2022 Faculty Info Below
Carol Cole
Violinist Carol Cole has appeared at major music centers in twenty-two countries and over twenty-five US States as soloist, chamber musician and orchestra leader, with critical praise for her musical artistry. "She knows how to capture the hearts of her listeners"; Il Messaggero, Italy. She has performed in many prestigious music festivals including the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, Italy; Jeunesses Musicales, Belgrade; Grand Teton, Wyoming; Festival Miami; Philadelphia's Mozart on the Square; and the String Seminar at Carnegie Hall. Carol has collaborated with the most distinguished artists of our time, including: Leon Fleisher, Rudolf and Peter Serkin, Andre Watts, Yehudi Menuhin, Pinchas Zukerman, Isaac Stern, Henryk Szeryng, Elmar Oliveira, Ida Haendel, Mstislav Rostropovich, Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas ,Cecilia Bartoli, Pierre Rampal, Maurice Andre, Myron Bloom, Ricardo Morales, Claudio Abbado, Pablo Casals, Ricardo Muti, Pierre Boulez, Sir Neville Marriner, Daniel Barenboim and Leonard Bernstein.
Melanie Riordan
Violinist Melanie Riordan is a unique performer and passionate educator currently based in South Florida. For the last decade she has devoted her time and energy into spreading the joy of music and art through her versatile performances and strong educational efforts. A native of New Rochelle, NY, Melanie began taking violin lessons at the age of 10. She received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and her Master’s degree at McGill University. Since then she has had the privilege of performing in some of the worlds most prestigious concert halls and teaching hundreds of students across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Kirsten Yon
Dr. Kirsten Yon is Associate Professor of Violin and Head of the String Division at the University of Houston Moores School of Music. Former faculty at Texas Tech University, Yon received her DMA from Rice University, MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and BM from the University of Michigan. Her career includes recital engagements, concerto performances, and masterclasses throughout the United States (including Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall), Brazil, Czech Republic, England, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, Germany, France, Iceland, and Norway. She has taught at summer festivals including Interlochen, ARIA International Summer Summer Academy, Texas Music Festival, International Music Academy Pilsen (Czech Republic), Nathan Schwartzman String Festival (Brazil), Naolinco (Mexico), and the Cambridge International String Academy (England).
Stacia Spencer
Stacia Spencer is Senior Lecturer in Violin & Viola Pedagogy at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, String Coordinator of the Northwestern Music Academy and Director of the Northwestern Virtuosi Strings. She has also served as faculty member of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and the Summer String Academy. Ms. Spencer created “Teaching the Violin: Creating a Healthy Foundation”, the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) dedicated to teaching the early stages of violin pedagogy.
Viola
Kim Sparr
Equally skilled as a soloist, chamber and orchestral violist, Kimberly Sparr has garnered praise for her versatility and virtuosity across the United States and beyond. She is the Associate Professor of Viola at Louisiana State University, a founding member of Atlantic Chamber Ensemble and is the assistant principal viola of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.
As an orchestral violist, Sparr was the assistant principal violist of Virginia’s Richmond Symphony from 2008-13 and has performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and the Washington National Opera, among others. Her festival participation includes New Hampshire Music Festival; Tanglewood Music Center; the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland; the Festival Mozaic and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California; Sarasota Music Festival; and the Lake George Music Festival in New York.
Juliet White-Smith
In demand as an artist-teacher and clinician, Juliet White-Smith has presented master classes at music conservatories and Schools of Music around the US and the world including the Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and Mahidol University’s College of Music in Thailand. She has been a featured guest artist at viola events through the U. S. and around the world, and has on two occasions been a featured Viola Master Class Clinician at the annual conference of the American String Teachers Association (2022 Collegiate; 2012 Pre-Collegiate).
Cello
Christine Lamprea
Christine Lamprea is a dynamic artist with a reputation as a firebrand cellist with a “commitment to the highest standards” (Palm Beach Daily News). Upon her Carnegie Hall debut as soloist in 2013, she has since returned to Carnegie, as well as performed with orchestras such Costa Rica National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, National Symphony of Michoacan, New Jersey Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and toured with the Sphinx Virtuosi across the U.S.
Hannah Collins
Winner of De Linkprijs for contemporary interpretation, cellist Hannah Collins is a dynamic performer and collaborator devoted to diverse forms of musical expression. She is committed to championing compelling new works with New Morse Code, her duo with percussionist Michael Compitello, and has recently performed with The Knights, Grossman Ensemble, Bach Aria Soloists, A Far Cry, and Trinity Baroque Orchestra. Hannah holds degrees in biomedical engineering and music from Yale University, the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and City University of New York. She is currently Assistant Professor of Cello at the University of Kansas.
Double Bass
Tracy Rowell
Currently on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory and at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Tracy Rowell is the former Assistant Principal Bass of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, a major Canadian ensemble. She is an active performer on modern and historical double bass. Currently the principal bassist of Citymusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, she also performs with Apollo’s Fire, Cleveland’s Baroque Orchestra. She may be heard as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire, on their recording of Telemann’s Grillen Sinfonie.
Patricia Weitzel
Dr. Patricia Weitzel is the Lecturer of Double Bass at Columbus State University and a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Columbus, Georgia. She has appeared as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral performer, teacher and clinician in several countries including Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, the Netherlands and the United States. Before coming to CSU she held faculty positions at Augustana College, Central College, Grinnell College, St. Ambrose University, and Drake University. She is also a former member of the Des Moines and Quad City Symphonies and maintains an active remote private studio with students across the globe.