[top dropshadow]
[left dropshadow]
[right dropshadow]
Designed for adult amateur musicians, the BSO Academy is an immersive week of playing and learning side-by-side with the members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Marin Alsop.

Faculty

Marin Alsop, Music Director
Hailed as one of the world's leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emerita at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008, and is music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California.

In 2005, Ms. Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award. In 2007, she was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award; in 2008, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and in 2009, Musical America named her "Conductor of the Year."

A regular guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ms. Alsop appears frequently as a guest conductor with the most distinguished orchestras around the world. In addition to her performance activities, she is also an active recording artist with award-winning cycles of Brahms, Barber and Dvořák.

Marin Alsop attended Yale University and received her master's degree from The Juilliard School. In 1989, her conducting career was launched when she won the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at Tanglewood where she studied with Leonard Bernstein.


Jonathan Carney, Violin
BSO Concertmaster since 2002, Jonathan Carney held the same position for 12 seasons with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. After completing his studies at Juilliard with Ivan Galamian and Christine Dethier, he was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to continue his studies in London at the Royal College of Music. Solo performances have included concertos by Bruch, Korngold, Khatchaturian, Sibelius, Nielsen, the Brahms Double Concerto and Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending. He currently serves as artistic advisor for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras, is an artist in residence at the Baltimore School for the Arts and serves on its board of directors.


Madeline Adkins, Violin
Associate Concertmaster Madeline Adkins joined the BSO in 2000. She has been featured annually as a soloist with the BSO, as well as leading two conductor-less baroque concerts. She won numerous competitions, including the Stulberg and ASTA competitions, and served as guest concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Oregon Symphony and Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. She is also the concertmaster of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. She received her bachelor's degree summa cum laude from the University of North Texas and her master's degree from the New England Conservatory where she studied with James Buswell.


Andrew Balio, Trumpet
Andrew Balio has served as the BSO's principal trumpet since 2001. Prior orchestral positions include principal trumpet of the Israel Philharmonic since 1994, the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico since 1990 and the Boston Philharmonic. He has also served as guest principal with The Bergen Philharmonic of Norway. His solo debut was at age 15 with the Milwaukee Symphony. His teachers included Charles Schlueter, Adoph Herseth, Roger Voisin and Gene Young. As a soloist, he appeared throughout Europe, South America, Russia, Japan and the United States, and presents annual master classes in Poland, Italy and Brazil.


Steven Barta, Principal Clarinet
Steven Barta has been Principal Clarinet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1976.  Prior to joining the BSO, he was the Principal Clarinetist of the Savannah Symphony. He holds a Bachelor’s of Music degree and a Master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Robert Marcellus. Mr. Barta has made numerous solo appearances with the BSO, ranging from Mozart to Musgrave, and has made numerous recordings with the BSO for the Telarc, Sony, Erato, and Vangaurd labels. 


Leonid Berkovich, Violin
A member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1984, Leonid Berkovich is a native of St. Petersburg, Russia. Mr. Berkovich completed his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where Leonid studied with Berl Senofsky.

Prior to joining the BSO, Leonid was the concertmaster of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, performing in a number of chamber and orchestral groups. In addition to his performances with the BSO, Mr. Berkovich enjoys teaching violin and actively participated in the Arts Excel and other educational music programs.


Karin Brown, Viola
Karin Brown is a violist in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and performs frequently as a solo and chamber musician in the Baltimore/Washington area. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and her Master’s degree from the Juilliard School, where she was a recipient of the Nathan Gordon Memorial Viola Award. She has been featured in Caramoor’s “Rising Stars” series, and has attended festivals at Tanglewood, Pacific Music Festival, and Verbier. A committed teacher, she has served on the faculty of the Killington Music Festival, and maintains a private studio of violin and viola students.


