Zoran Stoyanovich

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.

Zhe Deng

Zhe Deng joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2021. Before that, he was a Section Violinist in the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Since 2016, Zhe also has been a regular substitute violinist in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist, he collaborated with the University of Cincinnati CCM Concert Orchestra in 2017 after placing first in the violin concerto competition. From 2017 to 2019, he gave solo performances at the China National Centre for the Performing Arts, The Concertgebouw, and Carnegie Hall.

He holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati (CCM), where he studied under Kurt Sassmannshaus and Timothy Lees. 

Zhe’s favorite composers are Brahms and Mahler. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and playing with his two cats. 

William Manley

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.

Tatiana Hanna

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.

Robert Firdman

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.

Megan Amos

Megan Amos is joining the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as principal horn in 2024. Megan has 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 Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Perrysburg Symphony 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. 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.

Mwakudua waNgure

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.

Joanna Frankel

Jack and Joan George Chair

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.

Gyusun Han

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. 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 and the CCM Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, Ms. Han is a founding member of the Ensemble Feliz 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 her free time, Ms. Han enjoys camping and reading.

Gail Norine Sharp

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 played as a Section Violinist ever since.

Gail enjoys reading mostly fiction (thrillers and mysteries), cooking, working out, gardening while listening to audio books, and singing in her church choir. Her loves are her two cats Eleanore, a tortoiseshell rescue, and Franklin, an active, all-muscle tabby.