Annie Moses Foundation to equip parents and communities in raising up a new generation of young, highly-skilled musicians.
Together with her family, she teaches at the Conservatory of Annie Moses and also directs an annual arts event, the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival. These are the flagship efforts of the Foundation and have helped groom hundreds of young people from across the United States and around the world to be confident performers and to achieve excellence in the arts for the glory of God.
Bill Wolaver received his BM in piano performance from Oklahoma City University. He is a prolific and renowned composer and arranger in Nashville, TN, working with multiple publishing companies. He and his wife, Robin, have been involved with Christian music over 20 years, with songs, musicals, and arrangements published by a number of leading Christian publishers. Together, they composed "Make His Praise Glorious", recorded by Sandi Patty and nominated for Dove Award for ‘Song of the Year.’ In addition, they have received an ASCAP Award for ‘Inspirational Song of the Year.’ He is also the pianist/composer/arranger for the Annie Moses Band.
Melissa Shippen Burrows has made operatic and symphonic debuts in her career throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. The soprano was heard on her first official recording release Belle Nuit while in concert in Munich with Vesselina Kasarova. She has been heard onstage in leading roles such as Mimi in La Boheme (Wolf-Trap and Aspen Opera), Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Nedda in Pagliacci with Connecticut Concert Opera, and Micaela in Carmen with The Atlanta Opera. Critics have described Melissa as: 'a dramatic soprano with an attractive, powerful sound' (Britten War Requiem at Carnegie Hall, The New York Times), 'angelic' by the The Washington Post), and according to The Rutland Herland of her Thais with Opera Company of Middlebury, "Shippen imbued her dramatic voice with emotion, from tender to passionate to reverent beautifully, naturally and convincingly.” Melissa has won top prizes at several voice competitions worldwide including: Vokal Genial International Voice Competition in Munich, Opera Birmingham, Orpheus, Palm Beach Opera, DiPanni Bel Canto Opera, and was named a District Winner and Regional Finalist of the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera Competition. As a United States Presidential Scholar and NFAA Arts Grand Prize Winner at the age of 17, she sang in concert at the Kennedy Center and White House for U.S. President Clinton. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from The Juilliard School and was a member of the prestigious Juilliard Opera Center.
Gretchen Wolaver is a multi-talented professional musician, performing as a violinist, mandolinist, guitarist, and singer. As a member of the Annie Moses Band, she has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry House. At the age of four, she began her studies in violin at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. After her family moved to Connecticut, she continued her studies at The School For Strings in Manhattan. At the age of twelve, she began touring the country professionally. Gretchen has been featured in two PBS specials including the Emmy-nominated The Art of the Love Song. She recently released a new EP Mistakes.
James DaSilva is a recent graduate of Belmont University. While in school, James played electric guitar in the top music ensembles under the direction of Dr. Jeff Kirk (Maynard Ferguson and the Eagles) and Rahsaan Barber (Aretha Franklin) and has studied guitar privately with Mario DaSilva, Paul Abrams, Shane Roberts, Matthew Von Doran, and Stan Lassiter. Since 2008, James has been an instructor at The Jam Advanced Summer Music Camp and the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival, two major music events in Nashville, TN. He has experience teaching private guitar students and group courses involving the subjects of music theory, jazz improvisation, and arranging.Over the course of his young career, James has had the opportunity to perform/record with some of the greatest musicians and artists in the world: Dr. Lonnie Smith, Rodney Whittaker, Earth Wind and Fire, Phil Keaggy, Rod McGaha, Pete Christlieb, Shannon Forest, Jeff Coffin, The McCrary Sisters, Vince Gill, Tommy Sims, Phil Lassiter, Mark Letteri, Rahsaan Barber and Everyday Magic, El Movimiento, the Annie Moses Band, and many others. James is an in-demand performing and studio guitarist in Nashville, TN and beyond.
Mr. DaSilva received a Master of Church Music from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary School of Music in Louisville, KY and a Bachelor of Arts from Belmont College in Nashville, TN. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mr. DaSilva has established himself in the United States as a teacher and performer. Early in his educational career Mr. DaSilva studied theory and composition with the Brazilian veteran Maestro Leo Peracchi and classical guitar with Edmar Fenicio. In America, Mr. DaSilva studied commercial composition and arrangement with William Pursell and guitar with John Pell and Douglas Jones. As a teacher, he was a former guitar instructor at the University of Louisville, and concurrently teaches at both Indiana University Southeast (since 1989), and Belmont University (since 1995).