Noah Chaves, Associate Principal Viola
Noah Chaves has been the Assistant Principal violist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1979. He joined the Baltimore Symphony viola section in 1974, after graduating from Oberlin College with a Bachelor's degree in history. In addition to his performance engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, Mr. Chaves has been a member of the Dulaney Quartet, was also a frequent guest of the First Opus Concert Society in Baltimore, and has participated in The Skaneateles Festival in upstate New York. He also held a faculty post at Towson State University, where he taught and performed both in recital and as a member of the Towson Chamber Players for a number of years.


Christopher Dudley
Christopher Dudley is Principal Trombone of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Aspen Festival Orchestra and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy with the school’s highest artistic honors and received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. In addition to the above orchestras he has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Iris Chamber Orchestra, the Washington Symphonic Brass, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, as well as with his smooth jazz ensemble Mythology, the Rittenhouse Jazz Quartet, and the Monarch Brass. He is currently recording transcriptions of the Shostakovich string quartets with the Mir Brass Quintet and is a member of the Tres Bone, Trombone Trio.


David T. Fedderly, Tuba
David T. Fedderly has held the principal tuba position since joining the BSO in 1983. He has also been the substitute principal tuba with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra. He is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School in New York, Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Besides teaching tuba, he is known as an authority on respiratory function in wind instruments. He teaches many young players as well as many professional wind and brass players.


Richard Field
Richard Field is the principal violist with the BSO. He was also principal violist of the Buffalo Philharmonic for five years and The Grand Teton Music Festival for seven years. As a chamber musician, he has performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Pamela Frank, Berl Senofsky, Malcolm Frager, Jamie Laredo, Sharon Robeson, the Lincoln Center Chamber Players and at Mainly Mozart in San Diego. He teaches at the Peabody Conservatory and Catholic University of America. He has given master classes at the Eastman School of Music and the National Orchestral Institute where he taught for 18 years.


Sarah Fuller, Harp
Sarah Fuller has been performing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007, and is the principal harpist of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.  Ms. Fuller holds a Master’s degree in music from Indiana University and studied at the New England Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School for her Bachelor’s degree. She is an active chamber musician and frequently performs on series such as the Community Concerts at Second’s ‘Chamber Music by Candlelight’ in Baltimore and the BSO’s chamber music series.


Kenneth Goldstein, Violin
Shortly after obtaining his Bachelor of Music degree from the Indiana University School of Music, Kenneth Goldstein became a member of the first violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1980.  In addition to his regular schedule of concerts with the BSO, Mr. Goldstein performs frequently throughout the greater Baltimore-Washington area as a soloist, chamber musician and Concertmaster.  Since 1995, he has been Concertmaster of both the Baltimore Choral Arts Society Orchestra and the Maryland Philharmonic Orchestra. 


Arnold Gregorian, Bass
Arnold Gregorian, double bass, studied on scholarship at the Peabody Conservatory with then Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Principal Bass John Mathews and later with Roger Scott, Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra.  For five years, Mr. Gregorian was Assistant Principal Bass of the Dallas Symphony and was featured in the recording of Gunther Schuller’s Quartet for Double Basses on Turnabout Records. 

Since joining the Baltimore Symphony, Mr. Gregorian has been an active chamber musician and soloist. In Maryland, he has performed often on the “Second Presbyterian Chamber Music” series, “Chamber Music on the Hill,” with the Glyndon Chamber Players, and in many schools with the Baltimore Symphony Arts Excel program.


Julie Green Gregorian, bassoon
Julie Green Gregorian, the BSO's assistant and acting principal bassoon, has studied with Edward Gobrecht, Leonard Sharrow and Bernard Garfield. She currently teaches at the Baltimore School for the Arts and has taught at Ithaca College, Catholic University and the Masterworks Music Festival. She has soloed and been featured as a chamber musician in many venues in Maryland, New York, California and Pennsylvania. Together with her husband, bassist Arnold Gregorian, she founded the Glyndon Chamber Players. Most recently, she was a judge and soloist at the 2010 Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Symposium at Oberlin Conservatory.


