Our Orchestra

Dorothy Redwood Cooke Sutherland Concertmaster Chair

In his career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, recording artist and pedagogue, Vahn Armstrong has established himself as a leading violinist of his generation. He is now in his twenty-sxith season as Concertmaster of the Virginia Symphony, an orchestra which has garnered national praise for its performances and recordings. Mr. Armstrong is also Concertmaster of the Virginia Opera, and during the summer he serves as Concertmaster for Chautauqua Opera and Associate Concertmaster of the Chautauqua Symphony in Chautauqua, New York.

Mr. Armstrong has appeared as soloist on many occasions with the Virginia and Chautauqua symphonies, as well as many other orchestras throughout the U.S. He is a member of Apollo, an ensemble whose premiere recording of John Luther Adams’ Clouds of forgetting, clouds of unknowing was recently released by New World Records. He is also a charter member of the Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival Chamber Music Series, and leader of the Chautauqua String Quartet. For ten years, Mr. Armstrong performed with the award-winning New World String Quartet, concertising throughout the U.S. and Europe. The New World Quartet made several recordings; one of these, Ainsi la nuit by Henri Dutilleux, was awarded a Prix du disc.

Mr. Armstrong gave the world premiere of Larry Bell’s Book of moonlight for violin and piano in Boston in 1989. In fact, throughout his career he has been committed to performing music of this century. He includes in his repertoire not only works of Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Berg, Prokofieff, Bartok, and Barber, but also those of Ligeti, Dutilleux, Arvo Part, Elliot Carter, Richard Danielpour, Gwyneth Walker, and many others.

Mr. Armstrong has recorded for MCA Classics, New World Records, Musical Heritage Society, and others. He has been a frequent guest on NPR’s Performance Today, WGBH’s Morning Pro Musica, WNED’s Music from Chautauqua, and BBC London. He was also Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University, University of Michigan, Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California and MusicWest at Utah State University.

A native of Michigan, Mr. Armstrong holds BM and MM degrees from the Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay. He now resides in Norfolk, Virginia, and enjoys sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Yun Zhang began his violin studies under the tutelage of his father at the age of three and gave his first public performance when he was five years old. While studying in the renowned Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Yun Zhang was awarded the Fu Cheng Xian Memorial Scholarship for excellence in performance and artistic potential. In 1998, he arrived in Bloomington to study with Henryk Kowalski and Stephen Boe, the former teaching assistants of Josef Gingold at the Indiana University. In the 2001-2002 season, Yun Zhang was a recipient of the prestigious Helen F. Whitaker Fellowship and served as the concertmaster for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago under the direction of conductors Daniel Barenboim, Pinchas Zukerman, David Robertson, Anne Manson, William Eddins, Cliff Colnot, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Duain Wolfe. In 2002, Yun Zhang joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as Associate Concertmaster. He has performed frequently in recitals and chamber music series throughout the United States and Asia. Recent solo appearances with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra include the “Butterfly” Violin Concerto, Brahms Violin and Cello Double Concerto, Beethoven Violin Concerto, Haydn Symphony Concertante, and Mozart Violin Concerto in D major. His performances have been broadcasted on Classical 88.7 FM of Indianapolis, WFMT Radio Network of Chicago, WSVH of Savannah, Georgia and WHRO of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Yun Zhang is active in teaching. He holds the positions of guest professor of violin at Yunnan Arts Institute in China and the artist in residence at Christopher Newport University.

Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Fanny Pointet began playing the violin at the age of 5. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the Geneva University of Music (Switzerland), and a Master’s degree from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (Austria) in the class of Rainer Küchl. 

Fanny finished her studies in June of 2023 and joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as assistant concertmaster in September of the same year.

Fanny has performed in Europe and the USA with world-renowned conductors and soloists such as Kirill Petrenko, Lang Lang, Steven Isserlis, Krystof Urbanski, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Christoph Eschenbach, Philippe Jordan and others. Fanny has also appeared as soloist many times, won numerous prizes, and competitions; notably the Henryk Szering Prize in 2017 and 2019. She regularly takes part in summer festivals such as the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival.

Alongside her career as a violinist, Fanny has always had a keen interest in the piano. Concurrently with her Master’s degree in violin, Fanny pursued a Bachelor of Pedagogy at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna in Sibylla Joedicke’s class. She put her studies on hold when she took up the position with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, but enjoys passing on her knowledge and love of the instrument through teaching.

