Rossen Milanov, Music Director
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Meet the musicians of your Columbus Symphony.
Violinist Joanna Frankel joined the Columbus Symphony on appointment as concertmaster in September of 2016 for the 2016/17 season. She officially assumed the role of concertmaster for the start of the 2017/18 season. Born in Philadelphia in 1982, Ms. Frankel began studying the violin at age 3 with The Suzuki Method. She trained in New York at The Juilliard School and received the prestigious ‘William Schuman Prize’ upon graduation; her mentors have included Jascha Brodsky, CJ Chang, Robert Chen, Masao Kawasaki, Cho-Liang Lin, and Joseph Kalichstein. Ms. Frankel’s post-graduate work continued at Carnegie Hall, where she entered the inaugural class of “The Academy,” a groundbreaking initiative that trains ambitious young musicians to be 21st century arts leaders. Her concerto and recital appearances have included engagements across the U.S., and in The Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Finland, The Middle East, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Her festival appearances include Marlboro Music Festival, Harare International Festival of the Arts, Johannesburg Mozart Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Centro Cultural Internacional Óscar Niemeyer, La Jolla’s SummerFest, Santa Fe New Music, The Aspen Music Festival and Spoleto Festival USA. From 2013-2016, Ms. Frankel served as first concertmaster of The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic in Durban, South Africa, and first violinist of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Principal String Quartet. She performs on a Gaetano Vinaccia violin, crafted in Naples in 1819.
Violinist Gyusun Han was born and raised in South Korea, where she began her musical studies at age six. Ms. Han joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2021 as fourth chair in the first violin section. In 2024, she became the Associate Concertmaster of the orchestra. She also performs with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra during the summer. Prior to Columbus, she performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra from 2019-21 as first violin.
Ms. Han was accepted into the Korea National University of Arts at age 15, and from there, she received her Bachelor and Master of Music, studying with Nam Yun Kim and Bonjiu Koo. She achieved her second master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she is now finishing her Doctor of Musical Arts, studying with Dr. Won-Bin Yim.
Ms. Han has been awarded distinctions at international and national competitions, including the Korea Times competition, Ewha & Kyunghyang competition, Strad competition, Music Journal competition (where she went on to receive an additional special award), and the University of Cincinnati CCM Concerto competition in the United States. In Korea, she was also invited to participate in the Young Musicians Festival.
Ms. Han made her debut as a soloist at the Universal Arts Center in Seoul, Korea at age 10. She has appeared as a soloist with the KNUA Symphony Orchestra and the Hyundai Youth Orchestra in Korea. In the United States, she has performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the CCM Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, Ms. Han is a founding member of the FOVA Violin Quartet in Korea, a group that has performed in chamber recitals at Kumho Art Hall, Olympus Hall, Perigee Hall, Han Young Art Center, and Ara Muse Hall as supported by the municipality of Seoul. The group also has expanded their concert giving by playing in China, the United States, and other regions of South Korea. In 2024, she joined the Cygnus String Quartet.
In her free time, Ms. Han enjoys exploring food and reading.
Violinist Jessica Hung was appointed Assistant Concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony in 2025. Previously she was a member of the Jacksonville Symphony. From 2008-2021, she served as Concertmaster of the Dayton Philharmonic and has also been Concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Principal Second Violin of the Sarasota Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony, and Assistant Concertmaster of the Akron Symphony.
In her formative years, Jessica also performed as Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, and Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. As a college/conservatory student, she gave her debut performances of the iconic violin solos in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade at age 18 and Capriccio espagnol at age 21. She has since performed as a substitute violinist for the major orchestras of Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Baltimore, and Milwaukee; Boston (as a Tanglewood Fellow); and various orchestras throughout Florida.
Jessica’s playing can be heard on three live-recorded albums with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director Neal Gittleman conducting, including a 2011 performance of Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. In 2022, she was chosen as Concertmaster of the orchestra for Disney’s Harmonious Live!, a special performance of the EPCOT nighttime spectacular. She made her live television debut as a member of Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra in 1998.
Jessica’s solo appearances include over two dozen subscription series performances with the Dayton Philharmonic, featuring concertos by Beethoven, Joseph Bologne, Bruch, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Sean Neukom (world premiere in 2018), Florence Price, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. Streaming broadcasts of concerts recorded live at the Schuster Performing Arts Center during her tenure can be heard on Discover Classical, Dayton’s public radio station. In addition, she has appeared as guest soloist with college and community orchestras across the Midwest.
As a chamber musician and arts administrator, Jessica served as both First Violinist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Principal String Quartet and Associate Artistic Director of Chamber Music for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, where she launched two experimental concert series: Project “Edge” throughout the 2017/18 season, encompassing 10 free community outreach performances in unconventional venues supported by a grant from the Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts; and “Summer Streams” in 2020, a series of live-streaming virtual chamber music concerts for the pandemic era, in conjunction with Dayton public television network ThinkTV. She has been part of Jacksonville Symphony Violin and Harp Duo with Principal Harp Kayo Ishimaru-Fleisher, the Florida Chamber Music Project, and the San Marco Chamber Music Society’s 2025 concert tour of Italy.
Jessica’s competition awards on the violin include winning Northwestern University’s Thaviu String Competition and a Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Scholarship. She was a finalist at the 1998 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Feinberg Youth Auditions with honorary adjudicator Pierre Boulez on the panel.
Jessica received a bachelor’s degree in violin performance with academic honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was a student of William Preucil and Stephen Rose. She began her undergraduate studies as a student of Gerardo Ribeiro at Northwestern University and decided to pursue a career as a leading orchestral violinist during her formative experiences in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, which she joined at age 14. She is also an alumna of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and toured Eastern Europe with the latter group in 1999, under the direction of Music Director Rossen Milanov, performing in his hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria.
Outside of her musical career, she holds a Master of Social Work degree from Widener University and has worked in the fields of hospice and mental health. Born in Kankakee, Illinois, to Taiwanese parents, Jessica grew up in the Chicago area and resides in Ohio with her husband Paul and daughter Aurora.
Alicia Hui, currently Principal Second Violin of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, began her musical studies at the age of four and made her orchestral debut at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, MD at age nine. Since then, she has served as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Arlington Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Zurich Symphony Orchestra, Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Hui was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA at age eleven, where she studied with Victor Danchenko and received her bachelor’s degree at age sixteen. She received her master’s degree and Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of David Cerone, Paul Kantor, and William Preucil. In addition to her current position with the Columbus Symphony, Ms. Hui is also a member of the Columbus Ohio Discovery Ensemble, a member of the Cygnus String Quartet, and a regular performer and Director of Community Engagement at the VIVO Music Festival. She also has served as Guest Concertmaster with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Second Violin of the Canton Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Hui has participated and performed at the Ishikawa Music Festival in Japan, Soesterberg Music Festival in Amsterdam, Keshet Eilon Mastercourse, and Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. In addition, she has been awarded fellowships at the Perlman Music Program, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Banff Chamber Music Festival, and Bowdoin International Music Festival.