Rene Hernandez, Assistant Principal Trumpt
Mr. Hernandez joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2002 as Second Trumpet and moved to his current position in 2006. Before coming to Baltimore, he was a freelance player based in Boston and performing around the around the United States with such orchestras as the Boston Symphony, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Boston Philharmonic, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra. Today, he shares his love of music by teaching as an adjunct professor at Towson University and in a private studio, and has taught master classes at the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Massachusetts, and Towson University. Mr. Hernandez regularly conducts master classes and coaches for the trumpet and brass sections of several youth orchestras in the region.


Marcia Kämper, Flute
Marcia Kämper became a permanent member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra after performing with the orchestra during the 2005-2006 season that included the October European tour under Music Director Yuri Temirkanov. Ms. Kämper earned two degrees from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the BSO, Ms. Kämper was a flutist and soloist with the Omaha Symphony. Ms. Kämper is the co-founder and co-artistic director of ANALOG, a non-profit collective of artists and musicians from around the world.


Gregory Kuperstein, Violin
Russian born violinist Gregory Kuperstein joined the first violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1980.  He attended the Stolarsky Special Music School in Odessa, Ukraine, where he graduated with a Silver Medal. At the Odessa Conservatory, he earned his Master’s degree, having studied under Artur Zisserman.  In 1978, he immigrated to the United States and received his Bachelor’s and Master of Music degrees from Juilliard, where he studied with Joseph Fuchs and Felix Galmir. In addition to his performing engagements, he manages Firebird Artists Management, which has arranged hundreds of concerts worldwide.


Chang Woo Lee, Cello
Legendary cellist Janos Starker discovered Chang Woo Lee in her native Korea. He invited her to come to Indiana University as a full scholarship student. Upon graduation, she accepted engagements in Mexico and Canada, before joining the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as associate principal cello in 1978. She has been a featured soloist with the BSO, and has appeared in chamber performances in Korea and Japan. She is a committed and effective cello teacher.


Bo Li, Cello
Born to a musical family in China, Bo Li immigrated to the US in 1991 after attending Shanghai Conservatory of Music.  He finished his Bachelor of Music degree at Illinois State University where he studied with Ko Iwasaki, and earned his Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser and Colin Carr. In June 2007 he performed the Tchaikovsky “Rococo Variations” with BSO both at the Meyerhoff in Baltimore and the Strathmore in D.C. An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with Pamela Frank and Jon Kimura Parker as well as members from different groups such as Muir and Shanghai Quartets. 


Qing Li, Violin
Qing Li joined the BSO in 1993, was acting assistant concertmaster in 1999-2000, and has been the principal second violin since 2001. Astonishing in her musical versatility, her solo performances have received glowing reviews. As a chamber musician, has collaborated with such luminaries as Hilary Hahn and Pinchas Zukerman. She is also a winner of prestigious national and international competitions. Born in Beijing, she earned both a bachelor's degree and a performance certificate from the Peabody Institute, and won fellowships with major music festival programs including Aspen and Tanglewood. Her teachers included Joseph Gingold and Berl Senofski.


Michael Lisicky, Oboe
Oboist Michael Lisicky has been performing with the Baltimore Symphony since 2003. Mr. Lisicky has performed on occasion as Principal Oboist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony and the Taipei Philharmonic. Before coming to Baltimore, he was a member of the Richmond Symphony. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, he has studied with Alfred Genovese, John de Lancie, Peter Bowman and Marion Norcross.  He currently serves as the community’s ‘Towne Crier’ and gives weekly tours through Fell’s Point sponsored by the local Preservation Society. 


John Locke, Percussion
A member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1988, John Locke began playing percussion with the BSO in 1978 while still a student at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Music degree and served as Percussion Department Coordinator in the Peabody Preparatory for ten years. Mr. Locke is on the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College and the Baltimore School for the Arts. 


