Rachel Halvorson currently enjoys a career as a freelance violist and dedicated music teacher based in Houston, Texas. Most recently, she served as an acting section violist in 2023 with the San Diego Symphony. Previously, Rachel spent four seasons as the principal violist for the Sarasota Orchestra and the Sarasota String Quartet.
Learn MoreIsraeli violist Yehezkel Layoun (1991) earned his bachelor of music (2014) from Temple University as a student of Che-Hung Chen of the Philadelphia Orchestra and a master of music (2016) on full scholarship from Wichita State University, where he was a student of Boris Vayner of the St. Petersburg String Quartet. Most recently, he studied three years in an artist diploma program (2017- 2020) from Rutgers University on full scholarship, under the tutelage of Daniel Panner of the NYC Opera.
Learn MoreUnrestrained curiosity and a devotion to fundamentals fuel Dan Pappalardo's relationship with music. Performing on both upright bass and bass guitar, Pappalardo has served artists from Billy Hart, Wallace Roney, and Sullivan Fortner to Cautious Clay and John Mayer. Dan has taught across different mediums for more than 15 years. His approach is simple: joy is infectious. He hopes to empower students to break perceived impossibilities into manageable pieces, with and without the bass.
Learn MoreHunter Farley is currently a Doctoral student at Boston University as well as a Freelance Tubist and Teacher. He also is the director of athletic bands at Bentley University. Before moving to Boston, he received his Masters degree from Northwestern University in Tuba Performance and Undergraduate degree in Music Education at the University of Memphis. While at these institutions, he was an active member of the National Association for Music Education organization and the President of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association Chapter.
Learn MoreTrumpet player, Sam Atlas, is obtaining her Master of Music in Orchestral Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Ethan Bensdorf. As an orchestral musician, Sam has enjoyed performing as principal trumpet with the Manhattan School of Music's Opus 130 Orchestra as well as the Oberlin Orchestra. She has performed in Europe and the U.S. and is on sub lists for a variety of ensembles in NYC. Sam is an avid educator and has taken an active role maintaining a trumpet studio since 2017, focusing on each individual student’s goals.
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