Sydney Hartwick joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2023 as fourth chair in the first violin section. She began her musical studies at age six, and has since enjoyed a varied career. As an orchestral musician, Sydney has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Britt Festival Orchestra, and the New World Symphony amongst others. As a soloist, Sydney has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, and the American Fork Symphony (Utah). She previously attended the Aspen Music Festival and Sarasota Music Festival as a fellow, as well as the Domaine Forget International Music Festival. She has participated in masterclasses with Pamela Frank, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Vadim Gluzman, and Sarah Chang. Sydney attended the Jacobs School of Music pre-college program where she was a member of the Violin Virtuosi, and performed ensemble and solo music on both a US/South American tour in Argentina. She holds a BM and MM degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, as well as a Professional Studies Certificate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In her spare time, Sydney enjoys participating in sports and cooking.
A member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1984, Violinist David Edge has had an extensive career as an orchestral musician, chamber music performer, and teacher. Mr. Edge received his Bachelor of Music from Indiana University, where he studied with Daniel Guilet, Josef Gingold, Tadeusz Wronski, and Franco Gulli. He later went on to earn his master’s degree at Northwestern University under the tutelage of Samuel Magad. Before joining the Columbus Symphony, he played in the Grant Park Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and was Assistant Concertmaster of The Amarillo Symphony.
In 1981, while on the faculty at West Texas State University, he was a founding member of the Harrington String Quartet. As a member of the Harrington String Quartet, Mr. Edge had the opportunity to study with members of the Guarneri String Quartet and the Juilliard String Quartet and played concerts throughout Texas. In the fall of 1984, he, along with Steve Wedell and Richard Bell, founded the Seraphin String Trio, which performed chamber music recitals throughout Ohio for twenty-four years.
Mr. Edge has maintained a private studio at home for many years, and he served as Artistic Director of the Jefferson Academy of Music from 1987-1990 and conducted the Women in Music String Sinfonia for 10 years. He was on faculty at Otterbein University for twelve years, where he was Artist-in-Residence as First Violinist of the string quartet, QUBE.
Mr. Edge also has performed music for violin and harp regularly in recitals and in churches with his wife, Janet Thompson. In his spare time, he enjoys yoga, swimming, bike riding, experimenting with digital recording, and spending time with his sixteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Robert Firdman graduated from the Eastman School of Music with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in performance and literature, and studied with Donald Weilerstein and Charles Castleman. Before joining the Columbus Symphony, he was an associate member of the Rochester Philharmonic under the direction of David Zinman and was also concertmaster of the National Orchestral Association in New York City which performed numerous times in Carnegie Hall. Mr Firdman has been an adjunct violin teacher at Ohio Weslyan University and Kenyon College. He also has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Dublin and was a member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, and performs regularly with The Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra.
Recently, Mr Firdman performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the New Albany Symphony Orchestra and went to Bonefro, Italy, as a coach and yoga instructor with Chamber Music Connection.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Maalik Glover is an active orchestral musician and private teacher. He was appointed to the Columbus Symphony violin section in 2024 after completing one season at the New World Symphony. He has received recognition at competitions such as winning Omega Psi Phi’s 2015 Talent Hunt as well as the 2021 CCM Violin Competition.
Maalik has studied the violin since the age of 11. His first significant accomplishment was his acceptance into the Talent Development Program, an initiative launched by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra that targets gifted African-American and Latino music students to further develop their future careers as accomplished classical musicians. This has perpetuated his unyielding advocacy of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music. Since then, he has held multiple private studios including his own with the Columbus Symphony Academy.
During his graduate studies, Maalik held a two-year fellowship with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He is a three-time fellowship recipient of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and a two-time fellowship recipient of Spoleto Festival USA where he served as concertmaster.
In 2019, Maalik graduated summa cum laude from Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music. He later obtained his Master’s at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music in 2022 upon completion of the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship. In his spare time, Maalik loves exploring, traveling to new cities, as well as composing film and video game music.
Violinist Tatiana V. Hanna began her musical studies at the age of 6 in Riga – Latvia. She won several national competitions while still attending the special Darzinsh Music School, and as the leader of the Violin Ensemble performed across Latvia, Germany and Bulgaria, as well as made a number of recordings. During her graduate studies with Prof. Valdis Zarinsh at the Latvian National Music Academy she became a concertmaster of the “Rigas Kamermuziki” Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Normund Shne. Tatiana V. Hanna came to the USA after winning a full scholarship to study at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX under Prof. Arkady Fomin. While at SMU she performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York and Kennedy Center in Washington DC with the New York String Orchestra. As concertmaster and soloist she led the SMU Conservatory Chamber Orchestra in a performance at the White House and a tour of Great Britain. She also won several international competitions and took part in different music festivals. After receiving her Artist Certificate Diploma from SMU Tatiana V. Hanna became a member of the New World Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. There she collaborated with world renowned conductors and soloists. As part of the NWS she performed across the United States, Europe, South Africa, Central and South America and made several recordings. Tatiana V. Hanna has been a violinist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1999. She also enjoys teaching in her private studio in New Albany, where she lives with her family.
William Manley, a native of Columbus Ohio began playing the violin at the age of eight with Kari Gunderson. He then spent his high school years at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan where he studied with Rosemary Malocsay and Julia Bushkova. He then attended Manhattan School of Music in New York City completing his Bachelor of Music degree where he was a student of Albert Markov and Oleh Krysa, as well as Sylvia Rosenberg and Ariana Bronne. He then completed his Master of Music degree at Indiana University where he was a student of Nelli Shkolnikova. William attended numerous summer festivals such as Meadowmount with Sally Thomas and Anne Setzer as well as Encore School for Strings with Victor Danchenko. He also attended Schlesvig-Holstein in Germany as well as the Spoleto Festival in Italy. William also lived in Hong Kong for several years where he played with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. After returning to the U.S. he played in the Arkansas Symphony in Little Rock. In 2005 William returned to Ohio and has since been performing with the Dayton Philharmonic where he has been serving as Assistant Concertmaster since 2009. William also has been performing as a member of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus since 2006 and as an Associate Musician with Columbus Symphony since 2007. William is now happily serving in his first season as a full time member of the violin section of Columbus Symphony.
Gail Sharp comes from a family of mostly music educators, including her mother and three of her four sisters. Her father played the trumpet but chose to go into law. Gail grew up in the Cleveland, OH area and thrived in the rich music tradition of the city.
Gail received degrees in music performance from Baldwin-Wallace University (BM) and the Eastman School of Music (MM). During her summers of graduate school, she performed in Europe with the Spoleto Festival and the Heidelberg Castle Festival, holding the position of Concertmaster in operas for both festivals.
Upon graduation, Gail won the Assistant Concertmaster position in the Savannah Symphony but instead was asked to fill the open Principal Second Violin position, which involved playing in the symphony string quartet. This quartet included two other members of the Columbus Symphony (Luis Biava and the now retired John Ewing).
After two years in Savannah, Gail joined the Columbus Symphony and has enjoyed playing as a Section Violinist. The position offers the variety of playing both First and Second Violin across the repertoire, which is enriching.
Gail enjoys reading mostly fiction (thrillers and mysteries), cooking, gardening while listening to audio books, and playing in her church orchestra. She is a proud cat mom to Franklin, a loving, handsome tabby who is big, muscly, and an occasional pill.
Zoran Stoyanovich has been a violinist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra for 23 years. A native of Yugoslavia, Stoyanovich won the first prize in the prestigious Yugoslav Competition of Young Artists for musicians, ages 18 to 33, when he was 19 – an award given only twice in over 30 years. He was also awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Culture of the former Soviet Union for graduate study at the Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. While living in his native Yugoslavia he played as a soloist with Zagreb Philharmonic and Belgrade philharmonic and also did many recital tours and recordings.