Jane Marvine, Oboe and English Horn
Jane Marvine, solo English horn with the BSO since 2000, joined the orchestra as second oboe in 1978. She earned degrees in oboe and composition from Northwestern University. Her teachers included Ray Still, Marc Lifschey, Robert Bloom and Joseph Turner. She has been a featured soloist with the BSO on oboe, oboe d'amore and English horn. She has performed with the Milwaukee and Chicago symphonies and Chicago Music of the Baroque. She is also the principal oboe with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. She currently serves on the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory and the Asian Youth Orchestra.


Esther Mellon, Cello
Esther Mellon began her cello studies in New York City. She went on to earn a Bachelors degree from Swarthmore College and a Masters degree from New England Conservatory where she was a recipient of a post-graduate String Quartet Fellowship. Her major teachers have been Laurence Lesser, Orlando Cole and David Soyer. Prior to joining the BSO Ms. Mellon played with the Buffalo Philharmonic. She has appeared frequently as a soloist and chamber music performer in the Baltimore-Washington area, in Westminster’s Chamber Music on the Hill series and in New York City.


Gregory Mulligan, Violin
Gregory Mulligan returned to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of the 1994-95 Season after having served as Concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony from 1989 through 1994. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and Master of Music degree from Indiana University, where he studied with Josef Gingold. Since 1995, audiences have enjoyed listening to performances of Mr. Mulligan with the Atlantic String Quartet, of which he is a founding member. 


Philip Munds, Horn
A California native, Philip Munds attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, graduating in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in music. After graduation, he remained in the Bay area as a freelance horn player. In 1989, he moved east to play associate principal horn with the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. In 1997, he left the service and filled the position of assistant principal horn with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and was appointed principal horn under Maestro Temirkanov in 2004. He currently teaches at the Peabody Conservatory.


Katherine Needleman, Principal Oboe
Katherine Needleman joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as principal oboist in 2003, the same year she won first prize at the International Double Reed Society’s Gillet-Fox Competition. She attended the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree as a student of Richard Woodhams. Prior to her appointment in Baltimore, she was principal oboist of the Richmond Symphony, and before that, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. She is a Yamaha Performing Artist and a member of the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory. 




James Olin
James Olin holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Northwestern University. In addition to playing co-principal trombone in the BSO, he is coordinator of brass at the Peabody Conservatory, where he teaches chamber music, brass ensemble, trombone choir, repertory classes and lessons in applied trombone. He also serves on the faculty for the Asian Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong. Formerly the principal trombone with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Grand Teton Music Festival, he has given master classes at the Eastern Trombone Workshop, the International Trombone Association and the National Orchestral Institute.


Ed Palanker, Clarinet
Edward Palankar is the BSO's bass clarinet and serves as principal clarinet for the Choral Arts Society of Baltimore. His principal clarinet teachers included Leon Russianoff, Eric Simon and bass clarinetist Joe Allard. He served as the principal clarinet of The Eastern Music Festival Philharmonic for 25 years, performing all the standard clarinet concertos from Mozart to Nielsen. He is a professor emeritus at Towson University and previously taught at the Peabody Conservatory. Many of his former students are performing in major orchestras and bands.


Brian Prechtl, Percussion
Percussionist Brian Prechtl has been a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2003. Before joining the BSO, he was a member of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Fort Wayne, Indiana for 14 seasons. Previous to that appointment, he held Principal Percussion positions in both the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1984 with a Bachelor of Music degree and went on to earn his Master’s of Music degree from Temple University in 1986. He currently serves as instructor for the percussion/bucket band arm of the BSO’s OrchKids program. He serves on the Education Committee of the Grand Teton Music Festival and is also involved in all aspects of the education programs of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.