Lee A. & Helen G. Gifford Principal Second Violin Chair

Elizabeth Coulter Vonderheide, originally from Lynchburg, VA, began violin studies at age 5. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with the late Franco Gulli, Distinguished Professor of Violin. She received the Master of Music degree from the prestigious Orchestral Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Glenn Dicterow, then Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. While in New York she served as Concertmaster of the MSM orchestras, and had the opportunity to play under renowned conductors Kurt Masur, David Robertson, Pierre Boulez, and Julius Rudel. She also appeared as soloist both with the Claremont Ensemble, and in a live broadcast on Soundcheck with John Schaeffer on 93.9 WNYC FM.

Elizabeth joined the Virginia Symphony as Assistant Principal Second Violin in 2003, and was appointed Principal Second Violin in 2022. Since 2008 she has been a substitute with the Saint Louis Symphony, joining them frequently, including their 7-week Opera Season, Carnegie Hall tours, and a domestic tour with American Ballet Theater. Beginning in the 2022-23 season, Elizabeth has been a regular substitute with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Additionally, she is often called on as a substitute musician by the Atlanta, Baltimore, and North Carolina Symphonies, and the Florida and Sarasota Orchestras.

Elizabeth has soloed four times with the Virginia Symphony, as well as with the Lynchburg Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Wintergreen Music Festival orchestra. She has performed as a guest member of the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic, and with the orchestras of the Spoleto, Italy Festival, the American Institute of Musical Study (Graz, Austria), the Crested Butte Music Festival, The Colorado Music Festival, and the Conducting Institute at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. Since 2015 she has held a summer position with Wintergreen Music. Elizabeth has also twice toured Japan with the Hollywood Concert Orchestra.

An enthusiastic chamber musician, Elizabeth is a founding member of both the Hampton Roads-based New Commonwealth Quartet, and the Surf and Sounds Chamber Music Festival in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. With NCQ, she has performed with Feldman Chamber Music, on the Virginia Wesleyan recital series, for Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church “Sacred Music in a Sacred Space”, for the Graif Foundation, and in a chamber music series the quartet created in East Beach, Norfolk. They also recorded a recital for WHRO public media that was live-streamed during the pandemic. The quartet has twice been a featured ensemble at Bruce Hornsby’s Funhouse Fest, and can also be heard on Mr. Hornsby’s album Absolute Zero, on the track “White Noise”. As a solo recitalist, Elizabeth has appeared as a guest artist at Old Dominion University, Randolph College, and Madison (Indiana) Performing Arts.

Elizabeth is on the Instrumental Faculty at the Governor’s School for the Arts and The Academy of Music, and is a regular coach with the Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia, and the Heart Strings Program. She maintains a private teaching studio in Portsmouth, where she lives with her husband, VSO Principal Trumpet David Vonderheide, and their Border Collie Indy.

Hailed by the Washington Post for “…bringing real drama” to his performances, violinist Jonathan Richards has performed throughout the United States and Canada as both a chamber musician and soloist. He has won numerous competitions and has appeared as soloist with the Kishwaukee Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Vincent’s of Chicago, the Judson College Symphony, the Northern Illinois University Philharmonic, and the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra. Richards has gained recent accolades in DC’s new music scene for his performances with the esteemed VERGE ensemble, the Grammy nominated Inscape Chamber Orchestra, and the New Music Ensemble of Towson. As an orchestral musician, he has performed regularly with the Fairfax Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, Chesapeake Symphony, and National Philharmonic along with the Concert Artists of Baltimore, Post-Classical Orchestra, Washington Soloists, and is now performing full-time with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Richards was a founding member of the Adelphi String Quartet as well as a member of the critically acclaimed Excelsa Quartet. As a recording artist, Richards has recorded Walter Gieseking’s works for string quartet and string trio for the Naxos label with the Adelphi Quartet, and has recently recorded world premiers for the Sono Luminus label with the Inscape Chamber Orchestra.

Jorge Aguirre was born in Lima-Peru. Following studies at the Conservatorio Nacional in Peru, Mr. Aguirre received a scholarship to study with Mr. Henryk Szeryng in Mexico and later with Mr. Szimzia Bajour. He received a scholarship to attend the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado to study with Ms. Dorothy Delay for two summers. Meanwhile he performed professionally with of orchestras in Mexico such as the Guadalajara Symphony, Guanajuato Orchestra, Estado de Mexico Symphony, and the Xalapa Symphony. He moved to Europe to play with The Sinfonietta de Roma (Italy), Royal Opera of Brussels (Belgium) Mannheim Opera (Germany) and later with Madrid Symphony, all in different title chairs. He had the privilege to play professionally under great conductors such as, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Metha, Lorin Maazel and James Levine among them.

