Fiona Murray, violin. Artistic Director and Founder
A resident of New York City, Fiona's performing career encompasses a variety of genres, ranging from live televised performances and recordings on compact disc with America's oldest Bach Festival to MTV appearances with Rap music artist Jay-Z and singer Rufus Wainwright. She has been a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Opera Orchestra and Kawas String Quartet, and has also served as guest concertmaster of the Wallingford and Greenwich Symphony Orchestras. Her primary instructors include Sidney Harth, Dorothy Mauney, Catherine Tait, Renata Knific and Roland and Almita Vamos. She also studied chamber music with members of the Tokyo String Quartet, Ward Davenny, Michael McClelland and Nathaniel Rosen. Fiona is a former member of the faculty at Neighborhood Music School in New Haven and Kinhaven Music School in Vermont and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Westchester Musicians Guild as the Coordinator of their Young Artists' Program. She has also served on the faculty of Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, Concordia College Conservatory in Bronxville, New York, and Oxford Summer Chamber Music, Queen's College, England. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, she holds a Bachelor's in Music Degree from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and a MM and Artist's Diploma from Yale School of Music.

Ralph Allen, violin/viola & conductor, Junior String Ensemble. Summer 2013 & Adult Chamber Music Retreat. 
Ralph Allen played the Sibelius Concerto with the Yale Symphony while majoring in Philosophy as an undergraduate, studying with Syoko Aki; he went on to get a Masters from the Cleveland Institute of Music with Donald Weilerstein and a Doctorate from SUNY Stony Brook with Robert Mann. In Holland, Ralph freelanced with such ensembles as the Schoenberg Ensemble and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, served as concertmaster of the European Camerata and the Helios Ensemble, and studied with Vera Beths. Ralph is a frequent chamber music collaborator in New York and New Hampshire, teaches privately and at Riverdale Country Day School, and plays with a wide variety of ensembles in New York.

Ellen Higham, viola.  On leave in 2013. 

 Ellen Higham is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the St. Louis Conservatory of Music, and is currently a violist with the New Haven Symphony as well as a substitute with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. She teaches viola and violin at her home in Hamden, Connecticut, where she lives with her husband, Jack, daughters Madelyn and Julia, and new dog Winston. She is thrilled to be at Elm City ChamberFest again this summer!

Tom Hudson, ‘cello.
Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, cellist Tom Hudson holds a Bachelors degree from Drake University, in Des Moines, and a Masters degree from the Juilliard School in NYC.  He has also studied with William Pleeth in London, England, and has spent several summers at the Aspen Music School.  He has performed in the Jacksonville Symphony, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Spoleto Festival, and the New York Philharmonic.  Currently, he is a very active performer and teacher in the Connecticut area, and he plays in the Hartford and the New Haven Symphonies.  When visiting Iowa, he is also a member of the Odyssey Trio which has recorded 5 cd’s of beautiful music for flute, harp, and cello.

Jeanyi Kim, violin.

Ms. Kim is the Associate Concertmaster (Third Chair) of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. She has recently served as Guest Assistant Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and Valery Gergiev. As an orchestral musician, the Toronto native has performed throughout North and South America and Europe in various illustrious venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Barbican Centre, Salle Pleyel, and the Concertgebouw, with world-renowned ensembles such as London Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Recent solo appearances include performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra, and Duquesne Symphony Orchestra.

An active chamber musician, Ms. Kim is a former member of the Prometheus Trio and a founding member of the Philomusica Quartet. She has collaborated with a variety of esteemed artists, including Erick Friedman, Jesse Levine, Sidney Harth, Toby Appel, Frank Almond, Norman Fischer, and Humberto Lucarelli.

Dedicated to teaching, she and her husband, Alexander Mandl, have also been faculty members at the Eleazar de Carvalho International Music Festival in Brazil, and the Luci Toscane International Music Festival in Italy. In addition to maintaining a private studio, she has served on the faculties at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Wisconsin Conservatory, and Neighborhood Music School, to name a few.

Her major teachers include Erick Friedman, Berl Senofsky, Kyung Yu, and Rebecca Henry. Other important influences include Sidney Harth, Aldo and Elizabeth Parisot, Tokyo String Quartet, and Peabody Trio. During her time at Yale, she was the recipient of the Yale Bach Society Award, Friends of Music at Yale prize, and the Stuart Walker Memorial Scholarship. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University, from which she also earned her B.A., M.M., and M.M.A. degrees.

