Lindsay Bobyak
Originally from Plymouth, Minnesota, Lindsay Bobyak is pursuing her Masters Degree in Double Bass Performance at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She holds a BM in Double Bass Performance and an AS in String Instrument Technology from the Jacobs School. Her principal teachers have been Jim Clute, Craig Brown, and Kurt Muroki.
Lindsay has performed in masterclasses with Joel Quarrington, Leigh Mesh, Owen Lee, and Lawrence Hurst. She has previously performed at the Orford Music Academy, the Brevard Music Festival, and the Indiana University Summer Music series. She currently holds a section position with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and is the Assistant Principal Bassist in the Bloomington Symphony. In addition to her musical interests, Lindsay is an avid cyclist and enjoys any time she gets to spend outdoors.
Emily Herdeman Kelly
Emily Herdeman Kelly enjoys a diverse career as a violinist and educator. An experienced orchestral player, Ms. Kelly has performed with the Houston Symphony, Austin Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and the New World Symphony. She has participated in festivals including the Colorado Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, the Round Top Festival Institute, and the Beijing International Music Festival in China. Ms. Kelly collaborates regularly in chamber music groups of varying size, style, and genre. A dedicated teacher, she has taught privately and through the Indiana University String Academy, the Rice University Preparatory School, the Carnegie Mellon University Preparatory School and the Pittsburgh Music Academy. Ms. Kelly received a Master of Music degree from Rice University and holds degrees in Violin Performance and Economics and from Indiana University. Her principal teachers include Kathleen Winkler and Paul Biss.
Becca Dora
Becca Dora is a freelance oboist based in Chicago, IL. She is currently an oboe instructor through El Sistema Ravinia’s “Reach, Teach, Play!” program, where she teaches private and group lessons, as well as instructs chamber music coachings and large ensemble rehearsals. During her time at Northwestern University, she served as a Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator through the NU Chamber Music Department, a position that allowed her to create innovative and educational chamber music events throughout the Evanston and Chicago areas. Ms. Dora has also served as a sectional coach for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. Orchestrally, Ms. Dora is a substitute musician for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the Northbrook Symphony in Northbrook, IL. She has also served as Acting Second Oboe of the Sheboygan Symphony, and Principal Oboe of the Isthmus Chamber Orchestra in Madison, WI. When she’s not playing oboe or making reeds, Becca is also an active member of Chicago’s theater community, having graduated from the Improvisational Comedy program at IO Theatre. She has performed on several independent comedy troupes at venues such as IO, Second City, Ph Comedy, and the Playground Theatre.
Rebecca Minio-Paluello
Violinist Rebecca Minio-Paluello grew up between England and Germany, attending the Royal College of Music Junior Department and C.P.E. Bach Musikgymnasium (Berlin). She received her BA from Cambridge University while studying with Krysia Osostowicz and David Takeno, before continuing with Helge Slaatto at the Musikhochschule Münster.
As an orchestral musician, Rebecca has performed around Europe (BBC Proms, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Reykjavik Harpa Hall, Glastonbury Festival), and has been fortunate in working with conductors such as Simon Rattle, Colin Davis, Giandrea Noseda, Mark Elder, soloists including Barbara Hannigan, and rock musicians Rick Wakeman and Deep Purple. A passionate advocate of new music and new presentation of “classical music”, Rebecca has given numerous world premieres, including large-scale works by Unsuk Chin, Kate Whitley and Helmut Oehring at the Lucerne Festival, at the Semperoper Dresden and in a multi-storey carpark, and chamber works in clubs and warehouses around London, as part of Nonclassical, Grimeborn and Multi-Story initiatives to disseminate music to audiences in new, engaging ways. Rebecca currently holds a position as violin and viola teacher at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music of Palestine.
Felix Alanis
Originally from Xalapa, Mexico, Felix Alanis hold a Doctorate in Violin Performance from the University of Houston under Dr. Kirsten Yon. He also possesses two Master’s degrees in Violin Performance and Violin Pedagogy, respectively, from Texas Tech University and a Bachelors in Violin Performance from the Universidad Veracruzana.
Mr. Alanis has received various awards including first place winner in the 2011 Chamber Music Competition in Mexico and third place of the 2010 National Violin Competition. He has also been the featured soloist with orchestras like the Xalapa Symphony, Zacatecas Philharmonic, and more. Mr. Alanis has been part of various music festivals like Kent blossom and Campos do Jordao, but he also has been invited as faculty to international festivals such as “Encuentro Nacional de Cuerdas Frotadas” in Honduras, “Encuentro Internacional de Musica” in Colombia, and YOA Sejong Orchestra in South Korea. Mr. Alanis currently performs as an assistant’s principal second in the Xalapa Symphony, is a founder violinist and violist of the CHROMA quartet and is a professor of the Universidad Veracruzana.
Alma Hernan
Alma was born in Spain and since very early age she was surrounded by music. She begins to play the piano at the age of 3, but it is when she is 8 age years old when she discovers the cello. Then she begins her studies in the “CIM Padre Antonio Soler” where she finishes in 2011 with Honors and the Extraordinary Price in the speciality of cello given by the Community of Madrid. That same year she moves to London to study with the prestigious teacher Louise Hopkins where she gains a great experience and finishes her Bachelor with a distinction. Meanwhile she also studies baroque cello with Joseph Crouch and she gets the chance to work with conductors such as Gianandrea Noseda, Kurt Masur and Bernard Haitink. Alma is passionate about chamber music and teaching; she thinks the best way to learn is teaching, and each student is a new world of discovery. Alma is also very interested in the mix of all the arts and was awarded with a Collaborative Barbican prize to be the director of a collaborative project. The final work was staged at Milton Court Theatre in London.
Stephen Hughes
Born in Rochester, New York, Stephen is a music teacher at La Colina Junior High School in Santa Barbara, California. He also teaches general music with Open Alternative School and brass/wind ensemble at Incredible Children’s Art Network, an after-school music program for underserved youth. Before he came to Santa Barbara, Stephen studied music education at Longy School of Music of Bard College, and trombone performance at Oberlin Conservatory with James DeSano. While in college, Stephen learned from many incredible mentor teachers from the Bronx to Los Angeles, at programs including the Foshay Learning Center and the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. Stephen currently freelances as a low brass performer in and around Santa Barbara. In his spare time, Stephen likes to read, hike, play frisbee and play with his roommate’s dog, Zadie.
Shana Lin
Originally from Fairfax, VA, Shanna Lin moved to New Jersey where she received her Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance/Music Education from Rutgers University and a Performance Certificate in Viola Performance from Montclair State University. At Rutgers, Shanna studied with CJ Chang, principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She had a focus on chamber music at Montclair State University under the guidance of the world-renown Shanghai Quartet and is a frequent freelancer in New Jersey. In 2011 Shanna was the winner of the Undergraduate Concerto Competition at Rutgers where she made her solo debut with the Rutgers Sinfonia. She has toured China, Japan, and Taiwan with the Asian Youth Orchestra as well as performed the Stamitz concerto in Vienna while attending the Vienna Concertofest. Shanna is currently Associate Program Director, Curriculum Coordinator and Violin/Viola Teaching Artist of the Paterson Music Project (PMP), an El Sistema-inspired program in Paterson, NJ. Shanna strongly believes in the transformative power of music education and feels honored to be part of a team of musicians dedicated to developing the growth of young artists.