About Classical Archives

Click for his vanity page PIERRE R. SCHWOB
CEO and Founder
Born in Los Angeles, brought up in Geneva, Switzerland; lived 15 years in New York, 11 years in Hong Kong, now in Palo Alto, CA. Self-taught (except in flying); built his first computer in 1977; books published on history (translated into several languages), calculators (chosen as special selection of the Mathematical Book Club) and chess openings. Adjunct assistant professor computer science, N.Y.U. 1981-86; holder of several U.S. and foreign patents; founded PRS Corporation, an R&D company in 1978 where he developed the award-winning ID LOGIC® technology which was incorporated into a U.S. national standard and licensed to the major consumer electronics manufacturers. Appointed Co-Chairman & CEO of Classical Archives, LLC in August 2000. Pierre is a hopeful amateur musician who has served on the board of directors of several classical music organizations. A cosmology and astronomy groupie (asteroid 32890 Schwob has been graciously named after him), he helped establish the Computing and Information Center at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford/SLAC. Happy on his boat, he is happiest scuba diving under it. He is blessed with his son Jonathan (1989) and his daughter Nathania (2001).
More details on his vanity page...

DR. NOLAN GASSER
Artistic Director
Born and raised in Southern California, Nolan is a critically acclaimed composer, pianist, conductor and arranger, as well as a published musicologist. He received his Ph.D. in Musicology in 2001 from Stanford University, where he is an Adjunct Professor in Medieval and Renaissance Music History. Nolan studied composition in Paris (and Fontainbleau) with Betsy Jolas, Gilbert Amy and Tristan Murail; received a Masters in Composition from NYU (studying with Todd Brief and Menachem Zur) and a Bachelors of Music degree from California State University, Northridge (studying with Aurelio de la Vega). He is the composer of numerous award-winning musical works, ranging in style from classical to jazz to popular, including music for the stage. His works have been performed in such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Alice Tully Hall, and La Salle Pleyel in Paris. His Oration on July 4th ? the first movement of his oratorio American Festivals ? for orchestra, chorus, and orator was premiered to great success at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC in May 2004 by the Charleston Symphony and Chorus under Maestro David Stahl, and with actor Sam Waterston as orator. In February 2005, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under Maestro David Loebel will premier the second movement of the oratorio, Black Suit Blues, for orchestra, chorus, and baritone soloist. Nolan also performs and records regularly with marquee performers as diverse as Steve Miller, John Handy, and Carol Channing. He recently enjoyed great commercial success with his holiday song, Christmas by the Bay. In all, Nolan brings to Classical Archives a rich and eclectic array of musical interests and expertise, along with a great enthusiasm for the mission and philosophy of the company. He lives in the Petaluma, CA with his wife Lynn, and their two children, Camille and Preston.

DAVID A. BARG
Director of the Learning Center
David is internationally recognized for his work with young musicians and conductors. The co-founder of the Barg-Fritz Institute for Continuing Conductor Education, he led the opening session of the Metropolitan Opera Guild's Winter Choral Directors Workshop in spring 2002. His conducting workbook is in pre-publication. Barg works with young musicians and conductors throughout America and around the world. In North America in 2001-02, Barg worked with young orchestras in Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, Boston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Miami and elsewhere. Barg has conducted professional ensembles in the US, Europe, Russia, Australia, and has been a Cultural Ambassador for the United States Information Agency. He recently made his debut with the Moscow State Radio & Television Orchestra at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, a concert that was recorded for Russian radio and on CD. David has a daughter, Vanessa.

VLADIMIR V. VOLOVICH
Chief Engineer
Born in 1971 in Voronezh, Russia (Soviet Union), which is in the middle of the European part of Russia (the "Black Earth" region), 600 kilometers to the south of Moscow. Studied piano in musical school (7 years). Earned his M.Sc. in theoretical physics at the Voronezh State University in 1995, then worked as an assistant researcher in the department of theoretical physics. Published several journal articles on particle physics. Vladimir also has an avid interest in mathematics, particularly topology, differential geometry, and category theory. Now he concentrates mostly on computer science. Vlad joined the team of Classical Archives when he created the first mirror of the Archives in 1996, deployed at the Voronezh University. He is married to Natasha who is also an engineer and they have two sons: Vasily (Basil) and Evgeny (Eugene).

DIMITRI STAMATIS
Director Web Engineering
Born in San Francisco, California, Dimitri is a professional musician, computer programmer and flamenco guitar teacher. He earned his B.S. in Psychology in 1999 at SFSU, and has been involved with computers since the age of 10, when he created his first algorithm using BASIC on his Atari 800 XL.

DR. LEILA YANGURAZOVA
Senior Representative for Russia
Born in Tashkent (former USSR) her early years were dedicated to ballet, piano, Russian literature and mathematics. After the catastrophic earthquake of 1966, she moved to Moscow where she graduated from the mathematics department of the physics faculty at Moscow University. She worked in various branches of geophysics, astrophysics, lasers, and ecology. She earned her PhD in 1988 after defending her thesis on The Collapse of Dense Stellar Clusters at the Institute of Cosmic Research of the Russian Academy of Science. Following "Perestroika," she immersed herself in several social and cultural causes. She became involved with The Seasons, a Moscow chamber orchestra. She wrote an article on J.Krishnamurti which was later reprinted in several of his books. She produced the successful tour of the famous classical Indian singer Shobha Joshi which was broadcast by the major Russian radio stations and NTV (1999). Since then she is a regular participant in radio shows. She also appeared in several Moscow and Tatarstan radio programs about Islam (autumn, 2001). She was a charter member (CTM) of The Toastmaster International Club, (The Moscow Free Speakers) of which she became President in 1995, and now she is working on establishing the second TM Club in Moscow. Her son Shamil Sunyaev is a molecular biologist who heads a laboratory at the Harvard Medical School in Boston.

LAYNE TIPPETS
Rights Manager
Born in Billings, Montana, Layne received his undergraduate degree in Business from the University of Montana. His primary areas of study were accounting, business management and economics. After graduating from college, Layne moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend and graduate from the Stanford School of Law. After passing the California Bar, most of his past work experience centered around tax and other legal and accounting work, both working for law and accounting firms, and as an independent consultant. Layne came to the Archives because it afforded him an opportunity to use his legal and accounting skills in conjunction with his long-held interest in the digital music business. Some of Layne's most rewarding work involved developing an early prototype of a custom digital recording service at Custom Digital Sounds, a firm he founded in 1986 in Palo Alto. As a Certified Macintosh Software Developer, he also developed an early prototype of a multimedia encyclopedia for grade school children in the late 80's. Layne and his wife, Terri, have two daughters, Lauren and Katie, and a son, Matthew.