In the USA he began playing as Assistant Concertmaster in the Coronado Music Festival (Arizona) Colorado Music Festival (Boulder), South Florida Symphony (Fort Lauderdale), Miami Chamber Orchestra and briefly with the Florida Philharmonic. He was the Assistant Concertmaster for the New American Chamber Players based in Detroit.

After his wife Sherie Aguirre won the first oboe position in the Virginia Symphony, he came to Hampton Roads area to play with the Virginia Symphony where he has been heard as a soloist and a Concertmaster in several occasions. He plays with the Virginia Opera and serves as first violinist for the Hampton Roads String Quartet and the Four Seasons String Quartet. He is Concertmaster of the International Todi Festival in Virginia under the baton of Maestro Walter Atanassi and Associate Concertmaster of The Santo Domingo Music Festival under the baton of Maestro Philippe Entremmont.

As a teacher and conductor Mr. Aguirre has been an adjunct professor at Conservatorio Real de Madrid in Spain, Old Dominion University, Hampton University, and Christopher Newport Universities in Virginia. He has conducted orchestras such as The Bay Youth Orchestra, All City Orchestras in Norfolk and Newport News, the Governor’s School for the Arts and the College of William and Mary. He is presently the conductor of the acclaimed Hampton Roads Chamber Players.

Anna Bishop is a native of Virginia Beach who grew up behind the scenes of the VSO as the daughter of two musician parents in the orchestra. Prior to her time with VSO, she was a member of the Richmond Symphony from 2015-2018, Civic Orchestra of Chicago,  and Opera on the James. She continues to be a member of various groups in the area such as the Williamsburg Symphony and Williamsburg Opera.

Anna was an emerging artists at festivals such as the Garth Newel Music Institute, Brevard Music Center, Colorado Quartet Institute and the Nova Scotia International Young Artist Program. During her summer festival studies she was fortunate to study with leading concertmasters such as William Preucil, David Coucheron and Jonathan Carney.

Mrs. Bishop holds a B.M. from Virginia Commonwealth University as well as attended the graduate program at Chicago College of Performing Arts on scholarship. Her principal teachers have been Susanna Klein and MingHuan Xu.

Anna is also a studio violinist and teacher. Her playing is featured on the podcast, S-Town, created by Serial and This American Life. She resides in Richmond with her husband, two cats, and retired greyhound.

Recently Lesa began her professional bodybuilding career. In the 2006-2007 season, she won first place overall titles in the following: NASF 2006 Old Dominion Championships, NASF 2006 American National Championships, the 2007 North Carolina Open, the 2007 Virginia Open, the NPA Masters Universe Pro Qualifier, and the NPA Fall Pro Classic. Lesa combines the discipline of music and bodybuilding by guest posing at bodybuilding shows playing her violin. She was recently honored as the NPA top female pro athlete of 2007.

Mayu Kuroda Cipriano was born in Tokyo, Japan and began studying the violin at the age of five. At 12, she won the Special Prize in the All Japan Mainichi Competition; and at 13, played with the NHK second symphony. At the behest of Cho-Liang Lin, she came to the United States to study with Ms. Dorothy Delay and Masao Kawasaki at the Juilliard Pre-College. Mayu continued her undergraduate studies at Juilliard, earning a Bachelor of Music in 1998. In addition to Juilliard, she also attended the Aspen Music Festival for six consecutive summers beginning in 1991, earning second prize in the Nakamichi concerto competition. As a result, she performed in recital at the Wheeler Opera House Aspen.

Mayu joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in 2003. She is also regular substitute with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, joining them for their 2010 Carnegie Hall performance. She previously held positions with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, and has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and the New City Ballet.

Mayu has been a member of the Ambrosia Quartet since 2005. In 2016, the quartet recorded the String Quartets of Adolphus Hailstork for Albany Records.  They have been also featured performers for the Virginia Arts Festival, the Feldman Chamber Music Society Series, and the Salon Series with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Mayu has also performed numerous solo recitals in New York City and Japan with her sister Ai, also a Juilliard graduate in piano. The Sisters Duo have performed at the Cremona Exhibition at the Christoph Landon Gallery, Columbia University, the Russian Tea Room, Oji Hall in Tokyo, and were featured on Radio City 84.0 MHz Tokyo and the Japanese Television show Zoom In Asa live from New York. Mayu is married to James Cipriano, who is a tuba player with the United States Army Music program and resides in Norfolk, VA with their beloved cats Eddie and Velvet.

Coming Soon.

