Teaching Artists 2026

A young man with short, dark curly hair, light skin, and brown eyes, holding a violin on his left shoulder against a plain light-colored background.

  • Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Christopher Robinson is a violinist, educator, and Founder & Co-Artistic Director of VIA Academy. He is a recent violin alumnus of the New World Symphony, where he often served as concertmaster and principal. He regularly performs with the Pittsburgh, Louisville, Nashville and Jacksonville Symphonies as well as chamber collaborations with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His music festival performances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing, China, and the Mozarteum Summer Music Academy in Salzburg, Austria. An avid chamber musician, Christopher has been featured in the Tuesday Musical Association at the Akron Art Museum performing premieres of contemporary chamber music. He studied chamber music with members of the Cleveland, Cavani, Ariel, Muir, American, Arianna and Great Wall string quartets.

    Christopher began studying the violin at age 10 and later continued violin studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Kurt Sassmannshaus, earning his bachelor of music degree in 2015. He earned his master of music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying under Joan Kwuon. Other teachers and mentors have included Alex Kerr, Cornelia Heard, Alan Rafferty, among many others.

    Passionate about teaching and community engagement, Christopher served as a Violin Coach and Mentor for Carnegie Hall's 2018-2020 NYO2 programs. Christopher was also director of the Sassmannshaus Tradition from 2014-15. The Sassmannshaus Tradition is a beginning string program in the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Pre-college where he also taught violin lessons, chamber music, ear training and music theory. Other teaching engagements include visiting violin faculty at the Iberacademy in Medellín, Colombia and masterclasses for Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando Program and Atlanta Symphony’s Talent Development Program.

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  • From Boston, Massachusetts, Julia McLean is a violist and teacher. Beginning in September 2024, she will join the Opera Orchestra Montpellier in France as second solo viola. Julia runs a private violin and viola studio of online and in person students from across the US and Europe, teaching with a focus on individual learning styles and developing artistic style as well as technical proficiency. As an orchestral violist, Julia has played as guest principal viola with the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau, Academist with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, as well as with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Julia studied under former Berlin Philharmonic principal viola Wilfried Strehle at the Universität der Künste Berlin, Misha Amory at The Juilliard School, and Rictor Noren while studying at Tufts University. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Tufts University with a major in Biopsychology, and advocates for a well rounded education for her students. She plays a 2010 Reto Gasser viola. Outside of music, Julia tutors French and German, paints, knits, and loves watching bad reality tv. 

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  • Hana Cohon, a first-year Cello Fellow at the New World Symphony, has performed around the world in venues like Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall and Shanghai Symphony Hall. A native of Seattle, she has always felt at home in the lush and beautiful Pacific Northwest.

    Ms. Cohon has taken part in many summer festivals, among them Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Spoleto Festival U.S.A., Orford Music and Heifetz International Music Festival. This past summer she appeared in the Valley of the Moon Festival in Sonoma, performing Classical and Romantic music on period instruments.

    An avid orchestral musician, Ms. Cohon has played with the San Francisco Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, One Found Sound and Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, among others. She has worked with many renowned conductors, including Herbert Blomstedt, Andris Nelsons, Ludovic Morlot, David Robertson, Thomas Adés and Giancarlo Guerrero.

    Ms. Cohon received a bachelor of music degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory and a professional studies certificate from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her primary teachers include Hans Jørgen Jensen, Yeesun Kim and Jennifer Culp. Her chamber music coaches included members of the Dover, Telegraph, Borromeo and Juilliard string quartets.

    Ms. Cohon has appeared as soloist with the Seattle Symphony and was featured on WMHT Public Radio, NPR’s From the Top and Classical KING FM’s NW Focus LIVE. She also enjoys exploring musical styles and performs jazz, folk, Brazilian choro and original compositions as a founding member of the Pacific Crest Trio. When not performing, Ms. Cohon enjoys thrifting, playing with her twin puppies and searching for great croissants.

Young woman smiling, holding a flute, with an indoor background featuring red and yellow seats.

  • Alexandria Hoffman is a second-year Flute Fellow at the New World Symphony. Hailed by Cleveland Classical for her “warmth and vitality,” Ms. Hoffman has performed with the Chicago Symphony, New World Symphony, Cleveland Pops and the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra. She was previously a fellow with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2018-21.

    As a soloist, Ms. Hoffman appeared with Yo-Yo Ma in collaboration with his Bach Project in Chicago. She has also appeared as a featured soloist with the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra in Door County, Wisconsin.

