Violin
Orchestra Lumos Musicians
Violin
Deborah Buck
concertmaster
The Louise and Melvin Stern Family Chair
Described by Strad Magazine as “Particularly impressive for her surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” violinist Deborah Buck has built …
…a strong musical career as chamber musician, concertmaster, soloist, professor, and artistic leader.Ms. Buck is Concertmaster of Orchestra Lumos. She has held concertmaster positions with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra (L.A.) and the Los Angeles Opera Guild as well as many other noteworthy ensembles in the New York City area. As recitalist, Ms. Buck has performed at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., over the airways for the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago/WFMT, “Sunday’s Live” in Los Angeles for KKGO, and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. She has been featured as soloist with Lincoln Center’s Little Orchestra Society, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and most recently, Orchestra Lumos. In 2019, Ms. Buck received two commissions: one for solo violin by John Harbison called DeBut, and another for violin and piano called Fantasia on Beethoven’s Spring Sonata by Bruce Adolphe. In October (2021) Ms. Buck recorded the Suite for Solo Violin by John Harbison with Grammy winning producer, Silas Brown.
As a chamber musician, Ms. Buck enjoyed seventeen years of extensive concertizing, commissioning, and recording as a member of the Lark Quartet. The Lark actively pushed the boundaries of what a traditional string quartet could do by being one of the first quartets to commission new works that feature added percussion, clarinet, voice, and piano. The Lark has an extensive discography that include many of America’s most celebrated and prize-winning composers works.
A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Buck recorded for the motion picture and television industry. Her violin solos for television helped breathe life back into the re-mastered American Silent Film classic, “The Scarlet Letter” (Turner Classic Movies). Her National television debut came by way of a feature guest spot on the Family Channel’s, “It Takes Two” hosted by Dick Clark.
For twenty summers, Ms. Buck has taught at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont where she and her husband have had the honor of serving as the Co-Executive Directors for the past eleven years. Since 2015, Ms. Buck has served as Assistant Professor of Violin and Head of Chamber Music at SUNY Purchase. Ms. Buck was a Starling Scholarship recipient at the Juilliard School as a student of Dorothy DeLay. She earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Southern California where she studied with Robert Lipsett, and was awarded the Jascha Heifetz Violin Scholarship.
Sebu Sirinian
principal second
Born in Bucharest, Romania, Sebu Sirinian was the first violinist of the award-winning Meridian String Quartet. He has performed internationally and held residences at Queens College, Bard College, Turtle Bay Music School though a grant by Chamber Music America and the Yale at Norfolk Summer Festival. Mr. Sirinian has performed…
… as concert-master for Musica Viva, the Princeton Chamber Orchestra, the Connecticut Grand Opera, as Principal Second of Orchestra Lumos, and has performed with Amici NY, American Symphony Orchestra, American Ballet Theater and many Broadway orchestras including Sunset Boulevard, Phantom of the Opera, Christmas Carol, West Side Story, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular and most recently as a member of the My Fair Lady production at Lincoln Center. Sebu has performed chamber music with Paul Neubauer, Seymour Lipkin, Daniel Phillips and William Sharp, and has performed as a soloist with The New York Chamber Orchestras, Bach Aria Festival Orchestra, Hunter College Orchestra. Mr. Sirinian earned his BM and MM from the Juilliard School, has studied with Jerry Beal, Ivan Galamian, Joyce Robbins and the Juilliard String Quartet, and is currently on the faculty of the Princeton Playweek Workshops. He has been heard on WQXR and WNYC, and is recorded on LRC, LIQUID SILVER, CAPSTONE and MIDDER MUSIC RECORDS, INC.
Robert Zubrycki
Violinist Robert Zubrycki is Concertmaster of the New York City Chamber Orchestra, a member of Orchestra Lumos, the American Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster of Orchestra Moderne NYC and principal violin and frequent soloist with the Amici New York Orchestra. He has recently performed…
… as Concertmaster for the New York Choral Society at Carnegie Hall, Encores! at City Center, Opera Orchestra of New York and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. He performs with the American Ballet Theater orchestra. A veteran of dozens of Broadway shows, Bob is in the orchestra of Carousel, and formerly in She Loves Me and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. He can be heard on the recent cast recordings of She Loves Me, An American in Paris and Paint Your Wagon (violin and mandolin). He has won an Emmy Award for his musical contribution to the documentary The Curse of the Bambino.As a chamber musician, Robert is the first violinist of the Queen’s Chamber Band and the Queen’s Chamber Trio. The Trio’s recordings of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven are available on the Lyrichord label. Robert toured the United States with the Abaca String band, including performances at the Chautauqua Institute and the White House. He is currently the director for Concerts Around the Corner and the Cultural Arts Coalition in Brewster, NY. Bob is also an avid gardener.
This past year, he became a US Masters Swimming Adult Learn-to-Swim Instructor and is an American “Red Cross” certified lifeguard.
Elizabeth Lim-Dutton
The David and Rebecca (Haile) Swanson Chair in loving memory of Rev. Dr. Peter K. Haile
Violinist Elizabeth Lim-Dutton began studies at the age of three and performed in a first student recital at the age of five. She started attending the Aspen Music Festival at the age of eleven and subsequently followed her teacher, Dorothy DeLay, to New York at the age of fourteen. She studied…
… at the Professional Children’s School, the Juilliard School (BM) and at the Yale School of Music-Yale University (MM). Ms. Lim performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, has toured the US as Concertmaster for the New York City Opera National Company and has performed as a member of the New Haven Symphony, Orchestra Lumos and the New York Pops. As a member of Steve Reich and Musicians and the Steve Reich Ensemble since 1992, she has toured and performed in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. The diverse musical life of a violinist in New York City has allowed Ms. Lim to record close to one hundred TV and radio commercials, over sixty movie soundtracks, and to perform in over forty Broadway productions, currently the Lincoln Center Theatre production of My Fair Lady.
Patricia Davis
Patricia Davis has been a member of Orchestra Lumos since 1995. She performs in ensembles based at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and on Broadway. Ms. Davis collaborates with composers on premieres of new chamber works, and was featured as solo violinist on WQXR (NYC) with…
… pianist/composer Beata Moon. She has participated in music festivals such as Aspen, Banff, Bard, Britten-Pears, Caramoor, Kinhaven, Meadowmount, Prussia Cove, Schleswig-Holstein, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar with Alexander Schneider. Her primary teachers have included Joyce Robbins, Sylvia Rosenberg, and the members of the Cleveland Quartet. Ms. Davis graduated from the Eastman School of Music, London’s Royal College of Music and SUNY Stony Brook where she received a DMA. Currently, she teaches young violinists at the Geneva Conservatory of Music in NYC.
Gabriel Schaff
A native of Philadelphia, violinist Gabriel Schaff hails from a musical family. His mother was the acclaimed composer and musicologist Claire Polin, and an earlier musical ancestor was the revered 19th century Russian composer and pianist, Anton Rubinstein. At the age of 16, Gabriel was admitted…
… into Philadelphia’s New School of Music before moving to New York City as a scholarship student of Erick Friedman at the Manhattan School of Music, later serving as his teaching assistant.Mr. Schaff has performed with many professional ensembles in the New York area, and is a recognized teacher and lecturer on the secondary and college levels. With the Englewood Chamber Players, he performs interactive and historical concerts in diverse communities. Current programs include a retrospective of women composers in celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment and lectures on the music of Beethoven in celebration of his 250th anniversary year.
Mr. Schaff is an internationally recognized author of books and articles pertaining to the history of the violin family and the music written for it, most notably “The Essential Guide to Bows of the Violin Family” and “Rediscovering Haydn’s Three Original Violin Sonatas”. 2023 saw the publication of TOURTE, in which he chronicled the complete history of the most important family in bow-making who changed the way we hear string playing. He has been on the faculty of Essex County College as a lecturer in the Humanities division, evolving a course entitled “Music in Society”. He is also the curator and archivist at the Si-Yo Music Society Foundation and the creator of the Si-Yo Fine Instrument Registry, the first of its kind.