Virginia Native Brendon Elliott received his BM studying with Pamela Frank and Joseph Silverstein at The Curtis Institute of Music, and attained his master’s at The Juilliard School under Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes, then completed a fellowship with the New World Symphony. He began his violin studies under his mother’s tutelage at the age of three and made his solo debut when he was 10 years old.

As a three-time concerto competition winner, Brendon was invited as a guest soloist with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra at age 17 on their Masterworks Series. He toured with the Virginia Symphony performing the Hailstork Violin Concerto as an opener for Natalie Cole and his performance of William Grant Still’s Mother and Child was broadcast on WMRA radio. Brendon has soloed with The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Harlem Chamber Players, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, and has performed in orchestras such as the Sphinx Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Chineke! Orchestra. The Charleston Post and Courier described his solo performance with the Colour of Music Virtuosi as; “Playing with grace and poise, displaying a fine technique and sweet tone.”

Brendon is currently touring as Joseph Bologne’s musical half in Bill Barclay’s play The Chevalier and is a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Violinist Amanda Gates joined the VSO in 1996, and was appointed Assistant Concertmaster in 2002.  She was awarded a first violin position with the Chautauqua Symphony in upstate New York in 2001.

A native of Reston, Virginia, she graduated summa cum laude from Catholic University in 1996, where she studied with Robert Gerle.

She has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Catholic University Orchestra, and the Chautauqua Symphony Chamber Players. She has also performed as soloist in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Vaughn Williams’ The Lark Ascending, and John Adams’ Violin Concerto, all with the Virginia Symphony.

A versatile musician, she is proficient on guitar, mandolin, viola, cello, hammered dulcimer, and well versed in many styles of music. She has performed for the VSO on electric violin on several occasions, covering Eric Clapton’s “Crossroads,” and accompanying a beatbox track, featuring her own arrangement. She has also performed solo electric violin in Windborne Music’s  “The Music of Led Zeppelin” with the Phoenix, Minnesota, and Louisiana symphonies. She was commissioned to compose, arrange, perform and direct string arrangements for Portland-based punk band emberghost’s album, “Not Long for this Earth,”  released in 2012. More recently, she arranged and performed Bill Monroe’s “Scotland” for the Virginia Stage Company’s production of Honky Tonk Angels.  In addition, she has been featured as Celtic fiddle soloist in the Virginia Arts Festival’s International Tattoo on three separate occasions.

Ms. Gates performs on a violin by Pietro Giacomo Rogeri, Brescia, 1699, and a six-string fretted electric violin, “Viper” model by Mark Wood.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Kirsty Barnett Green has been a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra since 1996, where she has served as both core and Principal Second violin positions, and occasionally as concertmaster during the summer season. Ms. Green has appeared as soloist with orchestras in Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and the United States, as well as with her own orchestra, the VSO. She has been featured on classical radio programs including the Vermont Public Radio and Radio Geneva and produced “The Violin music of Arthur Foote” recording for New World Records. Previously, Kirsty has played chamber music as a member of the Ghent Trio, and currently makes regular guest appearances with the Ambrosia Quartet as well as the Harbor Quartet. She has been a guest artist on the Virginia Arts Festival Organ Swell Series since 2003.

Kirsty began studying the violin at the age of six as a student of Judith Berenson, and graduated with honors from the Conservatoire Populaire. She then moved to the United States where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts while studying with Kevin Lawrence. In addition she has had the opportunity to study with several of the great pedagogues including Josef Gingold and Arnold Steinhart during the course of various festivals and masterclasses. Ms. Green is a licentiate of the British Royal Schools of Music.

In addition to performing, Kirsty is a dedicated teacher. She began her teacher-training formation at an early age first as assistant to Judith Berenson, and then in college where she held assistantships at both the N.C. School of the Arts and the Killington Music Festival. Shortly thereafter she formed her own studio at the Tanglewood Academy of Music in Clemmons, N.C. and went on to teach at Norfolk’s Academy of Music. She has held adjunct positions at Christopher Newport University (where her position included teaching pedagogy, orchestral repertoire class and coaching the CNU orchestra), and Virginia Wesleyan College where she currently teaches. She has spent several summers performing and instructing at the Eastern Music Festival, and the Portsmouth Chamber Festival, and is a coach for Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia as well as the Hampton Roads Chamber Players. Her students have won numerous awards, and many have gone on to successful careers in music.