    Ms. Hoffman has performed under the batons of Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas and Ken-David Masur, among others. An accomplished piccolo player, she previously won first prize in the National Flute Association’s Piccolo Audition and Masterclass Competition. In previous summers, Ms. Hoffman has attended the Peninsula Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute and Centre d’Arts Orford. Other performance highlights include concerts with noted jazz musicians Victor Goines and Branford Marsalis.

    Passionate about mental health, Ms. Hoffman is co-founder and Executive Director of Sound Mind, an organization that seeks to end the stigma of mental health in the classical music world. She has spoken on a number of panels about her mental health journey and continues to share her story with others in hopes to end the stigma of mental illness.

    Ms. Hoffman holds a master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a bachelor’s degree in flute performance and music education from Northwestern University, where she was a Presser Scholar and graduated magna cum laude. Her primary teachers include Mary Kay Fink, John Thorne and Lauren Moldenhauer. In her free time, she enjoys running and playing with her dog Barry.

  • Tanavi Prabhu is a first-year Oboe Fellow at the New World Symphony. Originally from Philadelphia, she has performed with the Detroit Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Houston Symphony and Emmanuel Music Bach Institute in Boston and appeared on the PBS radio show From the Top.

    During her summers, Ms. Prabhu has attended music festivals including Music Academy of the West and the Aspen Music Festival, where she studied with Eugene Izotov, Cynthia DeAlmeida, Elaine Douvas and Mingjia Liu. At the 2019 Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Ms. Prabhu was a winner of the annual concerto competition and performed as a soloist with the orchestra.

    Whilst pursuing her graduate studies, Ms. Prabhu was a coordinator for JUMP, the Shepherd School of Music’s outreach program. Working during the pandemic, she helped to reorganize and adapt JUMP to an online format that brought virtual performances and interactive concerts to children and seniors in Houston. Passionate about outreach and audience engagement, Ms. Prabhu looks forward to continuing this kind of work in Miami.

    Ms. Prabhu studied with Jonathan Blumenfeld before receiving her bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she was a student of Robert Walters. She then continued her studies at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Robert Atherholt earning a master’s degree.

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  • Born on Long Island, NY, Kelsi was raised in a musical family. She has performed with multiple orchestral and chamber ensembles and is currently a first year fellow with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. She is also a substitute with the Fort Collins Symphony and previously an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Kelsi has attended several summer music festivals including The Aspen Music festival as a member of the Aspen Conducting Academy and most recently attended the 2019 Tanglewood Music Festival. During her years in Los Angeles, she was an active freelancer and recorded for various films, including season two of the Netflix original series chefs table. She was also a member of the woodwind quintet the Cardinal Winds, which was the grand prize winners at the 2015 Plowman Chamber Music competition and finalist in the 2015 Fischoff chamber music competition. 

    Kelsi attended the Eastman School of Music for her Bachelor’s degree in clarinet performance and music education and completed a Masters degree in clarinet performance from the University of Southern California. Her most influential teachers include Anthony Mcgill, Jon Manasse, Joaquin Valdepenas and Yehuda Gilad. 

    In addition to performing, Kelsi is a certified music teacher and has taught at multiple institutions including the Orange County School of the Arts, and for the Iberacademy in Medellin, Columbia.  In her most extensive position she taught in underprivileged areas of Los Angeles through the non-for profit organization, Education Through Music Los Angeles. This school year, Kelsi taught lessons and masterclasses as a guest professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and hopes to someday hold a permanent teaching position at the collegiate level.

  • Raised in Reading, Massachusetts, Julianne began her musical education on the flute, taught by her mom, but in the sixth grade made the wise decision to switch to the bassoon. In 2023, Julianne joined the Minnesota Orchestra as Associate Principal Bassoon. She has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, and the Houston Ballet Orchestra. Julianne completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Her primary teachers are Benjamin Kamins, Richard Svoboda, and Neil Fairbairn. Since her days playing the flute, Julianne has been involved in outreach performances at assisted living facilities, museums and schools. Most recently, Julianne organized and performed in a benefit recital in Minneapolis for Wildflyer Coffee, a non-profit dedicated to supporting youth experiencing homelessness and housing instability. When not making music, Julianne can be found reading, running around the many lakes of Minneapolis, trying to grow tomatoes on her apartment balcony, and in the winter, only reading because it’s too cold for both Julianne and the tomatoes.

A man in a black suit and white shirt holding a trumpet, standing against a plain beige wall.

  • Growing up in Danielson, Connecticut, Aaron started playing piano and then switched to trumpet. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin under the instruction of Ray Sasaki. He went on to pursue graduate studies with Craig Morris at the University of Miami, where he served as a teaching assistant and Henry Mancini Institute Fellow. During his time at UM, he attended the Aspen Music Festival, including one summer as the Aspen Conducting Academy Fellow.