Stoyanovich came to the United States to further his musical studies as a graduate student, on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1984, and studied with the renown Professor Josef Gingold at The Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington Indiana. He was a participant of an international violin competition of Indianapolis and the acting concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra.
David Tanner has been a full-time member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1984. Prior to that he was principal second violinist of the Charleston Symphony in South Carolina. He is a native of New Jersey and graduate of the Eastman School of Music, having studied with Zvi Zeitlin. He maintains an active teaching studio of talented young violinists in Dublin, Ohio.
Mwakudua waNgure grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, where he started violin as a child through the Suzuki method. He continued his violin studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and went on to earn a Bachelor’s of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory, where, and a Master’s of Music from the University of Michigan where he studied with Aaron Berofsky and Kathryn Votapek. Mwakudua also studied with Timothy Lees at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.
Mwakudua joined the violin section of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2022. Prior to this, he served as a member of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and the Lansing Symphony orchestra, as well as as a diversity fellow in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Mwakudua has also played in the Grand Tetons Festival Orchestra and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.
In his free time, Mwakudua enjoys working out, listening to podcasts, and watching shows.
Karl Pedersen joined the Columbus Symphony as Principal Viola at the start of the 2011-12 season. In the summer, Karl performs at the Chautauqua Institution in New York as a member of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was rotating Principal Violist of the New World Symphony in Miami, FL for three years and was Principal Viola of the Breckenridge Music Festival for two years. He has recorded and performed with the Kansas City Symphony and performed with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Cedar Rapids Symphony, and Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra. He has served as Concertmaster with the Oskaloosa and Ottumwa Symphony Orchestras.
Born in Kansas City, MO, Karl received his Bachelor of Music at the University of Iowa under Christine Rutledge. He completed his Master of Music at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University as a student of Victoria Chiang and former Philadelphia Orchestra violist, Stephen Wyrczynski.
In 2016, Karl performed a Showcase Performance Recital at the American Viola Society Festival at Oberlin College. He has performed the Bartok Viola Concerto with the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the New Albany Symphony Orchestra. He previously enjoyed the role of Sancho Panza in a performance of Strauss’ Don Quixote with the Columbus Symphony.
An avid chamber musician, Karl is a former member of the Meridian String Quartet, which held residencies from 2008-2011 at the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, CO. Outside the United States, he has performed in France, Spain, and the Dominican Republic, and he has appeared on stage preceding speeches by Colin Powell and Oprah.
In 2005 and 2006, Karl was awarded the Peabody Career Development Grant. His chamber music performances can be heard on Performance Today on public radio. He is currently on faculty at Ohio Wesleyan University, and he has been a Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) Columbus Makes Art featured artist since 2015.
Originally from Detroit, violist Alice Risov began her musical education on the piano and violin, but fell in love with the beautiful sound of the viola during her high school years. In the past she has served as a section violist in the Flint Symphony Orchestra and as assistant and acting principal viola of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra. She first joined the Columbus Symphony viola section in 2021 at the age of 22, and became Assistant Principal Viola in 2024.
Risov has been a part of multiple festivals and programs including the Montecito International Music Festival, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, and the National Orchestral Institute + Festival under the baton of renowned conductor Marin Alsop. She has also performed on multiple prestigious stages including Orchestra Hall in Detroit and Carnegie Hall.
Risov graduated in 2020 with both a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience and a Bachelor of Music degree in viola performance from the University of Michigan. Despite heavily considering going into research, she eventually decided to continue pursuing her musical talents as a career. She completed one year of her master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music before winning her position with the Columbus Symphony. Her primary teachers were Yitzhak Schotten and Lynne Ramsey.
Korea-born violist Ye Jin Goo moved to Canada in 2005, she participated in and won numerous awards in competitions, including the All-TV Music Competition, Kiwanis Music Festival, Burlington Rotary Music Festival, and many more. Recently, she performed the Stamitz Viola concerto with the AD Hoc Orchestra at Bloomington. She has also participated in prestigious summer festivals, including Orfrord, Tanglewood, the New York String Quartet Seminar and many others. Throughout her career, she was invited to participate in masterclasses with Roberto Diaz, Kim Kashkashian, Misha Amory, Atar Arad, James Dunham, and many others. After earning a Bachelor of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Carol Rodland, and a Master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music, under the tutelage of Edward Gazouleas. She is currently working on her Doctorate of Music Degree at the University of Cincinnati under the tutelage of Jan Gruning from Ariel Quartet. She has performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony. and the Columbus Symphony. Aside from her studies, she is also an advocate teacher, she teaches numerous students from Milwaukee, Chicago, and Cincinnati area.
Spencer Ingersoll graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), where he received his master’s degree under the guidance of Robert Vernon. Mr. Ingersoll was also part of the Intensive String Quartet Seminar at CIM. His quartet, the Onyx String Quartet, won the senior division of the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition at Davidson College in North Carolina.
Mr. Ingersoll has a diverse course as a performer. Orchestrally, he was a member of the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas from 2018-2021. He is also a substitute for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he performed with his alma mater, the Las Vegas Academy Philharmonic Orchestra, as part of their twenty fifth anniversary celebration in the Smith Center. He also has performed alongside renowned artists such as Thomas Robertello, James Buswell, Kathleen Winkler, Alan Stepansky, Alon Goldstein, Tomas Varga, and members of the Cleveland and Guarneri string quartets.
In the summer, Mr. Ingersoll has attended the Heifetz International Music Institute, Sarasota Music Festival, Spoleto Festival, Kneisel Hall, and was a three-time viola fellow at the Music Academy of the West. He also has participated in the String Quartet Seminar while at the Music Academy of the West under the tutelage of the Takács Quartet.
Violist and native of Japan Kenichiro Matsuda came to the United States after three-and-a-half years with the New Japan Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa. He attended Kunitachi Music College in Tokyo and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, where he received his B.M. and M.M. in viola performance.
Ken was a member of the Grant Park Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic (Acting Assistant Principal Violist) before joining the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 1987. He has also played with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a regular substitute violist and has participated in touring and recording.
Besides teaching privately, he has taught viola at universities and colleges in Michigan and Ohio. Most recently, Ken taught at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) as an adjunct viola professor (2020 – 2022). He is currently an adjunct instructor at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. Ken was on faculty at the Csehy Summer School of Music (Langhorn, Pennsylvania) and MasterWorks Festival (Spartanburg, South Carolina).
He is the violist of the Cygnus Quartet and enjoys playing chamber music with his colleagues. He toured Japan (1988) with the Columbus String Quartet as well as Estonia (1999) with the Sonus Artis Quartet. As part of a Christian mission trip, he has been visiting Karuizawa, Japan, regularly with a string ensemble since 2005. In 2018, Ken was invited to play with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra under Junichi Hirokami to perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Hiroshima, Japan.
He was formerly a part of the Nissen Duo (Viola and Piano) along with his late wife, Tanya.
For the past 30 years, he has been the conductor of “Hanamizuki no Kai,” the Japanese Women’s Chorus in Columbus, Ohio.
His teachers include Nobuko Imai, Jerry Horner, Bernard Zaslav, and Shumel Ashkenazi of the Vermeer Quartet.