Violinist Yu-Chia Hsiao has been with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra since 2014. Miss Hsiao, born in Taiwan, began studying violin at the age of seven. As a top prize winner of the Academy of Taiwan Strings Concerto Competition, she made her solo debut with the Academy of Taiwan Strings at the age of thirteen. In 2006, she performed Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy with Fu-Jian Dance Drama and Opera House Orchestra in Fu-Jian, China. She also gave well-received solo recitals in Taiwan in the summers of 2007 and 2010. Miss Hsiao’s numerous awards include the first prize in the Taiwan Music Competition, the Hsing-Tien Temple Competition, and the 5th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians—Taiwan Pre-Audition; the finalist for the 7th Junior Arts of Toshiya Edo Violin Competition in Japan.

Miss Hsiao has participated in several festivals and master classes, including the Christian Tetzlaff Master Class in Library of Congress, the 38th Tibor Varga International Music Festival, the Taiwan Music Festival, and the Shuan-Yin International Music Festival where she studied with Victor Pikayzen, James Buswell, Christian Tetzlaff , Dmitri Berlinsky, and Tanaka Chitashi.

Miss Hsiao enjoys sharing classical music with a wide range of audience. She engages herself in various community outreach concerts. In 2010, she performed for the Elderhostel Program at the Peabody Conservatory as well as the “Wednesdays at Weinberg” at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, Kimmel Cancer Center. Through these experiences, she witnessed the magical powers of music: uplifts spirits and brings peace to mankind. In 2011, at the invitation of the Piatigorsky Foundation, Miss Hsiao toured with violinist Keng-Yuen Tseng and musicians in Montana where they brought concerts to audiences that would not have the opportunities to attend such performances otherwise. In the same year, she also participated in the Taiwanese American Charity Education Association (TACEA) annual concert at the Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center. Miss Hsiao holds Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma degrees from the Peabody Conservatory where she was awarded a full scholarship to study with Keng-Yuen Tseng.

A passionate collaborator and advocate for diversity in the arts, Camille has worked with various festival orchestras and chamber groups, including the National Orchestral Institute and Festival (NOI + F), Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Next Festival of Emerging Artists.

As a 2019 Sphinx Orchestral Futurist Fellow, she has helped commission works and curate a professional development workshop for K-12 students in Prince George’s County, Maryland.This project piloted what is now the K12 New Music Initiative, a commissioning project to expand the repertoire of K12 orchestras with music by BIPOC composers. In the Fall of 2018, she curated Voices Unheard, a concert series at UMD that celebrated works by women composers and composers of color. In addition, she had the opportunity to collaborate with esteemed cello professor Anthony Elliott for a concert series at the Kerrytown Concerthouse titled Passing the Torch in 2021 and 2022. Camille is establishing herself as a freelance artist in the Michigan area as well, having performed for singer Michael Bublé, rapper Big Sean and Darren Criss. She has also served as a teaching artist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles as well as the Sphinx Overture program in Detroit.

Camille received her B.M. in Violin Performance at the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.M. in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, having studied under Danielle Belen.

Bio Coming Soon

Allison Kim began playing the violin after receiving a quarter size violin as a gift from her grandfather for her eighth birthday. She grew up in Asunción, Paraguay and Busan, South Korea before moving to Colorado, where she began her formal training under the tutelage of Jesse Ceci, former concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra. She received her Bachelor of Music at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Master of Music at Indiana University, and Advanced Music Studies certificate at Carnegie Mellon University. During the summers, she attended numerous festivals including Aspen Music Festival as an Orchestral String fellow, National Repertory Orchestra, Brevard Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Garth Newel Music Center, Encore School for Strings, and Madeline Island Music Camp. She is a substitute of the Colorado Symphony and New World Symphony and has been a member of various regional orchestras in Indiana and Colorado. In addition to Jesse, her teachers have included Lina Bahn, Ik-Hwan Bae, Yumi Hwang-Williams, and Andrés Cárdenes. During her free time Allison loves playing with dogs and cheering on Denver sports teams.

Simon Lapointe was born in Quebec, Canada, in 1979. He showed interest in the violin at the age of 2, and received his first violin lesson 2 years later. He obtained his Bachelor’s of Music from the Conservatoire de Trois-Rivières in 2000, studying with Helmut Lipsky and Joanne Pothier. He then went on to get his MM at the Peabody Conservatory of Music with soloist and now Tokyo String Quartet 1st violinist Martin Beaver.

Simon joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as Principal Second Violin in 2005. He previously played with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the West Virginia Symphony, as Assistant Principal Second Violin and Concertmaster, respectively. He served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra during the 2009-2010 season, and since 2010, is also Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.  He is also a substitute violinist with the Baltimore Symphony and the Washington National Opera.  His chamber music experience includes being first violin for the Montclaire String Quartet and the Ambrosia Quartet.  He is Adjunct Professor of Violin at the Virginia Commonwealth University.