    He was a trumpet fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida under Michael Tilson Thomas. During that time, he was able to share the stage with conductors such as Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Matthias Pintscher, and John Williams in addition to many soloists including Emanuel Ax, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Itzhak Perlman, Daniil Trifonov, and Yuja Wang. Other significant teachers throughout his studies include David Bilger, Michael Sachs, Barbara Butler, and Ray Mase.

    Currently, he is part of the The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” as a Ceremonial Band member with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

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  • Corbin Castro is a Horn Fellow Alum of the New World Symphony. He has performed as an extra/substitute horn with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, and the Richmond Symphony. He has had the pleasure of spending his summers making music with the Verbier Festival in southern Switzerland, Tanglewood Music Center in the Berkshires and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. As a strong advocate for musical education, he co-founded Virtual Inclusion Artists, an online summer music academy that aims to serve young musicians who might not otherwise have access to quality music education. Corbin received his master’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with William VerMeulen and a bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music studying with Michelle Baker. Outside of horn playing, he enjoys experiencing new cultures through international travel and backpacking in national parks.

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  • Harry Gonzalez is a trombonist and educator currently based in Houston, TX. Professional appearances include with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, Ft. Worth Symphony, Austin Symphony, and Austin Opera, among others. Gonzalez has spent summers as a fellow with The Orchestra of The Americas, Aspen Music Festival, and the Classical Tahoe Festival. He was named 2nd prize winner in the 2022 Sphinx Orchestral Partners Audition (SOPA) excerpt competition, and winner of the Lewis Van Haney Philharmonic Prize at the 2018 International Trombone Festival. Gonzalez earned a Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers have been Dr. Nathaniel Brickens, Allen Barnhill, Mark Lawrence, Amy Bowers and Michael Hoffman.

Past Teaching Artists

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  • Andrew Abel is the Tuba Fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. Prior to joining the orchestra, Mr. Abel was an active freelance musician on the West Coast where he frequently performed and recorded with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. Outside of the concert hall, Mr. Abel is an active studio musician and has appeared on a variety of soundtracks from blockbuster video game titles such as Destiny and DOTA to television series including the NBC show Community.

     In 2014 Mr. Abel performed with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, becoming the youngest person to ever have been awarded the Tanglewood tuba fellowship. He has also spent summers at Music Academy of the West and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.

     Mr. Abel holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Washington where studied with Christopher Olka. He completed his Masters degree at the Colburn School with Norman Pearson.

A man in a dark blue suit holds a trombone and smiles, standing outdoors against a modern building background.

  • Myles Blakemore is an up and coming classical trombonist. He currently serves as Trombonist in the US Naval Academy Band and as Professor of Trombone at Howard University. Prior to his current positions, he was the inaugural Rosemary and David Good Fellow with the Minnesota Orchestra and a fellow with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. 

    Myles has performed on international stages including with the Malaysian Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony and Dallas Symphony. As a student, he spent summers attending some of the country’s premier music festivals including Brevard Music Center, National Repertory Orchestra, and Aspen Music Festival. 

    A Dallas native, Myles is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, where he studied with John Kitzman. He received his Master's Degree at the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Per Brevig in the Orchestral Program. 

    He is a sought-after masterclass instructor, and maintains a trombone studio in the Washington, DC area. He is currently at work on his debut solo album, which features the works of unaccompanied trombone. Follow Myles’ journey on social media, where he shares his musical process, performance education, and music industry satire.

    Myles is a Bach Brass Performing Artist.

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  • Rebecca Oliverio is currently a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra. Ms. Oliverio spent one season with the New World Symphony after receiving a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. While at Northwestern she toured Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong with the NU Symphony Orchestra as principal trumpet on Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. During her undergraduate degree at Boston University she had the opportunity to study at the Royal College of Music, London with Mark Calder and on natural trumpet with Paul Sharp. Her other teachers during her studies included David Bilger, Terry Everson, Channing Philbrick, Thomas Rolfs, Michael Sachs and Robert Sullivan. Her summer engagements have included the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West and the National Repertory Orchestra.

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  • Australian trumpet player Tetsuya Lawson is currently Principal Trumpet of the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet orchestras. Giving performances described as “alert, precise and exhilarating throughout,” by Performing ArtsHub, Tetsuya Lawson enjoys a varied career as an orchestral musician, chamber player, solo performer, and educator.

    As an orchestral musician, Tetsuya has performed extensively throughout Australia and internationally including concerts in The Royal Concertgebouw, the Concert Hall of the KKL Lucerne, Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, Tongyeong Concert Hall, Regentabau, Sydney Opera House and the Royal Festival Hall. Tetsuya has performed as both a soloist and competition winner with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and he also performs frequently as guest principal trumpet with diverse chamber ensembles such as the Southern Cross Soloists and Camerata (Australia).