Salley Koo, violin.

A violinist of great range and energy, Salley Koo has performed internationally as a solo and chamber musician. Hailing from Chicago where she studied at the Music Center of the North Shore (now Music Institute of Chicago), Ms. Koo earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University in English and American Literature where she continued her violin studies with Lynn Chang. She subsequently received a Master of Music and pursused Artist Diploma work from Yale under the tutelage of Peter Oundjian. Over the course of her extensive training, she has studied with numerous luminaries including Almita and Roland Vamos, David Taylor, Sylvie Koval, and Dorothy Kitchen.

Ms. Koo has cultivated an active concert presence, appearing as both soloist and orchestral performer with many notable orchestras across the country, including having served as concertmaster for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. She is also a familiar face at numerous festivals including the Yellow Barn Music Festival, Taos School of Music, the Tanglewood Music Center, Pacific Music Festival, and Thy Chamber Festival in Denmark. Ms. Koo’s engagement with the chamber music community in particular has yielded collaborations with world-renowned musicians including Peter Frankl, Yo Yo Ma, Colin Carr, as well as with members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Peabody Trio, Emerson Quartet, Takacs Quartet and the symphony orchestras of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Ms. Koo’s expansive musical interests range from early music to contemporary compositions. In the former vein, she has performed in collaboration with Robert Mealey; in the latter, she has worked closely with composers like Julia Wolf, Mario Davidovsky, Steven Mackey, Osvoldo Golijov, as well as members of the So Percussion Quartet.

Despite a performance itinerary that has covered North America, Europe, and East Asia, Ms. Koo has established a thriving teaching career in her own right with faculty appointments to the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire, Vermont’s Chamber Music Intensive Program at Yellow Barn, the Opus 118 We Want Music! program in East Harlem, New York, Elm City ChamberFest, and the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, Connecticut, in addition to maintaining an extensive private studio.

Unbeknownst to some, Ms. Koo has worked with Kelley Polar and has appeared on occasion at the Knitting Factory in New York City. When she’s not playing the violin, she’s likely to be found cooking or planning where to eat next with her husband, Alex, or playing with their dog, Nanook, in Prospect Park.

Ms. Koo is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance at Stony Brook University under Pamela Frank and Philip Setzer.

Brian Krinke, violin.  Summer 2013 & Adult Chamber Music Retreat.
Brian is a multitalented violinist with a lively interest in new music and a strong commitment to teaching violin at all levels. He has served on the faculty of Lucy Moses School and Special Music School in New York City since 2005 and previously served on the faculty at SUNY Buffalo. Prior to his move to New York City he served as the Assistant Concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic, and has also served as Associate Concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. As a member of the American Symphony, he performed frequently at Lincoln Center and the Bard Music Festival.

He has performed as concerto soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Boca Raton Symphonic Pops. Described by the New York Times as an "accomplished and intrepid young player," he has performed extensively as a recitalist and chamber musician, including performances with the Craftsbury Chamber Players, Finger Lakes Chamber Players and in Central America. He can be heard in chamber music by Jacobi on the Naxos label, and has recorded several violin works by Caroline Steinberg, available through CDuniverse and Itunes.

Brian has worked with many composers, including Milton Babbitt, Andrew Imbrie and George Crumb, and in 1994 he played the world premiere of the Concerto for Two Violins by Calvin Hampton at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. Brian holds degrees from the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music.

Katie Lansdale, violin.