Ken plays a viola made in 2020 by Tetsuo Matsuda (no relation) of Barrington, Illinois.
Jessica Pasternak Ingersoll joined the Columbus Symphony in 2023. She was previously a fellow of the New World Symphony. During her time there, she toured to Carnegie Hall and participated in a teaching exchange program in Medellin, Colombia. Jessica has performed regularly with the Cleveland Orchestra, joining them on multiple tours and recordings. She has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony. In 2022, Jessica won the 2nd prize at the American Viola Society Excerpt Competition.
As a chamber musician, Jessica has been praised by the South Florida Classical Review for her “dark-hued resonance” and “rich viola.” She has performed with renowned artists including Atar Arad, Martin Chalifour, Timothy Eddy, Ralph Kirshbaum, Tamás Varga, Robert Vernon, and Tabae Zimmerman at the Sarasota Music Festival, Heifetz Institute, and New World Symphony. In 2012 she was featured as a soloist with the Akron Symphony for their program “World Class Starts at Home” where she performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6.
Jessica earned her Bachelor’s and Professional Studies degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music with Robert Vernon. She previously studied with Lembi Veskimets in the Young Artist Program at CIM.
Jessica lives in Pickerington with her husband and fellow Columbus Symphony violist Spencer Ingersoll and their French Bulldog, Walter. She is a member of the Cap City Quartet that performs frequently in Columbus.
Ann Schnapp has been a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1975, making the current season her 51st. A native of Dayton, OH, Ann received a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and a Master of Arts in string pedagogy with emphasis in performance from The Ohio State University, studying with Robert Culver, Kari Gunderson and Martin Kelly. She also currently plays with the Worthington Chamber Orchestra, the Westerville Symphony and the Springfield (OH) Symphony. She has also performed in the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra. Ann plays each summer in the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Lakeside, OH. She has compiled the 62-year history of this orchestra in conjunction with the Lakeside Heritage Society.
She has been teaching violin and viola throughout Central Ohio for more than forty -five years, coaching students in area schools, and judging at regional music competitions. She began her music studies on piano at the age of 3, so she likes to accompany her own students for performances. In addition, she is a faculty member at Chamber Music Connection. In 2006, she toured with Chamber Music Connection in Europe.
Ann worships and is active at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in the music program and prayer ministry. She enjoys taking ballet classes at local dance studios, which she started doing 6 years ago. Ann and her husband live in Westerville, OH.
Luis Biava is Principal Cello of Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO), artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Dublin (CMSD), conductor of Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra and Camarata and Music Director of the New Albany Symphony. His family represents four generations of musicians. His first cello studies were with his uncle Miguel Uribe in his native Colombia, and he performs regularly in the Trio Biava-Uribe with his aunt (Blanca Uribe, piano) and his father (Luis Biava, violin). He attended the University of Michigan, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance. He also holds bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Juilliard School where he studied with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins. He has also studied with Gabo Rejto, Samuel Mayes, Elsa Hilger, and Oliver Edel. He has performed solos with CSO; the symphonies of Savannah, U. of Michigan, Temple U., Bogotá, and Westerville; Upper Arlington Community Orchestra; Filamonica de Bogotá; and Antioquia Symphony of Medellin. He has performed as recitalist on the east coast, Puerto Rico and Colombia, South America as well as many chamber music concerts with CMSD and Camarata, the High Street Four String Quartet and the Canaletto Ensemble. His recordings include the Fauré Elegy with CSO, works of Antonio Maria Valencia with the Biava-Uribe Trio and as principal cello of the Spoleto Festival orchestra the Grammy nominated opera by Samuel Barber, Antony and Cleopatra. Mr. Biava is currently an adjunct professor at Kenyon College and on the faculty of FOSJA in San Juan Puerto Rico. In March 2011 he performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with his wife Ariane Sletner and Blanca Uribe under the direction of his father Luis Biava with the New Albany Symphony. In January of 2012, Mr. Biava performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra. Later that he was soloist in the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Cellos and the JC Bach Sinfonia Concertante with the Columbus Symphony this past year. He will be performing the Dvorak Concerto with the Newark-Granville Symphony in March of 2013 as well as the Vivaldi Two Cello with David Finckel with the New Albany Symphony for their final concert this season. He recently received the Empleos and Employment Ohio Diversity award for Latinos making a difference. In conducting this year, Mr. Biava conducted Hilary Hahn in the Korngold Violin Concerto and was cover conductor for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Tchaikovsky Spectacular concert in Saratoga Springs.
Cellist Wendy Morton is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA, where she studied with Orlando Cole. She also studied with Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory. Other mentors include Karen Tuttle, Felix Galimir, Joseph Gingold, Mischa Schneider, and Isador Cohen.
Wendy has been the Assistant Principal Cellist of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1996. She is also a member of UCelli: The Columbus Cello Quartet (UCelli.org). This group of four cellists frequently performs in and around Columbus and holds an annual cello camp. Wendy always has been active in teaching and performing chamber music and was one of the founding members of the Carpe Diem String Quartet. Wendy and the quartet have three recordings on the Naxos Records label, and in 2008, the quartet had the honor of performing a movement of the Schubert Cello Quintet as an encore with Yo-Yo Ma at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus.
Wendy also has performed with the Pushkin Ensemble and Quattro Corde and was a member of the Duvall Trio. She has performed in a chamber music setting with such notable musicians as Nobuko Imai, Julius Levine, Ann Schein, Gerard Poulet, and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. She previously performed with the Telluride Chamber Players and was featured at the Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, ME. Ms. Morton has been on faculty of numerous music festivals, including the Marble Cliff Chamber Players based in Columbus, OH and the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, NC for seven summers.
Wendy has performed with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Honolulu Symphony, Pennsylvania Ballet, and opera orchestras and the symphony orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music. She also has performed with the Inverness Festival Orchestra and has toured the east coast with Alexander Schneider, including performances in Boston’s Symphony Hall and Avery Fisher Hall in New York.
In Columbus, she has held faculty positions at Capital University and Ohio Wesleyan University. Wendy is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she studied with the matriarch of cello pedagogy, Margaret Rowell. Wendy plays on a JB Gabrielli cello circa 1764.
Pei-An Chao has been a full-time member of the Columbus Symphony (CSO) since 2000. She was appointed Assistant Principal Cello for the 2009-2010 season and was featured as a soloist in 2011. Since 2008, she has led the cello section as principal on several occasions. Prior to joining the CSO, Ms. Chao spent two years with the New World Symphony, a training orchestra in Miami, FL designed to help young musicians pursue orchestral careers. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she was the concerto competition winner and graduated with distinction. Her major teachers were Marion Feldman and Bonnie Hampton.
Ms. Chao spent her childhood in Taipei, Taiwan and later moved to New York City. She began playing piano at age 4 and cello at age 9. Equally talented on both instruments throughout her musical training, she gained a broadened perspective of musical understanding beyond the limitations of each instrument.
Ms. Chao has appeared in prestigious festivals such as Tanglewood, Kent Blossom, Sarasota, Pacific, Spoleto, and Colorado. In addition to her CSO commitments, Ms. Chao is an active chamber musician and a dedicated teacher. She is a member of UCelli: The Columbus Cello Quartet and Cygnus String Quartet, and she can be seen in performance with her groups locally throughout the year. Her passion for new music started early in life, and she performs regularly with the Columbus Ohio Discovery Ensemble [CODE].