Simon was a prizewinner of many competitions in the US and Canada. He is regularly invited as a soloist and recitalist in Baltimore, Quebec and Hampton Roads, as well as at the Lanaudière Festival.  He also offers masterclasses, chamber coachings and orchestral exerpt coaching for the Bay Youth Orchestras, Richmond Youth Symphony, and the Hampton Roads Chamber Players.

Violinist Hsiang-Yu (Sean) Meng, currently studying under Prof. Keng-Yuen Tseng at the Peabody Institute, has been recognized for his musical achievements with awards such as the Silverman Pollack Conservatory Scholarship and the Artistic Excellence Award. Sean is an active chamber music musician and advocate; he co-founded the Changhua Chamber Music Society (CCMS) in Taiwan with violinist Pei-Wu Chen, who aims to connect classical music more closely with local communities.

In the United States, Sean established the Nosremé Quartet, which has been invited to perform at notable venues, including the recently inaugurated JHU SAIS Bloomberg Center in Washington D.C., and served as Quartet in Residence at the Texas Chamber Music Institute (2023). His early musical prowess was evident with the Qingshui Trio, securing national first-place awards in the Taiwan National Student Music Competition in 2016 and 2017.

Sean serves as the artistic director of the Changhua Chamber Music Society, which strives to make classical music accessible across Taiwan, especially in regions with limited exposure to the arts. Sean and his colleagues aim to demystify classical music by organizing concerts and educational events, fostering a more profound appreciation among people of all backgrounds.

A highlight of CCMS’s efforts was the 2023 “Melodies Across Taiwan” tour, which reached over 5,000 attendees of various ages. This initiative brought classical music to unconventional venues across the island, such as temples and museums, demonstrating a creative approach to cultural engagement and the society’s dedication to broadening the audience for classical music.

Bio coming soon!

Seiko (Sato) Syvertsen grew up in a music-loving family who listened to not only classical music, but all different kinds of music, such as jazz, big band, and the Argentina Tango.

Ms. Syvertsen started piano lessons at age 5, violin at age 7, and music dictation/solfeggio at age 10. During her senior year at Kyoto City University of Arts & Music in Japan, she was invited to the Tanglewood Music Festival as a scholar of the Festival Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Oliver Knussen, and Leon Fleisher, and to join their European tour.

After receiving her Bachelor of Music in Kyoto, she moved to the United States to enter the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and studied violin with Yuval Yaron. She studied string quartets with Rostislav Dubinski, who was a member of Borodin Quartet.

While she was working on a Master of Music degree, Ms. Syvertsen started her career as an orchestra player, and started having more passion for larger ensembles. She auditioned for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was chosen by the concertmaster and a principal violinist of Chicago Symphony to be its concertmaster of two seasons.

Besides performing there under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, Sir George Solti, Pierre Boulez, Placido Domingo, and Pinchas Zukerman, Ms. Syvertsen also received a full scholarship from the Music school of DePaul University of Chicago. There she received a Performer Diploma. She also served as a concertmaster for the University Orchestra, took violin lessons with Joseph Genualdi, viola lessons with Rami Solomonow, and was chosen to be their concert soloist.

After a short period of time serving as an assistant concert master for the South Bend Symphony, Ms. Syvertsen joined the Virginia Symphony and resides in Chesapeake, Virginia with her husband, two boys, and a Boston terrier, “Fenway”.

Kriner Family Principal Horn Chair

Jacob Wilder completed both a Bachelor’s degree and an Artist Diploma in French Horn performance at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in downtown Los Angeles. During his time in Los Angeles, Jacob played substitute french horn with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. Jacob has also served as a full time section member in the Colburn Orchestra, American Youth Symphony, the Industry Opera Company, Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo, and Colorado College Music Festival. Beyond making music, Jacob enjoys being outdoors biking, hiking, or playing basketball.

Horn Player Helen Wargelin is the newly appointed Second Horn of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. She has previously appeared with groups including the Seattle Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and the New World Symphony, and spent a year as an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She was a Horn Fellow at Tanglewood Music Center in the summer of 2022 and, over previous summers, attended the Aspen and Brevard Music Festivals. In 2021, she won the Aspen Horn Concerto Competition.

A native of Concord, MA, she holds a Master of Music from New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude, in Horn Performance from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, along with a minor in Musicology. While at NEC, she was an Edward Hyde Cox Presidential Scholar. Her principal teachers include Gus Sebring, Gail Williams, and Jonathan Boen.