Suzanne Gilman
Suzanne Gilman, violin, is a Connecticut native, raised in Simsbury. Her teachers include Roman Totenberg, Szymon Goldberg and Joyce Robbins. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and received first prize at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Suzanne is former concertmaster of…
… Delaware Symphony Orchestra and has performed with Orpheus, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater, Northeastern PA Philharmonic (Assistant Concertmaster), Opera Orchestra of NY (Principal Violin 2), and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Presently, in addition to the Orchestra Lumos, she is a member of the American Symphony Orchestra (Assistant Concertmaster/Principal Violin 2), Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Phantom of the Opera Orchestra on Broadway.
Susan Lorentsen
Violinist Susan Lorentsen has been honored and privileged to be a part of the rich New York musical scene for many years. Concerts, Broadway, chamber music, opera, ballet and recording are just some of her many areas of interest. She has performed with many of the freelance orchestras in New York, including…
… the American Symphony Orchestra, New York City Opera, New York Choral Society, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Musica Sacra, Solisti NY and New York Chamber Orchestra. In the classical field Ms. Lorentsen has had the privilege of performing with Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Pinchas Zuckerman, and many others. On the Great White Way she has appeared in over 25 Broadway shows including Hairspray, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Guys and Dolls, Miss Saigon and Carousel. Ms. Lorentsen has been performing The Radio City Christmas Spectacular as a member of The Radio City Music Hall orchestra for over twenty-five years. Ms. Lorentsen’s violin can be heard on the soundtracks of In and Out, Hercules, and Marvin’s Room. She has recorded with scores of artists as diverse as Keith Jarrett and Jennifer Holliday, and appeared with Stevie Wonder, Julie Andrews, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Bjork, Gladys Knight and The Pips, Rod Stewart, Page and Plant, and dozens of other artists. Ms. Lorentsen has also recorded numerous commercial jingles for clients like Nokia, Domino’s Pizza, Nexium, GNC and many others.
Lisa Tipton
Lisa Tipton, violinist and co-founder of the award-winning Meridian String Quartet, has toured internationally and held residencies at Queens and Bard Colleges. She won distinctions from the Evian International Competition, Artists International and Chamber Music America. As a devoted interpreter…
… of new music, Ms. Tipton established the Made in America series at Weill Recital Hall and has performed on the Interpretations series at Merkin Concert Hall. She performs regularly with Amici NY, Orchestra Lumos, Little Orchestra Society, American Symphony Orchestra and on Broadway. Ms. Tipton’s critically acclaimed recording of the violin sonatas of Charles Ives was released on Capstone Records in 2006. She has performed as a soloist with the Cornell, NY Chamber Orchestra, the Bronx Symphony and Vari Musici. Recently Lisa, along with Adrienne Kim, Tomoko Fujita, Lisa Kozenko and Adria Benjamin launched The NY Chamber Music CoOP, a new creative performance collaborative in NYC. She has been heard on WQXR, WNYC and recorded on LRC, Midder, Arizona and Capstone Records. Lisa is the Director of the NY Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program and on the faculty of School for Strings. She earned her B.A. from Cornell University where she was a College Scholar, her M.A. from The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and her DMA from the CUNY Grad Center. Lisa has studied with Daniel Phillips, Ani Kavafian, Joey Corpus, Roman Totenberg, Joyce Robbins, Sonya Monosoff and The Juilliard Quartet. To learn more about this musician, visit: www.tiptonviolin.com
Laura Bald
A member of Orchestra Lumos since 1984, Laura Bald has performed with numerous orchestras including the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Amici New York, the American Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and the OK Mozart Festival for fifteen seasons. She has served…
… as guest concertmaster with the Connecticut Grand Opera and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. As an avid chamber musician, Laura was a founding member of the Victoria String Quartet while living in Hong Kong. In addition to making several tours of China, the quartet’s concerts were frequently broadcast on live radio. Recipients of an Exxon grant, the quartet was chosen to perform at the Government House for the American Consul General and Hong Kong’s last governor, Christopher Patten. The Victoria String Quartet has received critical acclaim and appeared in feature articles in the South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Elle. At home, Laura has made several tours of Northeast Oklahoma with the Amici New York String Quartet, performing in educational and community outreach programs, television appearances and numerous concerts. Recently she collaborated with the Vassar dance department to premier a piece for string quartet and dancers.Laura has performed in Broadway pit orchestras for Ragtime, Boy from Oz, and Sunset Boulevard among others. Recordings include the orchestral soundtrack for the Haydn Planetarium’s Explore: The Universe and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s Grammy Award Winning Cheek to Cheek as well as their PBS Great Performances broadcast.
Kathleen Thomson
The Maria and Alan McIntyre Chair
Kathleen Thomson, violin, began her violin studies in her home town of Minneapolis and earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Saint Olaf College then moved to New York for her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Thomson has performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall, …
… Merkin Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other concert halls throughout the New York City metropolitan area. Overseas she has appeared with orchestras in Royal Albert Hall in London and at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. Committed to chamber music, she is a founding member of the Manhattan Chamber Artists, the Palisades Chamber Players, and is currently first violinist of the Westchester Camerata and the Saint Georges String Quartet. She resides in Irvington with her husband, Bill Moss, and their 2 children.
Nazig Tchakarian
Violinist Nazig Tchakarian has given recitals in Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United States. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in May 2008, which was followed by additional recital appearances in 2009, 2010 and 2013. In January 2010 Nazig toured Syria…
… and Lebanon as part of AGBU piano quartet and gave masterclasses at the Damascus Conservatory. Nazig is an award winner of national and international competitions. She has participated in the Heber Springs Chamber Music Festival and the International Festival-Institute at Round Top, as well as in masterclasses led by the Tokyo String Quartet, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Jorja Fleezanis, Charles Chastleman and Yfrah Neaman to mention a few. She was on the faculty of the International Festival-Institute at Round Top from 2008 to 2011 where she performed as concertmaster of the Texas Festival Orchestra. Nazig currently performs with the American Symphony Orchestra in New York City and Orchestra Lumos in Stamford, CT. She is on the faculty of Turtle Bay Music School and maintains a private teaching studio in New York City.Nazig holds a Masters of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Doctoral degree from the Stony Brook University. Her principal violin and chamber music teachers include Paul Kantor, Philip Setzer, Kevork Mardirossian, Peter Salaff, and the Emerson String Quartet.
Amy Wright
Amy Wright began playing the violin at the age of 4. Since making New York City her home, she has enjoyed an active freelance career playing in the tri-state area. In addition to playing with Orchestra Lumos, Ms. Wright plays with the Bronx Arts Ensemble, Musica Sacra, Voices of Ascension…
… and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Wright has also appeared in several Broadway pit orchestras and has toured or recorded with Alicia Keys, Tony Bennett, Henry Mancini, Keith Jarrett, Red Hurley and Anthony Hamilton. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Ms. Wright has studied with Ruggiero Ricci, Almita and Roland Vamos, Joyce Robbins and Joey Corpus. In addition to performing, Ms. Wright serves on the music faculty at Riverdale Country School where she is currently chair of the lower school music department.