As a coach, Ms. Chao has worked with students of the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) and the Youth Philharmonic of Central Ohio as well as with local chamber music groups. She previously was a mentor for the New Albany Symphony. Each summer, she and her colleagues of UCelli host a popular week-long cello camp. Aside from keeping a busy private teaching studio, she has held teaching positions at Otterbein University, Ohio Wesleyan University, and Ohio University. Ms. Chao resides in Upper Arlington with her husband and two children.
William Victor Firlie, cellist, joined the CSO in 1986. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of New Mexico & San Francisco State University under the tutelage of Joanna De Keyser and Laszlo Varga. His graduate studies included Yale School of Music under Aldo Parisot. Victor has had the opportunity to perform concertos with the New Mexico Symphony, Promusica ensemble of Santa Fe, Roswell Symphony, Los Alamos Philharmonic and others. His orchestral background also includes Sacramento Symphony, San Jose Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Oklahoma Symphony, and the Orchestra De Mineria Mexico City. He has had extensive chamber music opportunities including Yale Summer School of Music and Art, June Music Festival, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. He enjoys playing quartets with his two children Dylan & Alena, both talented violinists.
Venezuelan cellist Luis Parra was appointed Cello Section of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in the spring 2024. Parra is an emerging artist in chamber music, orchestra and solo performance, whose musical journey initiated in the Venezuelan world-renowned music program “El Sistema”, He has collaborated with prestigious artists and orchestras in Venezuela, the United States and abroad.
As an orchestra musician and soloist, Parra served as Principal Cellist of the Yaracuy Symphony Orchestra, having the opportunity to tour Colombia in 2012, visiting 7 cities of Venezuela’s neighboring country. Parra has also collaborated with the Caracas Municipal Symphony Orchestra and the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Parra also served as Acting Principal Cellist of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina in their 2021/22 season, Guest Principal for the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra in 2023 and Acting Section Cello for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2023. Parra made his solo debut with the Yaracuy Symphony Orchestra in 2014, and his international debut with the Beirut Philharmonic in Lebanon in 2015.
As an accomplished chamber musician, Parra has collaborated with renowned string quartets and chamber musicians such as the Kronos Quartet, the Cavani String Quartet, Lawrence Dutton from the Emerson String Quartet, Ed Gazouleas, Ayane Kozasa, among others. Parra has also participated in many festivals worldwide, including the Nuevo Mundo Festival and Academy in Aruba; the Yawmiyat Festival in Ghalboun, Lebanon; in the USA: Center Stage Strings; the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and most recently the Artosphere Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center in the summers of 2022 and 2023.
In 2017, Parra moved to the United States to study at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University with cellists and pedagogues Richard Aaron, Julie Albers, and Leo Singer, completing his Bachelor’s in Music in 2021. In 2023, Luis Parra completed his Master’s in Music being a student of Alan Rafferty at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music performance, serving as a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra/CCM Diversity Fellow.
Ha Eun Song, born in Korea, began her journey with the cello at the age of 13. She earned her Master of Music degrees from Rice University and Yale University, where she received multiple scholarships, including the Norman and Jeanne Kierman Fischer Prize and the Edmund Saranec Scholarship. She completed her Bachelor of Music at Ewha Womans University.
Her cello studies have been guided by renowned mentors including Desmond Hoebig, Paul Watkins, Il-Hwan Bae, and Hyong-Won Chang, with additional lessons and masterclasses with esteemed artists such as Ralph Kirshbaum, Alan Stepansky, Troles Svane, and Gary Hoffman.
Throughout her career, Song received various awards, including the Art/Sports Vision Scholarship from the Korea Student Aid Foundation and multiple prizes in national competitions. She also was a winner of the Keston MAX London Symphony Orchestra fellow audition in Music Academy of the West which led her to perform in high-profile venues such as the Barbican Centre in London.
As an orchestra musician, Song performed in many concerts as a principal cellist and she had a previlege to perform under the baton of renowned conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop, and Gianandrea Noseda. She also performed with New World Symphony, Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony as a substitute musician.
As a passionate chamber musician, Song has worked with renowned string quartets and chamber musicians such as the Brentano Quartet, Paul Kantor, Brian Connelly, David Geber and more. She has also participated in many festivals worldwide including Eumyoun International Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and Aspen Music Festival where she received the New Horizons Fellowship.
Double bassist Rudy Albach joined the CSO in 2016 as Principal Bass. Prior to joining the CSO, Rudy spent two seasons with the Houston Ballet Orchestra as a co-principal. As a substitute musician, he has also performed with the National, Houston, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and San Antonio Symphonies. A two-time member of the Schleswig-Holsten Musik Festival, Rudy has performed internationally on stages in Germany, Denmark, and China. Rudy earned his Master’s Degree in music performance from Rice University and his Bachelor’s from the Peabody Institute. His primary teachers include Paul Ellison, Paul Johnson, and Linda McKnight. A native of New Jersey, Rudy was born into a very musical family with both of his parents being professional musicians in New York City.
In addition to performing in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO), John Mark Pellegrino performs regularly in the Grand Teton Music Festival and serves as Principal Bass of the Peninsula Music Festival and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. Calls from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra have allowed him to play, tour, and record with those ensembles. Other orchestral appearances have included concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Lake Placid Sinfonietta, New York Virtuosi, and Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York. Before moving to Ohio in 1989, John was a section member of the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Pellegrino earned degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, and he has served on the faculties of Ohio Wesleyan University, Eastern Music Festival (NC), Warwick Music Festival (RI), Kinhaven Music School (VT), and Chamber Music Connection in Worthington, OH. Currently, he is on the faculty at Capital University in Bexley, OH. In 2008, John was the recipient of the Ohio Private/Studio Teacher of the Year award given by the Ohio String Teachers’ Association. His students have won competitions held by the International Society of Bassists, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Ohio String Teachers’ Association, Interlochen Arts Camp, and The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Since 2007, John has been the Artistic Director of www.musiconthehillri.org. Additional chamber music performance appearances have included concerts at the Roycroft, Sarasota, Aspen, Waterloo, and Grand Teton music festivals as well as at Ohio State University’s Contemporary Music Festival, Sunday at Central recital series in Columbus, and the OWU•//•NOW Festival of Contemporary Music in Delaware, OH. John was born and raised in Warwick, RI and owes much to his family of music educators/performers, private teachers, public school music program in Warwick, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra program under the direction of Nedo Pandolfi.
Double bassist Russell Gill earned his Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music and played for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra immediately upon graduation. He has been a member of the Columbus Symphony since 1978, and he teaches private lessons in both bass and piano.
Russell is a marathon runner, having run in 43 consecutive Boston Marathons and more than 127 marathons in total. Since 1982, he has personally raised over $579,000 for the Arthritis Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He also has struggled up over 1.09 million stairs for charity!