Dr. L. Avery Staples (Pettigrew) joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in 2023, initially on a one-year position as Assistant Principal/Utility Horn and is now Third/Associate Principal Horn. Prior to joining VSO, she was a freelance musician and music educator engaged throughout the Washington, DC metro area. She performed regularly with the Baltimore Symphony, the Maryland Symphony, and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony. She has been the featured soloist with several community ensembles including the Washington Sinfonietta, the Manassas Symphony, and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Greater Washington.

In addition to operating a large and successful private studio based in Chantilly, VA, Dr. Staples was the Adjunct Professor of Horn at Frostburg State University for five years. Her students regularly placed into their state’s honors ensembles and have earned scholarships to top music schools in the country.

As a student with Samantha La Pointe-Woolf at Tulane University in New Orleans, she earned both a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music Performance and a Bachelors of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Dr. Staples earned both her Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees at the University of Maryland-College Park, where she held a performance-based graduate assistantship as a student of Gregory Miller and Phil Munds. Her additional teachers include Denise Tryon, Michael Thornton, and Shawn Hagen.

Horn Player Hirofumi Tanaka, originally from Tokyo, Japan, joined the Virginia Symphony as 4th horn at the beginning of 2022-23 season. Prior to this, he has performed as one-year 4th horn with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra during 2021-22 season. As a freelancer, he has performed with ensembles including the Arizona Opera, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, Houston Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, and San Antonio Symphony.

He holds Bachelor of Music degree from University of Cincinnati, and Master of Music degree from the Rice University.

French horn player Stephen A. Slater is currently Assistant Principal/Utility Horn with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Horn Instructor of the New England Music Camp, and Adjunct Professor of Horn at Christopher Newport University. Mr. Slater was most recently Second Horn (one-year) with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Principal/Utility Horn (one-year) with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, and kept solo engagements with the Blue Bell Symphony in Pennsylvania and Manhattan Virtuosi in NYC, where he has performed concerti from Mozart, Britten, Gliere, and Glazunov. Stephen was
Assistant/Utility horn of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Guest Principal horn with the Israel Chamber Orchestra of Tel Aviv, and Substitute horn of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed as Principal horn of the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Third horn of the Macau Symphony Orchestra, and Second horn of the Boulder Philharmonic. Mr. Slater was Solo horn of the ensemble Tales & Scales, spinning music, story, theatre, and dance into over 200 ‘musictelling’ performances.

He received a Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Institute, a master’s degree at the University of Colorado, and undergraduate degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Instructors have included Denise Tryon, Michael Thornton, David Jolley, Richard Deane, Jerome Ashby, John Cerminaro, and John Zirbel. He was guest artist at the 31st Annual International Horn Symposium and grand prizewinner of the Sixth Annual Sister Mary Faustina Memorial Concert Competition in Marylhurst, Oregon.

More information can be found at www.stephenaslater.com

Marc & Connie Jacobson, Principal Trumpet Chair

A native of Madison, Indiana, David Vonderheide began trumpet studies at the age of twelve. After studying with John Rommel, former Principal Trumpet with the Louisville Orchestra and current Indiana University professor of trumpet in Louisville, KY, he was admitted to Northwestern University in the prestigious studio of Vincent Chicowicz, former Second Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony. It was there that he received his Bachelor of Music in 1996.

David joined the Virginia Symphony in 1998 as Second Trumpet, a position he held until 2009 when he stepped into the role of Principal Trumpet. As principal he can be heard in the VSO’s most recent recordings, The Music of Adolphus Hailstork, and on Mahler’s Eighth Symphony on the Naxos label. With the VSO, he has been featured several times as a soloist, including a performance of Haydn Trumpet Concerto during the 2012-2013 season.

As a teacher he has been on the faculties of Christopher Newport University and The College of William and Mary. At W&M he has had occasion to appear as a faculty guest soloist with several ensembles. In 2012 he performed the world premier performance of Brian Hulse’s Margins, Afterwards, a piece for solo trumpet and chorus. This work was re-imagined as a piece for trumpet, organ and percussion which David recorded in 2013. Along with another Hulse composition to be recorded in the spring of 2014, these works will be featured on a cd for national release. He is also scheduled to be the featured soloist on the Wind Ensemble’s tour of China with a preceding performance in the Kennedy Center in the spring of 2015.

In 2012, he won the job of Interim Principal Trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for the 2012-2013 season. While in the ASO, David had a prominent role in many concerts, and received consistently favorable reviews, including their performance in Carnegie Hall, October 2012, where David was mentioned by name in a positive review for his many solos in Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. While in Atlanta, David took part in two exciting recording projects. He performed on the ASO’s latest CD featuring the music of Sibelius, and recorded commercial music for Coca-Cola.