A highly accomplished soloist and chamber musician, Katie Lansdale performs actively both in America and Europe. “This is one of the best recordings there are of this music, ” wrote the American Record Guide wrote of her solo Bach CD. Recent recital venues have included the Cordoba Palaccio in Argentina, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Phillips Collection (DC), the Palais de l’Europe (Paris), Merkin Hall, and Jordan Hall in Boston. Her concerto appearances are wide ranging, including standard concerti repertoire with the National Symphony, new premieres with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and improvising her own cadenzas with the Austin Mozart Symphony. As a member of the Lions Gate Trio for over two decades, she has toured Europe regularly, recorded for Triton and Centaur Records, won Koosevitsy and WELFund recording grants, and served residencies at Tanglewood, Yale, University of Pittsburgh and (currently) the Hartt School. The Trio will tour Europe this July and release a new CD of Ives, Ravel and Clarke trio for Centaur Records. A Grand Prize Winner of both the Yellow Spring and Fischoff National Chamber Competitions and founding member of NYC's new music group the Locrian Ensemble, Ms. Lansdale is a frequent guest on chamber series, collaborating with Yo Yo Ma, Felix Galimir, Charles Neidich, Robert MacDonald and Donald Weilerstein. She has performed at festivals in Italy, Finland, Germany, France and across North America. Widely recognized for her teaching and musical outreach activities, Lansdale has served on the faculties of SUNY Stony Brook, Boston University, University of North Carolina, and, currently, the Hartt School (CT). In May 2013, she presented solo Bach at the Juilliard Delay Symposium. Lansdale has led an extensive outreach program called Music for 1000 Children three times in the last decade, bringing live performances to over 13,000 children across North America.

Lydia Leizman, viola & conductor, Advanced String Ensemble. Summer 2013 & Adult Chamber Music Retreat. 
Lydia is an active freelance violist and teacher who received her MM from Yale School of Music. Her primary viola teachers were Jesse Levine (Yale), Donald McInnes and Evelyn Luis-Jacobs. Esteemed chamber music coaches have included members of the Tokyo, Colorado and Curtis String Quartets, as well as Erik Friedman and Wendy Sharp. In addition to chamber music performances with colleagues of Elm City ChamberFest, she has been principal viola with Taconic Opera in Westchester, DiCapo Opera Theater in NYC, and a member of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. She is currently a member of the Obrien String Trio and Leizman-Guernsey Duo (piano). Lydia is trained in the Suzuki Method, and has taught Suzuki privately for several years. She is now director of the high school orchestra, and elementary strings in Clarkstown, NY.

Alexander Mandl, violin & conductor, Festival Orchestra.
One of the foremost violinists and conductors of Brazil, Alexander Mandl or “Sascha”, as he is known to many, has appeared worldwide at renowned halls including Alice Tully, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Sprague Hall, the Mellon Institute and the Memorial of Latin America. An avid chamber musician, Sascha has collaborated with artists such as Erick Friedman, Aldo Parisot, Yo-Yo Ma, Sidney Harth, Wang Jian, Frank Morelli, Todd Levi and as a member of the Yale Piano Trio. As soloist, Sascha has performed under conductors such as Eleazar de Carvalho, Sidney Harth, Gunther Herbig, and Kryzstof Penderecki, Roberto Tomaro, Isaac Karabitchevski and Claudio Santoro to name few. Recent solo performances include the Eleazar de Carvalho Festival in Brazil, Beloit-Janesville Symphony, performances sponsored by the Angels of Music Society of New York at Weill Hall in New York, University of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, Duquesne Symphony, and the Orquestra de Camara UFPB. He has participated in the Duke Ellington concert series performing throughout Northeastern United States along with the Ruff-Mitchel Duo. He has also appeared as a guest at the Ted Sawyer program of WQED, Pittsburgh. 


Conducting opportunities have taken him throughout North and South America as well as being appointed Artistic Director of the Cardinal Stritch Chamber Orchestra, Lakeshore Youth Philharmonic and the Faculty Orchestra of the Eleazar de Carvalho International Festival in Brazil. His teaching experience includes faculty positions at University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Cardinal Stritch University, the ITU Music Festival, the Eleazar de Carvalho Festival in Brazil, the Wisconsin Conservatory, and most recently the Luci Toscana Festival in Sienna, Italy. Currently he is the Musical Director/Conductor of the Lakeshore Youth Philharmonic, Concertmaster of the Beloit-Janesville Symphony, Assistant Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra and a member of the First Violin Section in the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra and a member of the Yale Trio. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University BFA, Yale University MM and AD where he studied with Sidney Harth and Erick Friedman, and the University of Wisconsin DMA program under the tutelage of Vartan Manoogian. Additionally, Aldo Parisot, Peter Frankl and the Tokyo Quartet were major chamber music influences while at pursuing his studies at Yale. He received conducting instruction from Eleazar de Carvalho, David Stern, James Smith and David Becker. Sascha is a recipient of the Francis G. Wickes fellowship, the Andrew Carnegie Tradition Award, the Milles Prize, the Yale Alumni Award and the prestigious Ivan Galamian Award. In 2000, he recorded J.S. Bach’s Violin Concerto in E major under Maestro Sidney Harth. During the summers Mr. Mandl teaches and performs at the Eleazar de Carvalho Festival in Brazil, and the Luci Toscani Festival in Italy. Previously, Mr. Mandl has served on the faculty at the Neighborhood Music School as well as the Hopkins School in Connecticut. He along with his wife Jeanyi Kim are founding members of the newly formed quartet Philomusica Quartet. He currently lives in Milwaukee with his wife, violinist Jeanyi Kim. www.saschamandl.com