Double bassist Jena Huebner, the daughter of a music educator mother and a physics professor father, was born in Southern California but grew up in Jacksonville, FL. She did her undergraduate studies with the renowned pedagogue Lawrence Hurst at Indiana University, where she also pursued her interests in ballet and early music. Jena’s graduate degree was done at the Peabody Institute with Harold Robinson, Principal Bassist of The Philadelphia Orchestra. While in Baltimore, MD, she had the privilege of playing in the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Peabody Early Music Ensemble, National Repertory Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Jena served as Assistant Principal Bassist for the Knoxville Chamber and Symphony Orchestras in Tennessee for three years. After relocating to Louisville, KY, she performed regularly with the Louisville Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, and Louisville Mandolin Orchestra, while also making appearances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and in her hometown with the Jacksonville Symphony. In 2000, Jena became a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra double bass section. Here in Columbus, she also has had the opportunity to perform with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and the New Albany Symphony Orchestra and has been a featured soloist with the Otterbein University Symphony Orchestra.
When not engaged in musical pursuits, Jena enjoys vegetarian cooking, sewing, fitness, seeking beautiful natural settings, the wide variety of activities involved in parenting her two sons, and her pets. She also has developed a passion for home renovation, which has led her to pursue getting a real estate license.
Niles Watson, from Damascus, MD, joined the Columbus Symphony in February 2019. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Jeffrey Khaner. Niles’ prior teachers include Aaron Goldman of the National Symphony Orchestra. Before coming to Columbus, Niles spent two seasons playing full-time with The Philadelphia Orchestra. He has played extensively across the United States and abroad while on tour with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra.
As a winner of the Greenfield Student Competition, Niles made his solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2011. He also has been a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Valley Forge Orchestra, and Amerita Chamber Players. Playing with the Qwinda Woodwind Quintet, Niles toured Colorado as part of the Bravo! Vail Young Professionals In-Residence program in 2016. He also was in-residence with Qwinda at Music from Angel Fire, working at schools and playing local concerts.
In his free time, Niles enjoys hiking, lifting weights, racing go-karts, racing online in Gran Turismo, and fishing, though he is not very good at any of these activities.
Lydia Roth is Second Flute and Piccolo of the Columbus Symphony. Prior to joining the CSO in 2021, she performed frequently with the orchestra as an associate musician in addition to holding the position of Principal Flute with Symphony in C and appearing as a substitute musician with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.
Lydia enjoys performing as a chamber musician and soloist, having presented duo recitals in Palm Beach and Longwood Gardens. As part of Curtis on Tour, she performed Mozart quartets throughout California as well as in London for a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3. She has completed a residency in Fayetteville, AR, where she performed a recital and worked with students at local high schools. Lydia also has led masterclasses for Play On Philly, Philadelphia Musical Alliance for Youth, Philadelphia All-City Orchestra, and the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra and maintains her own private studio.
A native of Grand Rapids, MI, Lydia grew up in a musical home playing flute, oboe, and piano as well as studying composition. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in flute performance from the Curtis Institute of Music and Lynn Conservatory, studying with Jeffrey Khaner. She has spent summers studying and performing at the Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and Lake George Music Festival.
When she’s not performing, you can find Lydia drinking a mug of tea while reading a book or solving a crossword puzzle. She lives with her partner and their two kittens.
Heidi Ruby-Kushious plays flute and piccolo in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO). She received her Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music as a scholarship student of Julius Baker, John Krell, and Murray Panitz. She continued her studies with Thomas Nyfenger at the Yale School of Music and with Alain Marion at the Salzburg Mozarteum.
Heidi made her solo recital debut in Carnegie Hall to rave reviews by Tim Page of The New York Times and has been featured as concerto soloist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, and Red {an orchestra} as well as in a duo concerto with Jean- Pierre Rampal and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. As the first American flute finalist in 21 years, Heidi was Laureate Prize Winner of the prestigious Munich International Flute Competition. She received first prize in the Artists International, New York Flute Club, and National Flute Association competitions and was awarded the distinguished C.D. Jackson Master Award at Tanglewood.
In addition to playing flute and piccolo for twenty seasons with the CSO, Heidi has held Principal Flute positions in the Tanglewood, Spoleto, National Repertory, Cleveland Pops, Red {an orchestra}, and CityMusic Cleveland orchestras.
Since 1995, Heidi has enjoyed the opportunity of playing extra flute and piccolo in the Cleveland Orchestra and has had the distinct honor of playing with the ensemble on many domestic and international tours, including those celebrating its 100th year. She performs with the Blossom Festival Band and Orchestra every summer. Heidi also had the privilege of playing Second Flute in the Detroit Symphony (DSO) flute section for large portions of its 2008-13 seasons, including on DSO Live from Orchestra Hall recordings, DSO Beethoven Festival, and Carnegie Hall Spring for Music Festival concerts.
Heidi can be heard on numerous recordings, including Dominick Farinacci’s Short Stories and many Cleveland Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, and Columbus Symphony Orchestra releases.
Heidi is the Instructor of Flute for the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) – Case Western Reserve University Joint Music Program, CIM Preparatory Division, and Musical Pathway Fellowship program. She has been the Instructor of Flute at Kenyon College, Capital University, and The University of Akron, where she performed as a member of Solaris Woodwind Quintet. Heidi also enjoys coaching chamber music and teaching privately, having conservatory bound students accepted at prestigious institutions around the world.
She and her husband Paul Kushious, a Cleveland Orchestra cellist and former CSO cellist, tour as a chamber music duo called INNovation, performing at inns and resorts worldwide. They live in Chagrin Falls, OH, and enjoy the long drive to their home away from home in the Taconic Mountains of Vermont. Heidi and Paul have a daughter who dances for The Walt Disney Company and a son who is a photographer and videographer.
Hugo Souza has been performing with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since the 2019-20 season. The 2021-22 season was his first year as Principal Oboe.
Hugo has performed extensively throughout Brazil, North America, and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had the honor of performing with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, as a guest artist at Music@Menlo, and with the ensemble Pentaèdre in Montreal. He also has performed with the American Ballet Theatre and American Symphony Orchestra.
Born into a musical family in Natal, Brazil, he began playing oboe at age fourteen and immediately fell in love. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in oboe performance at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), where both of his parents serve as faculty in the music department.
Hugo continued his studies in the United States, earning his Master of Music from SUNY Purchase as a student of Maestro Humbert Lucarelli. He is a doctoral candidate at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, where he studies with Richard Killmer.
During his time at Eastman, Hugo took a leave to accept a teaching position at his alma mater in Natal (UFRN). While on faculty at UFRN, he played an integral role in raising the oboe’s visibility and popularity throughout the country. He co-founded the Brazilian Double Reed Society, which has since held major international conferences featuring masterclasses with world renowned double reed artists. This organization continues to foster a thriving community for double reed players and has amplified classical music’s role in Brazilian culture.
Hugo is on faculty at Capital University’s Conservatory of Music. He resides in Columbus, where he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, exploring the surrounding culinary scene, and creating fusion recipes.
Robert Royse has been the English Hornist and a member of the oboe section of the Columbus Symphony (CSO) since 1987. He received his education at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was a student of John Mack after attending high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. He has served as the English Hornist of the Akron and Canton Symphony Orchestras, Kansas City Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony for a one-year appointment. Prior to joining the CSO, Mr. Royse played Principal Oboe in Cape Town, South Africa for three years. He also has played the English horn in The Cleveland Orchestra as a substitute.
When the CSO is not in session, Mr. Royse will inevitably be found pursuing his passion for birding and photography. His work has been used by book, magazine, calendar, and software publishers around the world and can be seen at www.roysephotos.com. He also enjoys unicycling and hiking.