Recently, David has been asked to contribute to a series of books about the teaching philosophy of his teacher Vincent Chicowicz. As one of his prominent former students, David has written segments for the books and recorded material for a companion CD recording.

Proven to be an in-demand player, David has been a candidate for several Orchestral Principal chairs, He has also played as a substitute musician in some of the country’s best orchestras and has performed in festivals in the US, Asia and Europe.

He currently resides in Portsmouth, Va. with his wife, Virginia Symphony violinist Elizabeth Vonderheide.

A native of West Texas, Jeremy Garnett has been playing the trumpet for 28 years. He has been a musician with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra since 2013. In addition to his credits with the VSO, he has performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Dallas Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, New World Symphony, Victoria Symphony, Des Moines Metro Opera, Richmond Symphony, Charlottesville Symphony, Wintergreen Music Festival, and Williamsburg Symphony. As a soloist, he has been featured with the Boston Civic Orchestra, Texas Christian University Symphony, Houston String Quartet, Williamsburg Symphony, and the Fort Worth Sinfonietta.

In 2011, Jeremy won a position with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra and performed in a series of concerts to audiences at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, and to 3.4 million viewers online. He attended Interlochen Arts camp as an Emerson Scholar, and later the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Jeremy attended the Boston Conservatory and also attended Texas Christian University. His primary teachers were Stanley Friedman, Steve Emery, Tom Booth and Jon Burgess. 

As a working musician in Hampton Roads, Jeremy stays busy performing recitals, teaching in area public schools, and performing regularly at churches and events scattered across the region. When he isn’t practicing or performing, he enjoys saltwater fishing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeremy started a fishing guide service, operating in the many waterways along eastern Virginia and North Carolina. He can be seen on a variety of fishing shows; most notably, one of the area’s most prominent fishing YouTube channels, 1Fish2Fish. He resides in the East Oceanview area of Norfolk, Virginia with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Jeremy proudly plays Yamaha instruments.

Born in Panama, Jafet Díaz Martin is a versatile trumpet player, teacher, and arranger. A former member of the Panama Municipal Symphonic Band. Jafet has also performed as a guest musician with the National Symphony Orchestra of Panama, the Palm Beach Symphony, Boca Symphonia, Seraphic Fire, Camerata Panama, and the Panama Jazz Festival Big Band. In 2020, Jafet was a finalist in the Next Generation Trumpet Competition, and in 2023, he won first prize in the National Society of Arts and Letters Collaborative Piano and Brass Duo Competition. Jafet has attended the Colorado College Summer Music Festival and has previously participated in the International Trumpet Festival in Costa Rica, the Integrated Symphonic Band of the Americas in Colombia, and the Alfredo Saint Malo Festival in Panama. Jafet attended the University of Panama for his Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance, and the Lynn University Conservatory of Music for his Master of Music in the studio of Marc Reese. When he is not practicing, Jafet enjoys running, playing soccer, going to the beach, and reading.

Dr. John W. Vitale is an accomplished trumpet player who has made significant contributions to both the orchestral and educational music worlds. A native of Felton, Delaware, Dr. Vitale earned his Bachelor of Music from Boston University, where he studied Music Education and Trumpet Performance. He then earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Brass Performance from The University of Texas at Austin. His principal teachers include Terry Everson, Peter Chapman, Ray Sasaki, and Billy Hunter, Jr.

Dr. Vitale has extensive orchestral experience, having performed with the New World Symphony, Central Texas Philharmonic, Dover Symphony Orchestra, and Virginia Symphony Orchestra. He has also attended the Round Top Festival Institute and the National Repertory Orchestra.

Beyond his orchestral career, Dr. Vitale is a dedicated educator. At the University of Texas he served as the Teaching Assistant for Billy Hunter, Jr, where he taught undergraduate trumpet lessons, led group warm-ups, and ran studio classes. Dr. Vitale also provided private trumpet instruction in the Leander, Austin, and Dripping Springs, Texas school districts, and has a proven track record of developing exceptional young musicians. Several of his students have achieved the distinguished honor of being selected for the Texas All-State bands and orchestras, as well as continuing on to study music at prestigious music schools throughout the country. Dr. Vitale has also taught with the Austin area El Sistema program Austin Soundwaves.

When not immersed in music, Dr. Vitale enjoys an active lifestyle, including running, paddle-boarding, and indulging in the world of fantasy novels. He resides in Felton, Delaware with his beloved black cat, Poe.