Alexander & Joan Murray, Alexander Technique
As charter members of the American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, Joan and Alex Murray have been involved in teaching the Alexander Technique for the past 50 years. Natives of the United Kingdom, Alex served as Principal Flute with the London Symphony Orchestra for 12 years and Joan danced on stage at the Drury Lane Theatre in several London productions, including as a member of the original cast of “ My Fair Lady “. Their performing backgrounds have led them to become one of the most prominent and sought-after teams of teachers of the Alexander Technique in the world today. Having held faculty positions at Michigan State University, the Royal College of Music in London, Royal Dutch Conservatory in the Hague, and Interlochen Arts Camp, they have also guest lectuered at various colleges and conservatories around the globe including Florida State University, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Oxford University. Both Joan and Alex have served on the board of North American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique and are active members of NASTAT and STAT. They currently reside in Urbana, Illinois, where Alex retired as Professor of Flute at the University of Illinois and they co-direct the Urbana Center for the Alexander Technique.

Rebecca Patterson, ‘cello
The New York Times describes Ms. Patterson as having an "uncommonly warm and rounded tone," and the Washington Post praises her for “ a stunning account of the movement “Praise to the Eternity of Jesus” from Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. A founding member of Antares, Rebecca is dedicated to chamber music, contemporary music, and teaching. In 1996 Rebecca co-founded this ensemble while a student at Yale.

Although mainly involved with Antares, Ms. Patterson occasionally performs other chamber and solo engagements. Highlights include the world premiere of an opera by Philip Glass, Sound of a Voice, at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, where she worked with renowned pipa player, Wu Man. Other chamber theater/opera productions include Black Water by John Duffy and The Shoulder by Dan Moses Schreier and Dan Hurlin - available on the Mower Music label with Ms. Patterson. In 2005, Rebecca premiered Concerto No. 1, written for her by Rex Cadwallader, and also toured Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague with the American Chamber Orchestra performing Saint Saëns Concerto. She has also collaborated with other artists such as Peter Kolkay in his Weill Hall debut, and James Tocco at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival performing Rorem’s Dances. Rebecca is also featured on recordings produced by CRI records a work by Carlos Carrillo, Como si fuera la primavera, and a CD with the Elm City Ensemble featuring works by Hindemith, Laderman, and Schiff, in addition to Antares’ recordings.

Ms. Patterson had her solo debut at the age of 17 performing a unique concerto by Jacques Ibert for cello and ten winds. Living in Germany at the time, she was invited to perform this work with the USAFE band members in the Fruchthalle in Kaiserslautern. The following year she moved back to the USA to the Philadelphia area where she won the Tri-country Concerts Association Young Soloist Competition as a student of Jeffrey Solow. Ms. Patterson went on to receive her B.M. from the Eastman School of Music and her M.M. from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Paul Katz (of the Cleveland Quartet) and Aldo Parisot, respectively. While at Eastman she was winner of the Gibbs Chamber Orchestra Concerto competition, as well as the recipient of the full-merit Lois Smith Rogers Scholarship. At Yale she was a recipient of the Ender Scholarship, which goes to a cellist with excellent promise. Ms. Patterson has also worked with renowned pedagogues such as William Pleeth and Janos Starker while attending various festivals and seminars, including the Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada), Meadowmount, the Britten-Pears School (England), Orford (Canada), the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Sarasota Music Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and the Norfolk Contemporary Music Seminar. www.antares-music.com.