Akiko Hosoi
Japanese violinist Akiko Hosoi is an active performer in New York City and across the United States. She is Concertmaster of the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra and has positions in the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Lumos and performs with…
… many tri-state area ensembles. Akiko continues to have an international presence with regular recitals in Japan as well as collaborations with Alexander Technique Studio Tokyo, Japan’s premiere school for training Alexander Technique teachers. Akiko has also performed across the UK, Finland, Malta, and Russia. In 2016, Akiko partnered with non-profit Nesin Cultural Arts to establish the Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra (SCCO) whose mission is to serve the community and elevate the quality of life through artistic expression and cultural experiences, which is subsequently Akiko’s personal mission to the arts. She has collaborated with artists and organizations for outreach performances and veteran hospitals, hospices and state prisons across the US and has appeared regularly as a soloist for benefit concerts to raise relief funds for the 2011 Fukushima disaster. A strong believer in music education, Akiko maintains an active studio in New York and is co-founder of the Aspiring Young Musicians Program, a program designed to provide students with frequent contact with high-caliber performing artists who share the passion for music education.Akiko is a graduate of the Purcell School of Music (UK), Cleveland Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, studied with David Cerone, Ronald Copes, Maurice Hasson, Lydia Mordkovitch, Kazuki Sawa, and David Updegraff. To learn more about this musician, visit: www.akikohosoi.com
David Steinberg
American born Violinist, David Steinberg, has been a member of Orchestra Lumos for many years. He was brought to New York under the guidance of Ivan Galamian and is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music degrees.
He is also a graduate of Juilliard’s pre-college division. He has been heard as a soloist, recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician in both the U.S. and Canada. His Canadian performances have been heard on CBC Radio, including CBF-FM’s “Music from Montreal” and has appeared in Montreal’s Pollack Hall, as well as the Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur. He has an active freelance career in New York City and the tri-state area, and has appeared with numerous orchestras including: the Montreal Symphony, the American Symphony, Opera Orchestra of NY, the N.E. PA. Philharmonic, L.I. Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Cecilia Chorus & Orchestra, Master Works Chorus & Orchestra, American Ballet Theater Orchestra, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, among others. Summer festivals have included: The Bard Music Festival and Great Music West (Utah). He is currently Concert Master and Violin Soloist with the Doansburg Chamber Ensemble in Putnam County. He resides in New York City with his wife, actress and singer, Victoria Devany. Hobbies include reading and Tai Chi.
Lisa Steinberg
Born and raised right here in Connecticut Lisa began her studies at the Hartt School of Music. She is an active performer throughout the New York metropolitan area. In addition to Orchestra Lumos…
… Lisa also performs with American Symphony, New York Choral Society, American Theatre Orchestra, Northeaster Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Southwest Florida Philharmonic, and Naples Opera. On Broadway Lisa has been a part of a number of orchestras, such as The Phantom of The Opera, Beauty and the Beast, The Radio City Christmas Show Spectacular, A Christmas Carol, 1776, Kiss Me Kate, Gypsy, Dance of The Vampires, Spamalot, West Side Story, and South Pacific. Lisa has performed extensively with pop, folk and rock artists including Natalie Merchant, Bernadette Peters, Idina Menzel, Beyonce, Sting and Led Zeppelin, to name a few. In the recording studio Lisa has recorded soundtracks for over 40 motion pictures, dozens of jingles and with solo artists such as Wynton Marsalis and Celine Dion. Lisa is on the teaching faculty at The Bergen Performing Arts Center and is a regular visiting teacher at The Elizabeth Morrow School in Englewood, NJ. Lisa is a certified yoga instructor and martial artist.Viola
Zoë Martin-Doike
principal viola
The Glenys Pinchin Chair
Adria Benjamin
Adria Benjamin is a longtime member of Orchestra Lumos’s viola section and serves as the orchestra’s personnel manager. She performs as an orchestral musician, chamber musician and in NYC as a recording studio and Broadway musician. She is a nationally recognized music educator…
…through her work at Mannes College’s Preparatory Division where she conducts three orchestras, teaches viola, chamber music, performance workshops and chairs the String Department. Adria also conducts the New School Community Orchestra and Orchestra Lumos’s Music Education programs. She has performed as a soloist at the 92 Street Y, Zankel Hall, and has also performed at the White House. Adria was part of the founding team of the OK Mozart International Festival where, in addition to serving as Assistant Principal Violist, she also served as Artistic Administrator and Artistic Director. She performs annually at the Bard Festival. Adria was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Eos Orchestra and of the New York Viola Society. She is a former member of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Jerusalem String Ensemble. Her teachers include Mary Jane Metcalfe, Francis Tursi (Eastman), Karen Tuttle (Peabody) and Joey Corpus.
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While pursuing a Master’s Degree at the Peabody Conservatory, Adria served as Karen Tuttle’s teaching assistant and was awarded the Peabody Prize for Outstanding Viola performance. While at Eastman, Adria served as assistant to her conducting mentors, Gustav Meier and Robert DeCormier. She is often a part of the planning and creative teams and a performing artist for many concerts benefiting a wide range of non-profit organizations. With the New York Chamber Music Co-Op, Adria and her colleagues present an annual series of Concerts for Social Justice, all in support of the social justice initiatives at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. Adria currently serves as Co-Chair of the New School University’s Faculty Senate.
Rebecca Osborn
Rebecca Osborn is from Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado and the Juilliard School. She has lived and performed in South America and Europe and currently resides in New York City and Sitka, Alaska.
KC Still
Violist and violinist KC Still is an active teacher and performer. She is currently on the faculty at The Crowden Center in Berkeley, CA, as a Suzuki and Traditional violin and viola teacher, and teaches both Suzuki and Traditional students in her private studio. She teaches all ages and abilities, but specializes in…
… working with children. Until January 2008, KC was a New York freelance orchestral and chamber music performer. Among the groups she performed with are the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Symphony Orchestra, New Haven and Orchestra Lumos in CT, the ballet orchestras for the Matsuyama, Australian, Royal and Kirov ballet companies, and the pit orchestras for various Broadway shows. KC toured Japan with the New York Pops, and opened a new concert hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil with the American Symphony Orchestra. She was a member of the orchestra of the Sarasota Opera Association during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. KC can be heard on the ECM recording of pianist/composer Keith Jarrett with the Fairfield Orchestra, and on the Nonesuch recording of “Desert Music” by Steve Reich with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. A resident of the San Francisco East Bay now, KC continues to perform in the New York area, coming back to play with the Stamford Symphony Orchestra because of its continued excellence. To learn more about this musician, visit: https://www.kcstill.com
Shelley Holland-Moritz
Shelley Holland-Moritz grew up in Wolverine Lake, MI and attended Interlochen Arts Academy as a scholarship student for high school. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she was a scholarship student of William Lincer, principal violist of the NY Philharmonic. Besides being a member of…
… Orchestra Lumos, Shelley is also a member of the American Symphony Orchestra, and plays regularly in several other groups such as Encores!. Shelley loves playing chamber music, and will be returning to Schloss Weinberg, a 13th c. castle in Austria, for her second season of the International Chamber Music Festival this summer. She also loves teaching and is director of the Spring School Suzuki program. She resides in NJ with her husband, principal trombonist Richard Clark.
Liana Laura Mount
Laura Mount, violist, was awarded a DMA from The Juilliard School. She was taught by legendary viola pedagogues William Lincer, Karen Tuttle, Leonard Mogill, and Francis Tursi.
Dr. Mount has performed extensively throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. She plays frequently with orchestras in the tri-state area including…
As a master teacher with the non-profit organization, Love Violin, USA, Dr. Mount helps historically underrepresented students in music gain access to high-level training and performance education. She is also the viola coach for Orchestra Long Island and, in that role, prepares and coordinates educational programs in public schools throughout the tri-state area, identifying and finding opportunities for talented young musicians.
Dr. Mount has taught at Hunter College High School, Hunter College, and Queens College and is a founding member of 4Strings Music Festival, where she is currently an artist-faculty member. Dr. Mount has given master classes at Hartt School of Music, Interlochen, Mannes Prep, Brooklyn Tech High School, Uniondale High School, Jericho High School, Sachem HighSchool, LaGuardia High School, 4Strings Music Festival, and Point Counterpoint Camp.
Since 1994, Dr. Mount has been on the violin, viola and chamber music faculty of the Mannes Prep. Dr. Mount has been on the faculty at Juilliard Pre-College Music Advancement Program since 2023.
