MEET OUR ORCHESTRA

Conductor; Founder of Roanoque Baroque

Michael “semi-retired” to Roanoke following a 50-year teaching and performance career at institutions including Westmont College, Butler University, and the University of Colorado Boulder, along with serving as artistic director of the West Coast Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, the Music Sacra Chamber Orchestra, and the Mostly Strauss Orchestra of Denver. He earned his doctorate from the University of Southern California and currently serves as choir director for St. John Lutheran Church.

Concertmaster

Christi holds a Bachelor of Music in violin from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University; pursued violin studies at the Eastman School of Music with Mitchell Stern and Ilya Kaler. She is a member of the Roanoke Symphony, assistant concertmaster of the Lynchburg Symphony, 2nd violin in the Liya String Quartet, and freelancer with numerous organizations in Virginia.

She also performs frequently on baroque violin.

Christi teaches Violin in her private studio, Salisbury Stings, in Lynchburg, VA

Violin 1

Kay is a freelance violinist and enjoys performing many genres of music from baroque to modern compositions. She has engagements with Roanoke and Lynchburg Symphonies, while also maintaining her freelance career in New England. She holds a bachelor’s degree from University of North Carolina School of the Arts in violin performance, and a master’s degree in violin performance and a performance diploma from Boston University.

Kay maintains a private violin and viola studio and is adjunct violin and viola instructor at Sweet Briar College and Randolph College.

Violin 1

Shaleen is a Berklee College of Music graduate and serves as the Executive Director of the Roanoke Cultural Endowment. She is also a member of the Roanoke Symphony since 2007 as well as performing with other local musical organizations. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University.

Violin 2

Rick spent a year at the University of Liverpool in England studying Early Music with Michael Talbot following getting his undergraduate studies in Kansas. He earned his Masters degree at Juilliard in New York studying with Ruggiero Ricci, Szymon Goldberg, and David Nadien. He performed with and was personnel manager of the Philharmonia Virtuosi for 20 years. He has been the principal second violinist of the Queens Symphony in New York since 1989.

Violin 2

Camellia has been playing the the piano since the age of 6 and the violin since the 5th grade. She received her B.S. in music from Radford University in 2005 and was concert master of the Chamber Orchestra. Camellia has performed with the Valley Chamber Orchestra and toured / recorded with various rock bands in the states and overseas. She plays weddings and special events throughout the Roanoke area.

Violin 2 / Viola

Bryan is a founding member of the Classic Strings Duo with his brother, Kevin, and received critical acclaim at their Carnegie Weill Recital Hall début as part of the Ibla Grand Prize competition winners’ tour. He has performed on concert tours in Japan including performances at Yamaha Hall in Tokyo, in Sicily, Ireland and the Czech Republic. He is a member of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and tours for the Virginia Commission for the Arts as violist in the Rainier Trio.

Bryan is currently faculty at Hollins University and maintains a private studio in Roanoke.

Follow him at Classic Strings Duo

Viola / Violin

Sarah is a violist and violinist who currently performs and teaches in the Roanoke area. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA and regularly plays with the Roanoke Symphony. Before coming to Roanoke, Sarah served as the principal violist of the Ruse Philharmonic and Opera Orchestra in Ruse, Bulgaria.

Sarah a viola and violin instructor at First Baptist Academy of Music where she teaches the traditional and Suzuki Method.

Viola

Elizabeth is a professional violist and educator. She freelances throughout Southwest Virginia and serves as the Orchestra Director at Woodrow Wilson Middle School (Roanoke City Public Schools). Additionally, she serves as an Adjunct Professor at Radford University teaching String Techniques.

Elizabeth maintains a private teaching studio of violin, viola, and cello students.

Cello

Eleanor’s friendship with the cello began when she was four. She earned her Masters of Music from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, and has performed with many groups across the US. These days Eleanor enjoys participating in the musical landscape of her local community in Roanoke, VA.

Cello

Rebecca was praised for the “maturity and sensitivity” of her playing (Casa Magazine), She is a Cleveland-based cellist is passionate about loving people and pursuing justice through music. Rebecca holds a Masters from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelors from Westmont College.

She is the founder of Renovare Music.

Bass

Yi-wen is a double bassist and the Master Teacher of the Virginia Tech String Project, orchestra director of Roanoke City Public Schools, and the instructor of Roanoke County School String Program. Originally from Taiwan, she was a member of the Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra and Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra. She has also performed with New River Valley Symphony Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Opera Roanoke, and works actively in many chamber music ensembles.

Bassoon

Kevin was formerly a bassoonist with the Ruse State Opera Orchestra and Philharmonic in Bulgaria and the Sarajevo Philharmonic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has a Masters of Music degree from Northwestern University and a Bachelors of music from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He attended the Aspen Music Festival, has played with the Canton and Ashland symphony orchestras and was the bassoonist for Camp-of-the-Woods, a Christian family resort in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. He currently plays frequently with the Roanoke Symphony and in the music ministry of Christ the King Presbyterian Church.

Harpicord

Deanne has been active as a recitalist, chamber musician and teacher. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano from the University of Michigan. Dr. Vance has taught at Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan. She continues to enjoy performing and making music with others.

Harpsichord

Karen is the Director of Music/Organist for Windsor Hills United Methodist Church, organist/pianist for Oakeys, and studied harpsichord at the University of Texas/San Antonio. She has played harpsichord with the Nittany Valley Symphony in PA and the Winds of the Blue Ridge in VA. Locally, she has also performed on the Greene Memorial Fine Arts Series as a solo organist and organist for many of the series’ choral work productions.

Oboe

Meredith plays frequently in regional ensembles, including the Roanoke Symphony, Opera Roanoke, Symphony of the Mountains in Tennessee, and as principal oboe of the Lynchburg Symphony.  She also appears with church and community choruses such as the Blacksburg Master Chorale and Jefferson Choral Society in Lynchburg.  She maintains a lesson studio with students from Blacksburg and Salem. 

Oboe

Heather Sumner, a resident of Bedford, Virginia, earned her Instrumental Education Bachelor’s degree from Lynchburg College in 2010, and her Instrumental Conducting Master’s from Lynchburg College in 2012. Throughout her education at Lynchburg College, Heather performed in numerous ensembles, including the Wind Symphony, Orchestra, Pit Orchestra, Jazz Band, Handbell Choir, Woodwind Quintet, and Concert Choir. She continues to play oboe and English horn in various chamber groups and symphonies, including Lynchburg Symphony, Lynchburg College, Randolph College, Opera on the James, with the Lynchburg Academy of Fine Arts, and more.