Jill Pellett-Levine, violin & viola.  Summer 2013 & Adult Chamber Music Retreat.

 Ms. Levine received her BFA from SUNY/Purchase, and her Master of Music and Artist Diploma from the Yale University School of Music. She plays in several orchestras throughout Connecticut including the New Haven Symphony, Bridgeport Symphony and Waterbury Symphony. Jill also enjoys teaching and maintains an active violin and viola studio with students of all ages.

Jody Redhage, ‘cello & Jazz.   
Recently called an “adventurous cello songstress” by Time Out NY, cellist, composer, and vocalist Jody Redhage has a unique talent wherein she simultaneously sings and plays cello. Jody graduated with her master's degree in cello performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and also studied cello and composition at the University of California Berkeley. She now resides in New Jersey and composes for her own chamber ensemble, Fire in July, featuring her original art songs. Please visit www.jodyredhage.com for upcoming performances.

Ken Rescsanski, double bass
Ken holds a bachelors degree in double bass performance from the Eastman School of Music. He can be found performing with various orchestras and theaters throughout the year in the Connecticut area. Ken is a strings teacher in the town of South Windsor at Orchard Hill Elementary and at South Windsor High School. He is also on faculty at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont and teaches privately in West Hartford. During his free time, Ken plays electric bass in an all original rock band that performs at local venues in the Hartford and New Haven areas.

Laura Richling, Yoga
Laura Richling leads what some would consider a dual life: as both a professional musician and a fitness professional. She holds B.M and M.M degrees in piano performance and musicology from Baylor University. She maintains an active schedule of teaching, performing, accompanying, and adjudicating, both as faculty at Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, and as a freelancer. She is pianist/organist at St. Thomas More, the Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University. Ms. Richling is avidly interested in the connection between music and movement as it relates to health of mind and body. With 18 years’ experience in the fitness industry, she is certified with American Council on Exercise and several others, including Body Training Systems, Silver Sneakers, Yogafit, and Zumba. She is a member of Connecticut’s swing dance performing troupe, Rhythm Rousers, and serves on the board of the Connecticut Swing Dance Society, as well as keeping active in the social dance scene. She strives to develop in her music students (and herself) a healthy, tension-free approach to allow successful, enjoyable music-making for a lifetime. In her fitness pursuits, she is dedicated to helping people discover the thrill of good health through exercise that is safe, effective, and fun.

Beth Roach, choir & ear training
Beth graduated, summa cum laude, with a degree in Music Education from The College of St. Rose in Albany, NY. She now works as a choral conductor and as the Assistant to the Music Director for the United Choir School. This will be Beth's sixth summer with ECCF.

Mary Ellen Roach, Head of Student Life
Mrs. Roach received her BA from the University of Connecticut and attended Fairfield University. She is currently on the faculty of Notre Dame High School and serves both in the math department and in an administrative capacity as Associate to the Assistant Principals. She has chaperoned several Notre Dame Band trips to Europe with her husband David Roach. This will be Mary Ellen's seventh summer with ECCF.

Jody Rowitsch, viola
Chair of the NMS Theory Department as well as the Certificate and Diploma Program Coordinator. She teaches Violin, Viola, (Suzuki and Traditional) as well as coaches numerous ensembles at NMS. Ms. Rowitsch received her BM from Oberlin, her MM from Temple University and did her Suzuki training at Oberlin, American Suzuki and Guelph, Ontario Institutes. She is currently on faculty at the University of Bridgeport and Choate Rosemary Hall. Ms Rowitsch is also a member of the Ridgefield, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Wallingford Symphony Orchestras.

Pablo Saelzer, conductor, Festival Orchestra. Adult Chamber Music Retreat. 
Pablo Saelzer serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Metropolitan Orchestra @ Montgomery College and Avanti Orchestra (Friday Morning Music Club) with whom he made his Washington, DC appearance at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2005. Until May of 2012, Mr. Saelzer served as conductor of the Maryland Classical Youth Orchestras Chamber Orchestra, which he debuted at Carnegie Hall in May of 2011.

As a guest conductor in the United States and South America, Mr. Saelzer has conducted the Orquesta Clásica and the Conservatorio Nacional orchestra, both in Santiago, Chile; at the Music on the Mountains Festival in Poços de Caldas in Brazil; the Festival Internacional de Cuerdas Ibague in Colombia; and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the Southern Opera and Music Theatre, and at the Festival-South, in the United States.