As a performer, Mr. DaSilva maintains a busy schedule both in Louisville and Nashville areas with live appearances and recording sessions. He is heard nightly on the nationally syndicated FM radio talk show ‘Delilah after Dark’ based in Seattle, Washington and the ‘Joe Arnold Show’ on WHAS 84 AM. Mr. DaSilva’s performance credits include the Ballet Espanol, a flamenco dance company based in Louisville, KY, ESPN, ‘Shop at Home’ television networks and many appearances on local TV. He has worked closely with the likes of flamenco guitarist Pedro Cortes, drummers Rod Murgenstein (Dixie Dregs) and Chester Thompson (Phil Collins), and singer-songwriter Lari White. He has released two recordings; ‘Meet Mario’ and ‘Christmas, Love and Light’ by Rainbow at Midnight Records available in music stores in the Louisville and Nashville areas, and at www.meetmario.com.
Alex Wolaver is a performer/songwriter/producer living in Columbia, Tennessee with his wife, Berklee, and their 5 children. A Juilliard-trained violist where he studied under Itzhak Perlman, Alex is an entrepreneur, poet, filmmaker, and actor. As a member of the Annie Moses Band, he has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry and released chart-topping albums, including an Emmy-nominated PBS special, The Art of the Love Song which he produced. Alex has won prodigious competitions such as the Curb Concerto Competition and has performed solo with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and as principal violist of both the Juilliard Symphony and the Disney Young Musician’s Symphony Orchestra. He has produced award-winning albums, including ‘Through the Looking Glass’, ‘This Glorious Christmas’ —reaching Top Ten on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Crossover chart.
Berklee Wolaver is a Nashville choreographer and the head dance instructor for the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival. She is fluent in a variety of styles from classical ballet, tap, jazz, modern, as well as musical theater.
A native of Raleigh, NC, Berklee excelled at an early age, leading her tap company as dance captain and studying at several prestigious dance schools in North Carolina. During her formative years she trained in multiple workshops in New York City including the Radio City Rockettes Workshop and STEPS on Broadway.
Berklee has performed in numerous stage productions over the last decade and choreographed multiple musicals. Her extraordinary creativity includes not only dance but fine art and graphic design. She has illustrated two children’s books and is the proud mother of three beautiful girls.
Sydney Wolaver is an accomplished mezzo-soprano and performer of opera, musical theatre, sacred, and contemporary music. Sydney holds degrees in vocal performance and theatre from Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has been studying voice for ten years under several instructors including: Sherry Lee Allen, Michael Dixon, Dr. DeMar Neal, and Dr. Mark Whatley. She has performed in master classes with Michael Fabiano of the Metropolitan Opera, Stella Peruzzi, and Andrea Sari. Sydney won at the state level of NATS for both classical and musical theatre and was a first-place winner at the regional level for musical theatre. She is also a two-time nominee for Best Actress by the Kennedy Center’s ACTF for her role as Laura in A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas and Beth in Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim.
In 2014, Sydney traveled to Italy with the International Young Artist Project performing in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. She has been a featured soloist with the North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera, and North Carolina Master Chorale. She has also had the opportunity to perform onstage at the Grand Ole Opryand Carnegie Hall. Before moving to Nashville, TN, Sydney cultivated a thriving private studio comprised of both voice and piano students. She has been blessed to educate students of all ages in piano, acting, healthy vocal technique, and musicality. She has been a faculty member of the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival for three years and first performed at the Festival when she was just 13. Sydney is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Vocal Pedagogy at Belmont University.
Camille DaSilva is a harpist, pianist, and B3 player living in Columbia, TN. She travels professionally as a member of the Annie Moses Band. The group has released numerous albums including the chart-topping American Rhapsody and This Glorious Christmas as well as two PBS specials including the Emmy-nominated The Art of the Love Song.
Camille made her debut with the Annie Moses Band at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry. Camille DaSilva has won multiple awards and accolades for classical piano and harp. She has studied with master pedagogues: on harp, Emily Mitchell (Eastman School of Music), Licia Jaskunas (Indiana University, Eastman School of Music), and Marian Shaffer (Memphis State University) of Vanderbilt University, and, on piano, Amy Dorfman (Indiana University School of Music), Dr. Jerome Reed (Catholic University of America; Middle Tennessee State University); Viktoria Mushkatkol (Kiev Music School, St Petersburg Conservatory, University of Illinois) of the Juilliard School of Music in NYC.