Emily Skala, Flute
Principal flute of the BSO since 1988, Emily Skala distinguished herself with affiliations to six major U.S. orchestras within five years of graduation from the Eastman School of Music: the Rochester Philharmonic, the San Diego, North Carolina and Pittsburgh symphonies and the Minnesota Orchestra. She has been a faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory of Music since 1989. Critics have described her as imaginative, extraordinarily talented, possessing a beautiful and powerful sound, a lyrical eloquence of phrase, a brilliant technique and a virtuoso's confidence. Her debut solo album includes the Brahms Sonatas, Op. 120 and the Schubert Variations.


Laurie Sokoloff, piccolo
The BSO's solo piccolo since 1969, Laurie Sokoloff has been featured as soloist in concerti by Vivaldi and Liebermann. She has given piccolo master classes at the Peabody Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music and currently teaches flute and piccolo at Peabody and privately. For several years, she was the chairperson of the National Flute Association's Piccolo Committee and coordinator of its Piccolo Artist Competition. In the summer of 2000, she premiered a work written for her by Michael Daugherty at the National Flute Association Convention. From 2009- 2010, she was chairperson of the BSO Players' Committee.


Ivan Stefanovic, Assistant Principal Second Violin
Ivan Stefanovic joined the second violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1991, moving up to third chair a year later.  In 2004, Maestro Yuri Temirkanov named him Assistant Principal Second Violin, the first person to hold that title in the history of the BSO. Mr. Stefanovic earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1989 and an Artist Diploma in 1991, both with honors, from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He teaches violin, coaches chamber music and orchestra at the Preparatory Department of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and has conducted master classes throughout the United States and Japan.


Ellen Pendleton Troyer, Violin
Ellen Pendleton Troyer joined the first violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1991. Ms. Troyer earned her Bachelor’s and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied with Joseph Fuchs and Joel Smirnoff. She has participated in numerous music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center, where she was awarded the Gustav Golden Achievement Award. Ms. Troyer is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and is an active chamber musician, appearing throughout the Baltimore area.


John Vance, Trombone
Before joining the trombone section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1986, Mr. Vance performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, was the Principal Trombone of the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra in Veracruz, Mexico and Principal Trombone of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Vance earned a Bachelor’s of Music degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master’s in Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. Mr. Vance teaches trombone students from throughout the Baltimore/Washington area. 


Christopher Williams, Principal Percussion and Assistant Principal Timpani
Christopher Williams became the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Percussionist and Assistant Timpanist in 1978.  He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Delaware where he studied with John Soroka.  He earned his Master’s of Music degree from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Charles Owen.  Mr. Williams has been a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra as well as the recipient of the 1987 Delaware Distinguished Alumni Award. He continues presenting his programs today with the “BSO On The Go” program.  Since 2002 Mr. Williams has been a faculty member of the Asian Youth Orchestra, traveling to Hong Kong in the summer to coach the percussion section.


Mary Woehr, Viola
Mary Woehr has been a member of the BSO since 1982, as both a violist and a pianist. Before winning a position with the BSO, she performed with the London Sinfonia in Canada, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, the Dallas Ballet Orchestra and the Chautauqua Symphony. She attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio where she completed her Bachelors in Music Performance. Ms. Woehr often performs in recital on with her colleagues, on either instrument. She has also worked with players from other major orchestras, including Rober Langevin, principal flute of the NY Philharmonic and with Gene Pokorney, principal tuba of the Chicago Symphony.


Christopher Wolfe, Assistant Principal and E-Flat Clarinet
In addition to his post with the BSO as Assistant Principal Clarinetist, Christopher Wolfe served as the BSO’s Assistant Conductor from 1984 to 1987.  A lifelong resident of Baltimore, Mr. Wolfe has served in some capacity with the orchestra since 1963. Mr. Wolfe was educated at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied both clarinet and conducting, and at Towson University. , Mr. Wolfe holds the position of Music Director of the Baltimore Symphonic Band. Mr. Wolfe continues his interest and involvement in music education and outreach programs with his extensive participation in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Master Class and Concert Program.


The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Leadership support for the BSO Academy in 2010 through 2015 is generously provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.