Throughout his career, Mr. Saelzer has been active in music education as well as in orchestral and chamber music performance. Currently he is Professor of Music at Montgomery College, Rockville, MD. He was a faculty at the Music Conservatory of the Universidad Austral in Chile and at The Levine School of Music in Washington, DC where he taught violin, viola. He served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra program and taught chamber music and conducting at the University of Southern Mississippi. He was Music Director of the Mississippi Symphony’s Premier Orchestra Institute. An accomplished violist, he performs with diverse professional ensembles in the DC/Baltimore area, including the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concert Artists of Baltimore.

Mr. Saelzer studied at the Music Conservatory in Valdivia, Chile, and at the Kantorei St. Martini in Bremen, Germany. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Universidad Austral de Chile and a Master of Music degree from Columbus State University in Georgia.ee from Columbus State University in Georgia.

Erika Schroth, piano. Summer 2013 & Adult Chamber Music Retreat. 
Erika Schroth maintains a multi-faceted career as performer, teacher, and music director, and has performed as a solo and collaborative artist across the United States and Europe. She received her MM in Piano from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Arthur Greene. She spent several summers playing and teaching on the faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, and was formerly on the piano faculty at Oakland University, St. John's University, Deerfield Academy, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. She has worked on several productions as music director for the Yale Repertory Theatre, and in 2007 she was a guest artist at the Stamford International Music Festival (UK), where her chamber music performances were described as "impassioned" and "richly expressive". In 2010 she joined the musical team at the Yale Institute for Musical Theatre, and the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Theatre Institute. She currently holds teaching positions at Wesleyan University and the Neighborhood Music School, and her students have been finalists and prizewinners at numerous competitions. Recent appearances have included solo and chamber music recitals in Texas, Philadelphia, Florida, and New York's Merkin Concert Hall.

Cookie Segelstein, viola/violin & Klezmer
Cookie received her Masters degree in Viola from The Yale School of Music in 1984. She is principal violist in Orchestra New England and assistant principal in The New Haven Symphony Orchestra. She is the founder and director of Veretski Pass a member of Budowitz ,The Youngers of Zion with Henry Sapoznik, has performed with Kapelye, The Klezmatics, Frank London, Klezmer Fats and Swing with Pete Sokolow and the late Howie Leess, Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys and The Klezmer Conservatory Band. Cookie is on the faculty at Southern Connecticut State University, and has presented lecture demonstrations and workshops on klezmer fiddling all over the world, including at Yale University, University of Wisconsin in Madison, Marshall University in Huntington, West VA, University of Oregon in Eugene, Pacific University and SUNY-Cortland and at Klezmerwochen in Weimar Germany. She is on staff at Living Traditions' KlezKamp , KlezKanada, Klezfest London, and has been on staff at Centrum's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Wash. She was featured on the ABC documentary, “A Sacred Noise”, heard on HBO’s “Sex and the City”, and on several recordings including the Veretski Pass self titled release and the newly released Trafik, the Koch International label with Orchestra New England in “The Orchestral Music of Charles Ives”, Hazònes with Frank London, A Living Tradition with German Goldenshteyn and Budowitz Live. She is also active as a Holocaust educator and curriculum advisor and has been a frequent lecturer at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Niantic, CT. Cookie lives in Madison, Connecticut. www.veretskipass.com

Artemis Simerson, violin
Artemis Simerson is the Assistant Concertmaster of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and of Orchestra New England, acting also as soloist and concertmaster on numerous occasions.  She is a past recipient of Hamden Educational Foundation’s “Distinguished Alumni Award” and of the New Haven Symphony’s “Distinguished Service” and “Outstanding Musician” awards. She has recorded solo and chamber music soundtracks for television commercials and documentaries as well as various CD recordings , and was the featured solo violinist in Long Wharf Theater’s premiere production of “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”.   A frequent guest concertmaster and chamber musician, she has been a regular member of the Wall Street Chamber Players since 1984. Formerly a violin teacher at the Neighborhood Music School, she is now a member of the string faculty at Choate-Rosemary Hall.