Joshua Carswell is an accomplished vocalist and frequent performer of opera, oratorio, musical theatre and commercial music. A native of North Carolina, Mr. Carswell graduated from Elon University in 2010 with a Bachelors in Vocal Performance, garnering the university’s prestigious Presser Music Scholar award. He has performed in Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium as a guest soloist with the Annie Moses Band and the New American Choir and Orchestra and made appearances with the Greensboro Opera and Symphony as well as the North Carolina Symphony. His recent roles include Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte (American Singers Opera Project), Rinuccio in Gianni Schicci (Elon) and soloist on “Generations” in Children of Eden (Elon).Mr. Carswell’s exceptional interpretive skill has garnered national attention. He recently won the 2012 Grand Prize in the prestigious American Traditions Competition in Savannah, GA, and was recently a guest soloist with the Savannah Philharmonic. He is a winner of state and regional levels of NATS for Classical and Musical Theatre.
Benjamin Wolaver has studied cello from a young age, beginning at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. At the age of 10 he auditioned and was accepted to the Juilliard Pre-college Program where he studied under Ann Alton. He tours professionally as a cellist with the Annie Moses Band, performing 80+ concerts annually. The Annie Moses Band has recorded numerous albums including the chart-topping “American Rhapsody” and “This Glorious Christmas” as well as two PBS specials including the Telly-nominated “The Art of the Love Song”. With the Annie Moses Band, Benjamin has also performed at Carnegie Hall and been a frequent guest at the Grand Ole Opry.A writer and speaker, Benjamin is a graduate of the University of London’s English Literature Distance Program, where he earned the Academic Achievement Award for his essays in Renaissance Comedy. He is currently studying for his MA in Theology. The author of an original children’s musical “The Flight of the Fiery Chariot”, Benjamin is currently writing a historical novel with published poet Samuel Stephens. The Director of Development for the Annie Moses Foundation, he oversees the Annie Moses Foundation’s Summer Music Festival.
Melodie Spencer is a recent graduate of the prestigious Cincinnati Conservatory in OH with a Bachelors in Vocal Performance. She is also a skilled classical violinist.
Melodie began violin at age 7. She went on to study with the acclaimed instructor, Sonja Foster, out of Atlanta, GA, and participated in five Annie Moses Summer Music Festivals as a student and then as a teacher in 2020. Melodie is also a powerful performer and was a featured soloist at both the Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall as part of Annie Moses Foundation events.
The love for classical voice was born in Melodie as she grew older. She began private studies with Sharon Forrester-Stephenson at age 15 and followed that love to her graduate degree in vocal performance.
Sarah Howell is a consummate musician, proficient as a performer, composer, and pedagogue. A student of the violin from a young age, Sarah pursued classical training in the Delay-Galamian Method under the tutelage of Annie Dupre of the Annie Moses Band. Always eager for new forms of expression, Sarah diversified with the mandolin, an instrument she mastered with equal dedication as a student of renowned mandolinist, Gretchen Wolaver.
Alongside classical repertoire, she has extensively studied fiddling and folk music which led her to release a solo EP of Appalachian music in 2016. With her singer-songwriter sister, Olivia, Sarah founded the musical group, Aster, writing and arranging original material in a folk pop style. An experienced performer, Ms. Merritt has played on numerous stages, including the Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall, and the Bluegrass Underground. In 2019, she released a live music video of the classical masterpiece, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.
A certified teacher in the Suzuki Method and Annie Moses Method, Sarah believes passionately that the pursuit of excellence is essential to spreading the Gospel of Christ. She loves to see the potential in a child and to partner with their families to train them for musical success.
Jeremiah Wolaver is a professional audio engineer and producer residing in Spring Hill, TN. He is a graduate of Blackbird Academy of Audio Engineering, one of the premier audio trade schools in the world where he earned a Diploma in Audio Engineering, class of 2018. Jeremiah has 9 years of professional experience in sound production, engineering, producing, and mixing numerous recording projects. His work includes the Emmy-nominated PBS special, The Art of the Love Song (2016).
A prolific composer and arranger, Lucy Knowles studied piano from a young age, mastering a wide variety of styles from jazz improvisation to rigorous classical concertos. Her most recent work includes a fully orchestrated musical adaptation of “The Little Match Girl”, debuted to a standing ovation at the Jamison Theater in 2020 and a partial original adaptation of “Little Women”. A student of acclaimed composers Bill & Robin Wolaver, Mario DaSilva, and Camille DaSilva, Lucy is an outstanding performer, scoring Superior Plus as a national member of the Piano Guild Auditions.
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Ashlyn Yarborough is an outstanding classical violinist and pianist. She began her studies on the piano at the age of 4 and on the violin at the age of 7. She went on to study with Annie Dupre of the Annie Moses Band and has mastered many aspects of the Delay-Galmian Method. With over a decade of playing experience, Ashlyn began teaching in 2018 and has a growing roster of accomplished students.