Leslie Tomkins
Leslie Tomkins, viola, is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Moab Music Festival (moabmusicfest.org) which has its 26th season in September, 2018. She is the Associate Director of Summertrios (summertrios.org) which offers chamber music coaching and performance opportunities to adult amateur musicians of all levels. When she…
… is not playing chamber music among the red rocks of Southeastern UT, Leslie enjoys the richly diverse musical life that New York City offers, playing with many fine New York area ensembles including the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Westchester Philharmonic, Orchestra Lumos, American Composers Orchestra, Musica Sacra, Oratorio Society, the Orchestra of St. John the Divine, Fontenay Chamber Players and the Innovative Trio.
Louis Day
Louis Day, viola, earned his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music from the Mannes College of Music. He studied with Karen Tuttle at Mannes College of Music, Wolfgang Krist at Wofgang Hoch Orchester Schule in Germany, and Bernard Kadinoff at Boston University. He has performed with…
… numerous orchestras in the tri-state area and abroad, including the American Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Virtuosi, Orchestra Lumos and Fairfield Symphony Orchestra, the New York Pops, the Opera Orchestra of New York, the Connecticut Grand Opera, the New York Virtuosi and the Broadway orchestras of 1776, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera as well as with the Orquestra Symphonica Portuguesa Sao Carlos Orchestra in Portugal, the Orchestra Sinfonica de Sevilla and the New American Chamber Orchestra in Spain.Cello
Caroline Stinson
principal
The Susanah and Naeem Fayyaz Chair
Cellist Caroline Stinson is a native of Canada and has made her career across North America and Europe as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician in traditional, 20th century and contemporary repertoire. Cellist of the internationally acclaimed…
…Ciompi String Quartet and Associate Professor at Duke University in North Carolina, Ms. Stinson’s concert invitations include Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel Halls, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Museum of Modern Art’s Summergarden Series, Bargemusic and Le Poisson Rouge in New York, Boston’s Gardner Museum, Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian; the Koelner Philharmonie, Lucerne Festival and Cité de la Musique in Europe, and the Centennial and Winspear Centres in Canada.An active recitalist and chamber musician, Caroline is invited regularly as guest and has appeared at the Rencontres d’été Strasbourg, France, Rudersdal Sommerkoncerter, Denmark, Manchester Music, Newburyport and Caramoore Music Festivals in the USA. Since joining the Ciompi Quartet in 2018, she has performed with the group across the US, in Taiwan and Italy and has given solo recitals in New York City presented by the League of Composers and in Denmark. In 2022 she toured Lithuania with pianist Gabrielius Alekna performing Dialogues with Beethoven including a premiere by Žibuoklė Martinaityte.
Together with her husband, Andrew Waggoner, Caroline is co-artistic Director of the Weekend of Chamber Music, a summer music festival of concerts and events in the Southern Catskill Mountain Region of New York State. Now in their 9th year as directors and the festival’s 30th, WCM hosts multiple events over 3 weeks, featuring a composer-in-residence, and the select group of artists perform vivid, intimate concerts in rural spaces and unusual village sites across multiple counties. WCM also brings in graduate fellows in composition and performance to collaborate on new works and present as part of the festival itself.
Caroline’s close work with composers has been essential in building her understanding and communication of new music, and she is privileged to have worked closely with Bill Bolcom, Pierre Boulez, John Corigliano, George Crumb, John Harbison, Aaron Jay Kernis, Harold Meltzer, Shulamit Ran, Steven Stucky, Joan Tower, Andrew Waggoner and Anna Weesner; Peter Eötvös in Germany, and Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen in Denmark, among many others. At the composer’s recommendation, she performed Esa-Pekka Salonen’s “YTA III”, for solo cello at Scandinavia House in New York, and performed Elliot Carter’s Triple Duo on two continents and for Swiss Radio with Pierre Boulez conducting, working with the composer on multiple occasions. Caroline has commissioned cello concerti, solo cello works and pieces with electronics, and chamber music, premiering dozens of works over a decade with the Lark Quartet and Open End Ensemble (a new music and improvisation group), and performing and touring with the Bang On a Can All-Stars, ISCM League of Composers, the Cassatt Quartet, CELLO, Continuum of New York City and Accroche Note of France.
Ms. Stinson has an extensive chamber music discography of almost two dozen CDs, including three recordings on Bridge Records with the Lark Quartet, featured and praised on the BBC, in Gramophone Magazine, WQXR and in the NY Times. She released her solo recording on Albany Records linking European masters to multiple generations of American composers in 2011. In radio, her performances have been broadcast on Swiss Radio, Performance Today in the USA, and on CBC Radio Canada.
Caroline was a student of Tanya Prochazka in Edmonton and earned degrees with honours from the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Cleveland Institute of Music under Alan Harris, the Hochschule für Musik Köln (First Prize) as a student of Maria Kliegel, and completed her Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick. While living in Germany, she took courses with Natalia Gutman, Frans Helmerson, Boris Pergamenschikow, Siegfried Palm and Janos Starker. She is the recipient of the J.B.C. Watkins Prize in Music from the Canada Council, first prize in the Hohnen Foundation Cello Competition of Germany, and the American Music Award from the Seventeen/GM National Concerto Competition in the United States. She has been awarded prizes, grants and scholarships from the Alberta Heritage Fund, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Winspear Fund, the Anne Burrows Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts, and fellowships from the Aspen, Lucerne, Verbier and Sarasota Festivals.
Eliot Bailen
Eliot Bailen has an active career as an artistic director, cellist, composer and teacher. Strings Magazine writes, “At Merkin Hall ‘cellist Eliot Bailen displayed a warm focused tone, concentrated expressiveness and admirable technical command always at the service of the music.” Founder and Artistic Director of…
… the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, now in its 36th year, whose performances the New York Times has described as “the Platonic ideal of a chamber music concert,” Mr. Bailen is also Founder and Artistic Director of Chamber Music at Rodeph Sholom in New York and Artistic Director of the New York Chamber Ensemble. Principal cello of the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, New York Chamber Ensemble, Orchestra New England, Teatro Grattacielo and the New Choral Society, Mr. Bailen also performs regularly with the Saratoga Chamber Players, Cape May Music Festival, Sebago-Long Lake Chamber Music Festival as well as with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Opera and Ballet, American Symphony, Orchestra Lumos and New Jersey Symphony. Heard frequently in numerous Broadway shows, in 2015 he was the solo cellist for Allegiance. Among Mr. Bailen’s commissions are an Octet, a Double Concerto for Flute and Cello, Perhaps a Butterfly and the Saratoga Sextet. His musical, The Tiny Mustache, has recently received a third grant for further development from the Omer Foundation. Mr. Bailen has also received over thirty-five commissions for his “Song to Symphony” for schools (subject of a NY Times feature article Sept. 2006 and winner of a Yale Alumni Grant). In 2002, he received the Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking. Mr. Bailen received his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) from Yale University and an M.B.A. from NYU. He is on the cello and chamber music faculty at Columbia University and Teachers College.
Sarah Carter
This chair has been named by an anonymous donor
Sarah Carter has enjoyed tremendous versatility in her career as a performing artist. Her orchestral affiliations include…
… the American Symphony, the Westchester Philharmonic, the American Composer’s Orchestra, Orchestra Lumos, the Oratorio Society of NY, and Radio City Music Hall where she was the principal cellist for 12 years and a member for 32 years. She has been a member of many Broadway Show orchestras such as Damn Yankees, The King and I, Parade, The Music Man, Oklahoma, Never Gonna Dance, South Pacific, The Visit and Kid Victory. She just finished a short run of The Little Mermaid at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn NJ. She also subs at Wicked and Lion King.At home in Cresskill, NJ, she enjoys teaching her private students and playing chamber music whenever possible. Her three amazing children are well on their way to doing great things.