Principal Clarinetist of the Columbus Symphony since 1989, David H. Thomas has had an outstanding career as a soloist as well as an orchestral player. Reviewing his performance of Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concertowith the Columbus Symphony, Jennifer Hambrick said “Thomas slipped in with his first phrase as though entering a dream — quietly, prayerfully… … [with] heartbreakingly intimate playing in the first movement. In the second movement, Rather Fast, Thomas’ technique was flawless, his sound assured… His most-extroverted playing came at the climax in the concerto’s final moments… It was virtuoso playing that, quite rightly, brought the audience to its feet.”
During his previous position as Principal Clarinetist of the Kennedy Center Orchestra in Washington, DC, David was well known in the Washington area for his numerous solo and chamber music recitals.
Beyond his many appearances as soloist with the Columbus Symphony, Mr. Thomas has performed concertos with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and National Chamber Orchestra. At age 18, he won first prize in competitions sponsored by the International Clarinet Association and Music Teachers National Association.
Born into a foreign service family, David grew up as a world traveler, living in India and Iran as well as Washington, DC. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, collecting antique quilts, cooking, and gardening.
Reviewing an earlier performance of Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations, the senior critic of the Columbus Dispatch wrote “David Thomas is…the clarinet equivalent of Cecilia Bartoli…I don’t recall a bigger or better reception for any artist, anywhere.” Mark Carrington of The Washington Post wrote about David’s performance of the Copland Clarinet Concerto with the National Chamber Orchestra: “David Thomas…was riveting.”
Appointed as Second/E-flat Clarinet of the Columbus Symphony in 2019, Mark Kleine has performed with several orchestras across the United States, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra. Prior to joining the Columbus Symphony, Mark performed with the Lexington Philharmonic from 2012-2017 as Second Clarinet and from 2017-18 as Principal Clarinet.
Mark has remained an active chamber musician throughout his career, performing with concert:nova chamber ensemble (Cincinnati, OH) and the Mill Avenue Chamber Players (Tempe, AZ) and serving as clarinetist for the Lexington Chamber Music Festival’s July series. As a soloist, he has appeared with both the Columbus State University (GA) Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona State University Chamber Orchestra.
An active pedagogue, Mark is on the faculty at the University of Dayton, where he teaches clarinet and performs with the faculty woodwind quartet. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music from Arizona State University, and a Bachelor of Music from Columbus State University in Georgia. His principal instructors include Jonathan Gunn, Robert Spring, and Lisa Oberlander.
In his spare time, Mark enjoys cycling, board games, playing Rocket League ®, and sous vide cooking.
Betsy Sturdevant’s career began early, when she won the second bassoon position with the Binghamton (NY) Symphony at age 15. While attending the Eastman School of Music (studying with K. David van Hoesen), she won a contracted position with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. During summers Betsy studied with the renowned Japanese bassoonist Ryohei Nakagawa, former principal of the San Fransisco Symphony. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, she won the principal bassoon position with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Betsy has performed at summer festivals in Aspen, CO; Boulder, CO, Chautauqua, NY and Spoleto, Italy. She has been featured as a bassoon concerto soloist with orchestras in Ohio, Indiana, and New York. In 2019 she performed the Hummel Grand Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra with the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra and in 2025 she performed the Weber Hungarian Fantasy at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Indianapolis
Additionally, she maintains a private teaching studio and regularly coaches Columbus Symphony Cadet and Youth Orchestra wind players. One of her students was recently awarded the highly prestigious Kovner Fellowship to cover all of his expenses for 4 years at Juilliard. Betsy is also on the faculty at the Capital University Conservatory of Music. A new work for unaccompanied bassoon entitled Etude on a Variation by Ohio composer Mark Biggam was dedicated to Betsy.
Douglas Fisher joined the CSO as Second Bassoon in 1984 after graduating with Distinction and the Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. He was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for two years and spent summers performing with the Spoleto Festival in Charleston and Italy, the Colorado Philharmonic, and the Heidelberg Castle Festival in Germany. He was also a finalist in the 1985 Gillet Competition of the International Double Reed Society. In 1992 Doug was one of the first two musicians to serve on the CSO Board and since 1995 has served as President of the Local Musicians’ Union.
Megan Amos joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as principal horn in 2024. Megan had played with the CSO as a substitute musician since 2018, including two temporary appointments in her current role. Previously, Megan was the principal horn player of the Toledo Symphony from 2019-2024 and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic from 2018-2019. In 2019, Megan was the grand prize winner of the Susan Slaughter Solo Brass Competition at the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference. In addition to the Columbus Symphony, Megan has appeared as a soloist with the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, Greater Columbus Community Orchestra, and the Aspen Music Festival. In 2017, Megan did a solo tour in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, as part of the Educational Bridge Project. Megan frequently performs as guest principal with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and as a section musician with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Megan is the third generation of professional orchestral musicians in her family. She grew up in York, Maine, and learned to read music and the Kodály Solfège System at a young age from her grandmother (former Soprano Soloist of the Met Opera) and grandfather (former Associate Principal Cellist of the Met Opera). Megan studied at the New England Conservatory from 2013-2017. Megan’s mentors include Jamie Sommerville and Adam Unsworth. Megan performs on the third horn made by the legendary Ukrainian-American horn maker, Jerry Lechniuk. Megan lives in Dublin with her daughter and husband.
Associate Prinicpal Horn
Julia Rose has been Associate Principal Horn of the Columbus Symphony since 1997. A Minnesota native, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, where she was a student of Douglas Hill. Upon graduation she became a member of the New World Symphony in Miami, FL, where she played for 3 years before joining the Columbus Symphony. In addition to performing regularly with the Columbus Symphony, she has also performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony.
Besides her orchestral playing, Julia has also won 1st prize (professional division) at the IWBC Solo Competition, as well as 2nd place and finalist at 2 American Horn Competitions (now called the International Horn Competition of the Americas). She has appeared twice as a concerto soloist with the New World Symphony. She maintains a busy private horn studio at her home in Dublin, where she lives with her husband, their 3 children, and a rescue dog named Lady.
Adam Koch is currently Fourth horn with the Columbus Symphony. Prior to Columbus, Adam was second horn with the Charleston Symphony in South Carolina.
The son of a career military officer, Adam was born in San Antonio, Texas. He spent his early childhood in Missouri, elementary school in Vicenza, Italy, and high school in Olympia, Washington. He attributes much of his musical success to studying art, architecture and sculpture at an early age.
Adam earned his Bachelor of Science in French Horn Performance with an outside field in Business from Indiana University, where he studied with Michael Hatfield and Richard Seraphinoff (natural horn). He also spent a year at Rice University studying with William VerMeulen.
In high demand as a freelancer and substitute, Adam has performed throughout North America including performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Houston, Cincinnati, Seattle, Detroit and Toronto symphonies. Adam has spent summers in Colorado performing with the Aspen Music Festival and the National Repertory Orchestra.
An Eagle Scout, Adam enjoys cooking, photography and hiking with his wife Katherine and his Siberian Husky. Adam and Katherine currently reside in Worthington, Ohio.
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Connor Monday joined the Columbus Symphony as acting fourth Horn in February of 2026. He previously spent four seasons as fourth horn with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and has performed as a substitute musician with several orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra and the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Growing up in Jacksonville, Connor started studying the horn with the Jacksonville Symphony’s Kevin Reid. He earned a Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Solis, and a Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. As a student, he spent summers at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and the Aspen Music Festival.