Peter Sanders
Peter Sanders, cello, is a native New Yorker and a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Sanders has been a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra since 1999 (for which he has served as Acting Principal), performs with the Riverside Symphony, Orchestra Lumos and has performed…
… and recorded as a guest artist with the Perspectives Ensemble. He has toured Southeast Asia twice with the New York Symphonic Ensemble and as concerto soloist with the group performed in concerts in Taipei and Singapore. He is Artistic Director of the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival which had its inaugural season in 1993. Mr. Sanders was a winner of the 1998 Artists International award as a member of the Hollaender Ensemble and is currently a member of the Ariadne Trio. He has participated in many summer festivals including the Colorado Music Festival, Skaneateles Festival, Crested Butte Chamber Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival (faculty position), CVCMF, Lancaster Festival, Ohio (where he was principal cello from 1992-98), Windham Chamber Music Festival, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, the Park City & SLC Autumn Classics Music Festival and the Moab Music Festival. As a studio musician Mr. Sanders has recorded for a variety of popular artists including Pat Metheny, Jewel, Kathie Lee Gifford, Andy Bey and Carlinhos Brown. He can be heard on the Delos, Muse, Bridge, RCA Victor-Red Seal, New World, On the Lamb and KOCH International Classics labels. Radio and television broadcasts include WQXR, APM’s “Performance Today”, PBS and Vermont Public Radio.
Jacqueline Stern
Jacqueline Stern has been performing with Orchestra Lumos since 1984. She is an orchestral and chamber musician in groups including the trio Terzetta, Spirit (an improv ensemble) and the Encore Chamber Players. She has played Baroque cello with…
… the Artek Ensemble, the Orchestra of the 18th Century and New York Baroque. She has been an Artist-Fellow with the Bach Aria Festival and a full scholarship student at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in England. She holds a BM from Ithaca College and an MM from the Manhattan School of Music, where she was a Helena Rubinstein Foundation scholar. Ms. Stern chairs the Instrumental Music department at the Green Meadow Waldorf School, where she conducts the orchestras, teaches cello and music history and coaches chamber music. She directs the Westchester Junior Strings Orchestra, as well as conducting, coaching and being clinician at various music festivals in the metropolitan area. She is a participant in the Music Educators’ Workshop at the Resnick Education Center of Carnegie Hall.
Matthew Goeke
Matthew Goeke, cellist, performs as soloist, chamber musician and orchestra player in a broad range of musical styles. His experience with contemporary music spans the SEM Ensemble, Cross Town Ensemble, North/South Consonance, the Kitchen House Blend and Glass Farm Ensemble. Matt is…
… a member of the di.vi.sion piano trio, and the award winning flute, viola, cello trio, Eight Strings & a Whistle, and is an active free-lance musician throughout the metropolitan area. Solo performances with orchestras around the New York area include many from the standard repertoire. Recent recordings include releases with Eight Strings & a Whistle (Albert’s Window, 96 Strings and 2 Whistles (dedicated to the music of Scott Brickman) and Chamber Symphonies 2, 3 & 4 (the Music of Doug Anderson, all on PARMA Records), the di.vi.sion piano trio (Dream Forms (dedicated to the music of Steven Burke), the Music of Merrill Clark (both on Albany Records) and the Glass Farm Ensemble (Bruhaha, on the Innova label). He has also recorded with North/South Recordings and 4Tay, Inc., Opus One Records, Polygram, Elektra, Tzadik and Koch International Classics labels.Matt can also be found “rocking out” in the band ‘GIANTfingers’, based in New York City.
Matt coaches with the New York Youth Symphony’s Chamber Music Program, and is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, part of the City of University of New York.
Bass
Peter Weitzner
principal
The Marsha Kaiser Shendell and Family Chair
Peter Weitzner, a graduate of the Juilliard School, has performed with Solisti New York, the Jupiter Symphony, EOS Ensemble, SONYC, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Orchestra Lumos, Musicians Accord, and the New Jersey Symphony. As soloist, he has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony and performed the New York premiere of…
… Sheila Silver’s Chant for bass and piano. Mr. Weitzner has been a frequent participant at international music festivals including Mostly Mozart, OK Mozart, Cape May, Festival of the Hamptons, Bratislava Music Festival, and the Bruckner Festival in Linz, Austria.An avid chamber musician, Mr. Weitzner is currently the curator and host of the BPL Chamber Players in residence at the Central branch (Grand Army Plaza) of the Brooklyn Public Library. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Orion, Ensō and Daedalus Quartets, Trio Solisti, New York Chamber Ensemble, Yale at Norfolk, Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival, New York Philomusica, Garden City Chamber Music Society, Sherman Chamber Ensemble and the Berkshire Bach Society.
He has also performed with the dance companies of Lar Lubovitch and David Parsons as well as Merce Cunningham’s 80th birthday celebration at the Lincoln Center Festival in the New York premiere of Biped. He also participated in a performance at NJPAC (NJ Performing Arts Center) with the re-emerging Alice Coltrane shortly before her passing. For ten years Mr. Weitzner toured the world as a member of the Giora Feidman Trio. In the spring of 2009, he was invited to become a member of the Quincy Jones Musiq Consortium, an arts education advocacy group comprised of arts-related non-profits, musicians and educators.
His work can be heard on the Nonesuch, Albany, Pro Gloria Musicae, New World Records, Musical Heritage Society, Delos, Grenadilla, and Berkshire Bach Society record labels. He has also produced recordings of the Brandenburg Concerti with the Berkshire Bach Society and the critically acclaimed complete flute music of J.S. Bach with flutist Susan Rotholz and Kenneth Cooper, fortepiano, released by Bridge Records. A CD of American flute music with Susan Rotholz and pianist, Margaret Kampmeier has also been released by Bridge. He is also a frequent contributor of concert recordings to NPR’s Performance Today.
Richard Ostrovsky
As an active freelance musician, Rick Ostrovsky performs regularly with some of the most respected ensembles in New York City. A member of the American Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Lumos; other notable orchestras with which he plays include the American Composers Orchestra and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. He has also…
…regularly played with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York City Ballet. He has toured extensively with a variety of ensembles, playing in major concert halls throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Asia. Mr. Ostrovsky performs and teaches as part of the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival, and also performs with the ASO at the Bard Music Festival. He can be heard on orchestral recordings of the American Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and is the solo bassist on the recordings of the Gowanus Arts Ensemble. Mr. Ostrovsky was a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and was the solo bass with the Soviet Émigré Orchestra, an ensemble of thirteen string players. Mr. Ostrovsky has also had the opportunity to perform on Broadway and played regularly as bassist for shows such as A Secret Garden, Beauty and the Beast, and Kiss of the Spiderwoman. He has also had the opportunity to perform in a variety of chamber and solo settings, including a performance of the Bottesini Gran Duo in concert with violinist Erick Freidman, and to share the recital stage with his wife, soprano Kaori Sato. Mr. Ostrovsky received both his B.M. and M.M. from the Juilliard School.
Troy Rinker
A member of several ensembles, Troy Rinker has performed with the West Side Chamber Orchestra, New York City Chamber Orchestra, New York Symphonic Ensemble, Oratorio Society of New York, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, SONOS Chamber Orchestra, EOS Chamber Orchestra, …
… SEM Ensemble, New York Pops, and Orchestra Lumos. Mr. Rinker teaches at the Third Street Music Settlement, the Noel Pointer Foundation, and Kinhaven.Troy Rinker’s musical journey began in the public schools of Jacksonville, Arkansas and by age 15 he was playing professionally with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Rinker’s musical education continued at Indiana University, the University of Central Arkansas, and The Juilliard School, where he studied with bass luminaries Lawrence Hurst, James Hatch, and Homer Mensch.
His summer festival credits include OK Mozart, Tanglewood, Spoleto, the Naumburg Bandshell concerts, the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and Caramoor. Mr. Rinker can be heard on labels Sony Classical, Telarc, Naxos, North/South, and in studio recordings for television and film.