Connor lives in Upper Arlington with his wife and two children.
In addition to his role as Acting Principal Trumpet of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Kohan is also Principal Trumpet of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra; Second Trumpet of the Erie Philharmonic; and a member of the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole Wyoming.
An active performer, Kohan routinely performs with groups such as The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, and The Richmond Symphony. He can be heard with the Buffalo Philharmonic in their GRAMMY nominated recording of Kodály: Háry János Suite on the Naxos label.
Dedicated to music education, Kohan is a professor of trumpet at Youngstown State University where he oversees not only his studio of graduate and undergraduate students, but also teaches a classes aimed at expanding the reach of music education to non-majors as well. Before his time at YSU, he previously served as an adjunct professor at Chatham University in Pittsburgh.
Kohan received his B.M. from the New England Conservatory, and a M.M. from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a native of Orchard Park, New York and currently splits his time between Columbus and Pittsburgh with his wife, violinist Jorie Butler-Geyer.
Jeff Korak has been a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) as Second Trumpet since 1999. He has performed on the Columbus Symphony’s classical subscription series as soloist three times, twice performing the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets as well as the CSO’s premiere performance of John Adams’ Tromba Lontana.
Jeff has held positions with symphony orchestras all over the United States and countries in Europe, including Norway and Spain. Positions in the United States include the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Korak also performs regularly as a guest with orchestras across the United States and occasionally in Canada.
Jeff enjoys playing chamber music and is a member of the Columbus Symphony Brass Quintet, which performs all over Central Ohio and has raised over $10,000 for Central Ohio food banks.
Jeff earned his Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas in 1990, where he studied with world-famous pedagogue and performer Dr. Leonard Candelaria. Jeff continued his education at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where he received a Master of Music in 1991 and studied with long-time member of the world-famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Vincent Cichowicz. As a student, he was the winner of several solo and mock orchestral competitions for the International Trumpet Guild and International Women’s Brass Conference.
Jeff began playing trumpet in 5th grade in Albuquerque, NM. After his family moved to the Dallas, TX area in 1979, Jeff continued his studies on trumpet and was awarded positions in the Texas All-State Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. During this time, he performed at the acclaimed Montreux Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland as Lead Trumpet with the Lewisville High School Jazz Ensemble.
Jeff enjoys working with students in his home studio and is a frequent guest clinician at universities in Ohio, across the country, and in Canada. He is currently a Yamaha-sponsored Performing Artist.
Vladislav Petrachev is a trombonist from Saint Petersburg, Russia, whose career has taken him from leading the trombone section at the Mikhailovsky Theatre to performing with orchestras around the world. After four years as Principal Trombone in his hometown, he set out to explore new stages and opportunities abroad. His distinguished career includes performances with prestigious orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre, Cincinnati Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, and Saint Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra. Vladislav has collaborated with celebrated conductors like Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, Cristian Măcelaru, and Marin Alsop, performing across Great Britain, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Europe. In the summer of 2026, he will join the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra as their new Principal Trombone.
Vladislav’s academic path underscores his dedication to musical mastery. He holds a Specialist Degree in Musical Performance from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory and a Bachelor’s Degree from the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music. Pursuing further studies in the United States, he completed one year of a Master’s Degree in Trombone Performance at Southern Illinois University Carbondale before transferring to the University of Kentucky, where he studied from 2023 until 2025.
As a celebrated soloist and competition laureate, Vladislav has earned numerous distinctions, including the Grand Prix at the “Northern Rhapsody” International Competition (2016) and First Prize at the Russian Competition of Young Performers (2015). His solo performances have captivated audiences at universities throughout Kentucky and renowned events such as the International Trombone Festival (2022). Complementing his performing career, Vladislav has made significant contributions as an educator, serving as a Graduate Assistant at Southern Illinois University, Teaching Assistant at the University of Kentucky, and Adjunct Professor of Low Brass at Kentucky State University (2024–2025). Recognized for his artistry and musicianship, Vladislav is a performing artist for the S.E. Shires Company, one of the world’s leading brass instrument manufacturers.
Benjamin Ramirez is currently Principal Timpanist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1998. He was granted an extended leave from 2007-2010 during which time he was Acting Principal Timpanist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC. In the spring of 2010 he made his European orchestra debut with the Budapest Festival Orchestra as a guest of Music Director Ivan Fischer. Since then he has returned to Budapest for further touring and recording projects with the BFO. He has also made numerous appearances as a guest with orchestras across the United States including the San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Milwaukee Symphony. For five summer seasons Ramirez spent time at Tanglewood, where he frequently appeared as a guest with the Boston Symphony and taught timpani and percussion seminars as a faculty member of the Boston University-Tanglewood Institute.
In addition to performing extensively in orchestral settings, Ramirez has brought the timpani to the front of the stage as soloist and chamber musician. He has performed the rarely heard Timpani Concerto #1 by James Oliverio with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as well Oliverio’s Codex Tympanos for Solo Timpani with digital imagery projections in recital on numerous occasions. Chamber music projects include performances of Bartok’s Sonata for 2 pianos and percussion at Boston University with Leonid Hambro, Robby Merfeld, and Tim Genis, as well as performances and recordings of chamber works by Charles Wuorinen with the Group for Contemporary Music.
During the 1990’s, Ramirez lived in New York City where he performed with many top New York based ensembles. Most notably he performed and toured on a regular basis with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Other projects during that time include a collaboration with Robert Craft to record works by Stravinsky as well as a series of concerts at The Museum of Modern Art in celebration of John Cage’s 80th birthday.
Ramirez also has extensive experience as an educator. In addition to the Boston University-Tanglewood Institute, he has served on faculty of The National Orchestral Institute, The University of Maryland, Capital University, and Ohio University. He holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Indiana University.
American percussionist Cameron Leach is a bold performer recognized for his expressive virtuosity, musical athleticism, and daring interpretations. As a soloist and chamber musician, Leach has concertized in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Leach is the winner of both the Percussive Arts Society Solo Artist Competition and Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition, and was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. He serves as Principal Percussion for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and teaches at Capital University. Leach proudly endorses Black Swamp Percussion, Sabian Cymbals, Rustic Percussion, and Malletech.
Highlights from recent seasons include recital appearances in Beijing, Nuremberg, Salzburg, San Francisco, Orlando, Houston, and Portland, as well as residencies at the Space City New Music Festival, MalletLab Summer Intensive, TUTTI Festival at Denison University, and Purdue University Fort Wayne. Leach has performed on series such as the Eastman Summer Concert Series, Old First Concerts, New Music at Short North Stage, Rochester Fringe Festival, SPLICE Festival, and more.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Leach continued engaging audiences with an array of virtual concerts and clinics. He collaborated with the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, World Vibes Congress, Johnstone Fund for New Music, and music programs across the United States. Most notably, Leach premiered a new percussion concerto by Adam Roberts with the New Albany Symphony Orchestra in March 2021, a project documented by WOSU Public Media.
Leach’s concerto debut with the Dallas Winds continues to be rebroadcast on American Public Media’s Performance Today, America’s most popular classical music radio program. Other concerto highlights include performances with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Euclid Symphony Orchestra, and McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, plus world premieres of several concertos written for Leach: Dave Maric’s SPIEL; Durwynne Hsieh’s Prelude and Cartoon; and Garrett Schumann’s This Could Be Madness.