Andrew Trombley
The Weisman Family Chair in memory of Fred Weisman
Andrew Trombley, hailed as a “stand-out performer” by the NY Concert review, is an often sought-out bass player in the tri-state area and abroad. Andrew holds the position of Principal Bass for the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Principal Bass for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and is a section member of…
… Orchestra Lumos. Andrew frequently performs with some of the world’s leading ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera. Andrew has also collaborated with international artists such as JP Jofre and his “New Tango Quintet,” Joseph Lin, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and members from Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. As a recording artist, Andrew performed on soundtracks for “A Dog’s Purpose,” “Hundred Foot Journey,” and “Noah” to name a few.A native of Monticello, New York, Andrew and his violinist-wife, Akiko Hosoi, returned to his roots to establish The Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra in collaboration with local arts non-profit, Nesin Cultural Arts. Andrew currently serves as the ensembles Artistic Director and Principal Bass. The husband-and-wife duo also established the Aspiring Young Musicians program to offer private lessons and ensemble classes to dedicated students who wish to excel at their craft. Andrew’s commitment to the arts is not limited to performances as he regularly coaches students from his alma mater, the Monticello Central School District and the Wappingers Central School District. Andrew is a graduate of the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Timothy Cobb.
Christopher Johnson
The Katherine and Bob Michele Chair
Christopher “bassplayaplaya” Johnson started his musical journey at The New England Conservatory with Project S.T.E.P. After seeing the Boston Bassketeers at a Project STEP FOCUS presentation, he was determined to learn the bass. Helen Stevenson was his first teacher from second grade until he graduated from Belmont High School. As a student, he completed his early dreams of joining the Boston Bassketeers and served as one of the principals of Massachusetts’ North East Junior, Senior District, and All State Orchestras.
In his earlier years he had the opportunity to perform at Jordan Hall for From the Top, at The Apollo, and attended the International Society of Bassists Conference in 1997. He traveled to Italy, Cuba, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Brazil with New England Conservatory youth orchestras. He pursued his Bachelor of Music degree with Don Palma at New England Conservatory.After Boston, Chris continued on to graduate studies at Manhattan School of Music with Tim Cobb. He holds positions with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Reading Symphony, Orchestra Lumos, and won the International Society of Bassist Excerpt competition in 2013. After the competition he was invited to play with the touring chamber orchestra, Sphinx Virtuosi. Chris plays in a wide variety of ensembles including Rootstock Republic/Dear Nina, JP Jofre’s Tango Quintet, Brooklyn’s Pitch Blak Brass Band, BlackRock Philharmonic, The Recollective Orchestra, The New York City Ballet, and studio sessions for movies, commercials, and albums, as well as many other engagements. Recently, Chris recorded a Nina Simone Tribute album with Rootstock Republic which will be released in 2022. He can be heard on Han Zimmer’s score of the Lion King (2019) and on the score of “Judah and the Black Messiah” (2021).
Chris lives in Brooklyn with his cat, Strauss.
Flute
Elizabeth Mann
principal
Elizabeth Mann is a featured performer in concert halls throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East. She is the Principal Flutist of the Orchestra of St. Lukes, the St. Lukes Chamber Ensemble and is a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. She has played Principal Flute with…
… the Rotterdam Philharmonic under the baton of Valery Gergiev and recorded and performed with the New York Philharmonic. In past seasons, she premiered a solo flute piece by Joan Tower and performed a commissioned Concerto by Peter Maxwell Davies with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.Ms. Mann has been principal flute with the Santa Fe Opera, played with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Dorian Quintet and Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project. She has been featured at Caramoor, Santa Fe and the Lochenhaus Festivals and teaches at the Colorado College for their Summer Festival, and is Professor of Flute at Mannes at The New School.
Ms. Mann attended the Juilliard School as a student of Julius Baker. She can be heard on over 100 recordings, which include her critically acclaimed flute and harp CD with Deborah Hoffmann of Chopin transcriptions titled “Reflections”. Ms. Mann is also an active teacher.
Kathleen Nester
Connecticut native Kathleen Nester has been a member of Orchestra Lumos since 1994. She is also Assistant Principal Flute and Solo Piccolo for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Kathleen has performed with many of the top ensembles in and around NYC, including…
… the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Opera, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She also performs with the IRIS Orchestra with Maestro Michael Stern, and has played at the Bravo! Vail, Mostly Mozart, Lincoln Center, and Oklahoma Mozart Festivals. She has been featured in concertos on flute, piccolo, and recorder with orchestras in the US, and abroad. She has recorded with such artists as Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Kathleen Battle and jazz singer/trumpeter Bria Skonberg. An advocate of new music, she has premiered new works for flute and chamber ensemble as a member of “Musicians’ Accord.” Kathleen has been the flutist for many Broadway productions, most recently An American in Paris, Evita, Sunset Boulevard and Roundabout Theater’s 2016 production of She Loves Me, the first Broadway show to be live-streamed. She has recorded for Pickwick, Decca, Mode, Musical Heritage Society, and Sony Classical, and can also be heard on movie soundtracks such as Julie and Julia, Tower Heist, The Last Mimsy and The Greatest Showman. She is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and is a member of the flute faculty at New York University. Kathleen also plays Baroque flute and is an avid knitter and bird watcher.Oboe
Melanie Feld
principal
The Judith and Robert Hall Chair
Since 1980, Melanie Feld has been principal oboist of Orchestra Lumos. She is a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and American Composers Orchestra and is principal oboist of the Westchester Philharmonic. She is the English Hornist of the American Symphony Orchestra and…
…has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. From 1992 to 2023 she was a member of the orchestra for the Broadway production of Phantom of the Opera. For a number of years she was a member of the New York Pickup Ensemble, playing the annual Carnegie Hall P.D.Q. Bach programs. Her recording credits include albums on the Music Masters, CBS, Telarc, Harmonia Mundi, Decca, EMI, Nonesuch and New World Records.A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Ms. Feld moved to New York City to attend the Mannes College of Music and completed her graduate studies at the Juilliard School of Music. Her teachers have included Leland Lincoln, Marc Lifschey, Stephen Adelstein and Ronald Roseman.
Melanie resides in Leonia, New Jersey with her music librarian husband David Carp. Former members of the Carp household are son Joshua (father of Elliott Carp and the twins Caleb and Micah Carp) and daughter Elizabeth; current feline inhabitants are cats Sasha and Pickle.
Keisuke Ikuma
Keisuke Ikuma is currently a member of Orchestra Lumos and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Ikuma received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music.
Clarinet
Juan Esteban Martinez
principal
The Louisa S. Greene & Family Chair
A native of Colombia, Juan Esteban Martinez moved to the Dominican Republic at a young age, where he began to play the clarinet. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Music and the Peabody Conservatory of Music. In 2022, he was the 1st prize winner of Sphinx Orchestral Partners Auditions (SOPA) Excerpt Competition.
Juan has appeared as a soloist numerous times with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, making his official debut at the age of 15 performing Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations in a traditional concert that was live-streamed on national television. He has been a featured soloist with the Caldas Symphony Orchestra in Colombia and the Coeur d’ Alene Symphony. In 2019, he was selected by concert pianist Gabriela Montero to form the Gabriela Montero Ensemble, a group that went on to perform a program of Montero’s original compositions at the prestigious Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland.Prior to joining the New Jersey Symphony, Juan was the acting second clarinetist of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra for the 2022-2023 season, and a member of The Orchestra Now. He participated in the New York String Orchestra Seminar for two years in a row giving sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall. He has also appeared with the Classical Tahoe Orchestra, Symphony in C, Princeton Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute + Festival and the Orchestra of the Americas, among others. His professional training includes study with David Shifrin and Anthony McGill.
Bassoon
Cynde Iverson
principal
The Julie Forrester-Alexandre Chair in memory of Jay Forrester and Gil Alexandre
Cynde Iverson is recognized as one of the finest bassoonists today. She is Principal bassoonist with Orchestra Lumos and New Haven Symphony and a member of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra. She performs with…
… many of New York’s most prestigious ensembles, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the American Symphony Orchestra.As a soloist Ms. Iverson has toured the US, Europe, Japan and Asia with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Iverson is a founding member of the Wind Trio of New York.
In the summer months she performs at the Caramoor Music Festival, North Country Chamber Players, Moab Music Festival and Chamber Music Northwest.
As an advocate for contemporary music, Ms. Iverson has performed and recorded numerous compositions with the chamber ensembles Continuum and Musical Elements and has explored the medium of Jazz with artists such as Steve Lacy, Anthony Davis and James Newton. She was a member of the Jazz ensemble Episteme and toured extensively both locally and abroad.
Cynde Iverson received her B.M. (cum laude) from Indiana University as a student of Leonard Sharrow and her M.M. (cum laude) from the Juilliard School as a student of Stephen Maxym.
Adrian Morejon
The Cate and Bill Leach Chair in memory of David Morris
Praised for his “teeming energy” and “precise control” by the New York Times and having “every note varnished to a high gloss” by the Boston Globe, New York-based bassoonist Adrian Morejon has established himself as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician.
As a soloist, Morejon has appeared throughout the US, Mexico, and Europe with the Talea Ensemble, IRIS Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), and the Miami Symphony. Most recently, Morejon is featured on the recording of Joan Tower’s Bassoon Concerto, Red Maple, released by BMOP/Sound. An active chamber musician and advocate of contemporary music, Morejon is a member of the Dorian Wind Quintet and Executive Director/Bassoonist of Talea Ensemble. He has appeared with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Imani Winds, Alarm Will Sound, the Argento Chamber Ensemble, and as a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Boston Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Essex Winter Series, among others. An experienced orchestral musician, Morejon is a member of Orchestra Lumos and the IRIS Collective, and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Novus, The Knights, and others.Morejon was a recipient of Theodore Presser Foundation Grant, 2nd prize of the Fox-Gillet International Competition, and a shared top prize at the Moscow Conservatory International Competition. During the past summers, he has participated in many festivals, including the Composer’s Conference at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Sebago-Long Lake Music Festival, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music Summer Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts, the Portland Chamber Music Festival, and the Monadnock Music Festival.
Morejon completed graduate studies at the Yale School of Music while studying with Frank Morelli. Prior to this, Morejon studied bassoon with Bernard Garfield and harpsichord with Lionel Party at the Curtis Institute of Music. Morejon is currently on faculty at The Mannes School of Music at The New School, SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music, CUNY Brooklyn College, and CUNY Hunter College. He previously served on faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee College, and Longy School of Music.
Photo credit: Karjaka Studios
Horn
Lawrence DiBello
principal
Lawrence DiBello, in addition to his role as Principal horn with Orchestra Lumos, is Principal horn in the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Co-Principal horn in the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, 3rd horn in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and 3rd horn in the American Symphony Orchestra. He has also…
… made several guest appearances as Principal horn with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.His commercial musical ventures include national and international tours with Barbra Streisand as Principal horn and recordings with pop icons Paul Taylor and Sting.
He also has been a member of many Broadway Show orchestras including Cats, Jesus Christ Super Star, Nine, Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, Mary Poppins, Billy Elliot, Carousel and currently Music Man.
Eva Conti
Eva Conti, French hornist, is currently in her 12th season as a member of Orchestra Lumos. She is also in her 20th season as Principal horn with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. She is a regular member of the Boca Symphonia and Berkshire Opera Orchestras. She has held the position of principal horn with…
… the New Israeli Opera, Israel Camerata and the Haifa Symphony. Eva has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, New Jersey Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Palm Beach Opera, The Radio City Orchestra, Aspen Quintet and in numerous Broadway shows. She has toured several times in the US, Canada and Europe as a member of the Barbra Streisand Orchestra and is on the CD and DVD of the 2006 US tour and the recently released back to Brooklyn tour of 2013.Ms. Conti holds a Master’s of Music Degree in French Horn from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Guitar and in Biology from the University of Rhode Island.
Eva is also an accomplished flamenco dancer and has been a soloist, featured dancer and musical arranger with the Alborada Spanish Dance Theater for 10 seasons. She has been a dance soloist with numerous orchestras and chamber groups including the Stamford Symphony in 2016.
Zohar Schondorf
Zohar Schondorf finished his Bachelor of Music degree from the Juilliard School in 1995, Zohar Schondorf returned to his homeland of Israel for a total of six years to assume two positions, one as Associate Principal Horn with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra and the other as Principal Horn with the…
… Israel Symphony/Opera Orchestra, a position he held from 1997 to 2001. Relocating back to NYC in 2001, Mr. Schondorf joined the American Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal horn and has been serving as Principal since 2012.Also serving as Co-Principal of ABT and 3rd horn with Orchestra Lumos, Mr. Schondorf enjoys a prosperous career, performing in the studio as well as with numerous international, regional and local orchestras.
Recent appearances include Orpheus and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestras, Harrisburg Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, Westchester Philharmonic, American Composer’s Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, the KNIGHTS, NKO (in Israel), Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Pops, Encores and many more.
For his performance of Auf Dem Strom at the 2014 Bard Music Festival he was hailed “the star” by Harry Rolnick of ConcertoNet.com.
Mr. Schondorf has been featured as a regular member of high profiled Broadway shows like Spamalot, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Addams Family, Ghost, Fiddler on the Roof (2015), My Fair Lady(2017), West Side Story(2019) and is currently Principal Horn at Phantom of the Opera.
Mr. Schondorf joined Zephyros Winds in 2008 and is a member of Sylvan Winds since 2002.
David Smith
David Smith is a native of Westport, Connecticut, a graduate of Yale University and has been a member of Orchestra Lumos’s horn section for many years. Mr. Smith has played and recorded extensively with the New York Philharmonic and has performed on a number of their US and international tours, including…
… the historic tour to North Korea in 2008. He is a member of the American Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the New York City Ballet and Opera orchestras as well. David has also joined with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Moscow Virtuosi during their United States tours. He has been involved with the Vail Valley, Bard, Tanglewood, OK Mozart, Waterloo and New England Bach summer music festivals. Mr. Smith has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, BMG, RCA Victor, Koch International and Island Records and has been featured as soloist on recordings of the Vivaldi Concerto for 2 Horns and Bach’s First Brandenburg Concerto. David has played in numerous Broadway shows and currently performs in the orchestra of the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera. He is married to singer and Phantom cast member Patrice Pickering and they are the proud parents of their son Jeremy.Trumpet
John Dent
principal
John Dent enjoys an established and diverse career in the New York area. In addition to performing with Lumos, he is a frequent guest principal trumpet with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and maintains a busy schedule performing in the New York Pops, the Orchestra of St.Luke’s, the American Symphony Orchestra, and the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center.
Broadway credits include Billy Elliot: The Musical, Carousel, The Music Man, On the Twentieth Century, and She Loves Me. A native of Tennessee, John earned his Bachelor of Music at the Oberlin Conservatory, and his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School.Trombone
Richard Clark
principal
The Peggy Kalter Chair in Memory of Alan Kalter
Richard Clark, has long-time experience as one of the leading tenor/alto/bass trombone/euphonium players in the greater NYC region. He is principal trombonist of the American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Lumos, the Mostly Mozart Festival orchestra, the New York Pops orchestra, Northeastern PA Philharmonic, the Amici New York Orchestra and the American Classical Orchestra. Mr Clark…
… has also performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque. He has been staff trombonist for many Broadway musicals, including On the Town, Billy Elliot, The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Candide, and The King and I. Mr. Clark is adjunct professor of trombone and brass chamber ensembles at William Paterson University.Bass Trombone
John Rojak
principal
John Rojak became a member of the American Brass Quintet in 1991, joining their residencies at The Juilliard School and the Aspen Music Festival. He is bass trombonist of Orchestra Lumos, New York Pops, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, IRIS, and Little Orchestra Society. Rojak has performed and recorded with…
… the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus, and Solisti New York, and performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Boston Symphony. His Broadway shows include Les Miserables, Sugar Babies, and The Producers. Rojak has performed with Metallica, Peter Gabriel, and Styx, as well as for Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. Solo CDs include Rojak Rocks on Navona, The Romantic Bass Trombone on MMC, Bass Hits, the Bass Trombone Concerti of Eric Ewazen on Albany Records, and The Essential Rochut on Belle Records. Rojak has given master classes throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia, and Mexico. He has been an adjudicator for Fischoff, Concert Artists Guild, Coleman and other solo and chamber music competitions. In addition to Juilliard, Aspen, and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, he is on the faculty at New York University. Rojak is an artist representative for Michael Rath Trombones.Tuba
Brian Brown
principal
Brian Brown has been the Principal Tuba of Orchestra Lumos since 1980. He is also Principal Tuba of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra and The Philly Pops. As an active freelance musician, Mr. Brown has performed…
… and recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. He is the tuba player for NFL Films.Mr Brown is Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at The University of Delaware and is a lecturer in the Music Department of Princeton University.
Brian Brown earned his Bachelor and Master degrees from the Juilliard School. His major teachers include Paul Krzywicki, Don Harry, Donald Harwood ,Vincent Penzarella and John Fletcher.
Timpani
Open position
Percussion
Daniel Haskins
principal
Percussionist Daniel Haskins is currently principal percussionist of the Opera Orchestra of New York and Orchestra Lumos, and performs on period instruments as timpanist of the American Classical Orchestra. Daniel is percussionist in the American Ballet Theatre orchestra and formally timpanist of the New York City Opera National Company. He performed…
… for many years as a percussionist with the Radio City Orchestra playing for the Christmas Spectacular, Easter Extravaganza and other shows at Radio City Music Hall. He has also played in many orchestras on Broadway. Recently, Daniel was the percussionist for The Woman in White, Mary Poppins, The King and I and Sunset Boulevard. Along with his performing duties, he is also Personnel Manager for Opera Orchestra of New York, The Queens Symphony and was Orchestra Contractor for Il Divo – A Musical Affair on Broadway. Daniel can be heard on a wide range of recordings, including Opera, Orchestral, Broadway cast albums, commercial jingles, and movie sound tracks. Daniel has also played on television broadcasts including the All Star Tribute to Brian Wilson at Radio City Music Hall and Live from Lincoln Center shows including Lang Lang’s New York Rhapsody. He holds a Bachelor and Master Degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of Fred Hinger and Walter Rosenberger.
Kory Grossman
Kory Grossman holds a Master’s Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently a member of the American Symphony Orchestra and serves as principal percussionist with the Bard Music Festival. He is also principal percussionist with Mostly Mozart Orchestra. Other musical organizations he performs with regularly…
… include Orchestra Lumos, the New Jersey Symphony, the American Composers’ Orchestra, and the New York Pops. He has played in numerous Broadway shows, performing most recently in Fiddler on the Roof and Sunday in the Park with George. Others include Follies, Les Miserables, 42nd Street, and Ragtime. Kory Grossman has worked with a variety of contemporary artists ranging from Chita Rivera to Queen Latifah.Harp
Amy Berger
principal
The Mr. and Mrs. Dale Todaro Chair in memory of Charles and Jackie Todaro
Amy Berger started playing the harp at the age of 6. She graduated college with a BA in Music from Stony Brook University and an MM degree from Yale University’s School of Music. She has traveled internationally as well as in the US, performing with orchestras including NY City Opera National Company, NY City Opera, …
… Orchestra of the State of Mexico, and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra. She has toured China, Scandinavia, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, and Israel. As a freelancer, she has performed in Broadway shows, TV commercials, and movies, including “August Rush”. Her solo CD, “On Golden Harp” has been used for the documentary “One Hundred Years of Baseball”. She has recorded the Grammy-winning opera “Anthony and Cleopatra” by Samuel Barber. She has worked with Placido Domingo, Tony Bennett, Sara Vaughn, Sting, Van Dyke Parks, Rufus Wainwright, and Latin pop star, Juan Luis Guerra. Amy has been the principal harpist with Orchestra Lumos for over thirty years and teaches privately in New York City.Keyboards
Emily Wong
principal
The Mr. and Mrs. Dale Todaro Chair in memory of Charles and Jackie Todaro
Award-winning composer/pianist Emily Wong has written a large catalogue of works for piano, chamber ensemble, and orchestra. Her music has been performed at the Moab Music Festival, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Eckankar seminars around the U.S., and by The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Chappaqua Orchestra, and such groups as the Locrian Chamber Players, MusicArts Ensemble, The Concert Artists of Chappaqua and the Ragdale Ensemble.
Ms Wong’s music engenders genuine and enthusiastic responses from audiences of all ages. Performances are inevitably followed by requests for scores and recordings. Her performance of Circle Dance for solo piano in recital at UCSC in 1998 triggered a request from conductor Marin Alsop for an orchestral piece. Waves and Raves was a result of that inquiry, dedicated to Ms. Alsop, and was premiered by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Orchestra in August 2000, with the help of a Meet the Composers Grant. Consequently, Ms. Wong received a commission for a large-scale work from the Concordia Orchestra in New York, which resulted in her Symphony #1/Structures III, previewed in August of 2003 at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and premiered by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in October 2003, receiving critical support for both performances. In the same year, Ms. Wong released a CD of her own works entitled Original.
Ms. Wong has a growing list of works for chamber ensemble, the most recent being a commission from Colby College for the opening concert of their chamber music series in October of 2005. Entitled The Lamb Suite, this work is based on familiar children’s themes with a lush middle movement that evokes the mystery of dreams via the use of the alto flute and soprano sax. Her piano quartet Tribute, written for the Concert Artists of Chappaqua, became her piece in response to the tragedy of 9/11 due to the timing of the commission. It has consequently become a requested piece, and been performed by numerous ensembles. Her earlier Aprés le Tango (1998) for flute and piano was inspired by the lingering sounds of music heard that year as she learned to dance the tango, and was described in the New York Times as “a graceful work for flute and piano, in which tango rhythms seem to be recalled as if through a nostalgic haze.”
Ms. Wong began her professional career as a pianist. She was a 1st Prize winner of the Hodges International Concerto Competition, the Schubert Competition, and has won numerous other awards as both a soloist and chamber musician. She has gone on to champion the works of many living composers including her own, and has been highly praised for her interpretations of contemporary as well as traditional piano literature. Critics have portrayed her playing as passionate, enthralling, brilliant, and refined. The New York Times characterized her performances as “clean and rhythmically charged” and “played beautifully”, while Phil Collins of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote “She swept through the work with a magic wand … the dazzle was in itself splendid.”
As a pianist, she has appeared often with such orchestras as the San Francisco Symphony, the Oakland Symphony, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Continuum, American Composers Orchestra, and Orchestra Lumos. She has performed at the Sarasota, Idriart and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, on the New York Philharmonic Chamber Series, and in the Summer Garden Series at the New York Museum of Modern Art in solo recitals of the works of Igor Stravinsky and Eric Satie. An active chamber musician, she has appeared in concert with such artists as Nadia Solerno-Sonnenberg, Mark O’Connor, Ani Kavafien, Philip Glass, and members of the Tokyo String Quartet. She is currently a member of the critically recognized Locrian Chamber Players, the New York-based ensemble dedicated to presenting works composed within the past decade.
She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts, where she attended classes with Harold Budd and Leonard Stein, and studied African music and dance with the Ladzekpo family, and piano with Leonid Hambro. Later she completed her MM and DMA at the Juilliard School where she worked with Herbert Stessin and John Browning.
Librarian