    Tetsuya has attended world-renowned music festivals and academies including the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Music Festival (USA), Pacific Music Festival (Japan), the Lucerne Festival Academy (Switzerland), and the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme (UK). Tetsuya completed his undergraduate studies at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University studying primarily under Sarah Butler and Richard Madden. He then attended Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music (USA) as a graduate student where he studied with Barbara Butler and Charlie Geyer.

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  • Paraguayan/American oboist TAMARA WINSTON is a highly sought after chamber and orchestral musician. As a recent alum of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, Tamara performs regularly in the greater New York City area and abroad. Her most recent engagements include performing the Berio Sequenza VII in collaboration with Ensemble Intercontemporain and a program of works by all Baroque composers with Jordi Savall at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Ligeti Six Bagatelles in Weill Recital Hall, and numerous performances of Tania Leon’s woodwind quintet, De Memorias. Tamara enjoys a busy orchestral career and has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York City Ballet, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Montclair Orchestra. She is a founding member of the NYC based woodwind quintet, ConnectFive.

    As a teaching artist, Tamara is passionate about sharing music with a wide range of audiences and promoting inclusivity in arts education. She recently joined the faculty of MusicAlly, an organization that serves children in need of art and connection, by providing video music lessons with the nation’s best music teachers, and creating an online community of peers. As part of her Ensemble Connect fellowship, Tamara created and performed numerous interactive performances for communities throughout New York and abroad. She is on the oboe faculty at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College.

    Tamara holds a bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and a master’s degree from Mannes School of Music. She has studied with Nathan Hughes and Elaine Douvas. Other primary teachers include Richard Dallessio, Jelena Dirks, and Linda Strommen.

    Outside of music, Ms. Winston enjoys hot yoga, running, and taking her rescue dog, Charlie, on fun adventures.

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  • Hailed for her “verve and pizazz” and the “gleaming purity” of her artistry by the Miami Herald, Ebonee Thomas is Second Flute and Piccolo of The Dallas Opera. She has previously served  as Principal Flute of the Knoxville Symphony and the Florida Grand Opera, and spent one year as Second Flute of the Houston Symphony. In addition she has performed as Guest Principal Flute with the Seattle Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, and the Fort Worth Symphony. Ebonee has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Detroit Symphony and Dallas Symphony.

    Ebonee completed a four-year fellowship with the prestigious New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson-Thomas. In addition to performing at Carnegie Hall, she was a featured soloist under Tilson-Thomas, performing Joan Tower’s Flute Concerto and the North American premiere of Christian Lindberg’s flute concerto, The World of Montuagretta.

    Along with performing orchestral repertoire, Ebonee is an avid chamber musician, applauded as a “standout” by Theater Jones in her latest performance for the Fine Arts Chamber Players. She performs regularly with the Austin Chamber Music Society and Voices of Change, a new music ensemble in Dallas, TX. She was a finalist for the Austin Arts Awards for her performance of Valerie Coleman’s Danza de la Mariposa, for solo flute. Ebonee has been a member of the Firebird Ensemble with Seraphic Fire and can be heard on several of their released recordings including The Brandenburg Project. Ebonee had the rare opportunity to perform John Adams’ Chamber Symphony in Carnegie Hall under the composer’s baton. She also served as Principal Flute of the Star Wars in Concert! Orchestra during their U.S., Canada, and Mexico tour and was Principal Flute of the American Repertory Theater’s revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.

    As a passionate pedagogue, Ebonee maintains a full studio of students and also serves on the faculty at Brookhaven College in Dallas, TX. She received her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance degree from Southern Methodist University and received her Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory of Music.

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  • Brian Thacker is a bassist and teaching artist who’s engagements have taken him throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Scandinavia. He joined the Portland Symphony Orchestra bass section in 2014 and has served as a teaching artist in their Music Explorers program. Brian continues to demonstrate his passion for engaging communities through dynamic chamber music collaborations, workshops and educational outreach. As a guest he has performed as Principal bass with the Louisville Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, Assistant Principal with the Bergen Philharmonic in Norway and in the sections of the Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Hawaii Symphonies. Brian is a graduate of Yale and The Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

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  • Michael Martin is a first-year double bass fellow in the New World Symphony and from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Formerly, he was a Diversity Fellow with the Cincinnati Symphony, and an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He holds degrees from Northwestern University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music in double bass performance. Michael lives in Miami Beach, Florida, with his girlfriend Rose, their tuxedo cat named “Tofu”, and an ever-growing collection of houseplants.

    Michael began his study of the double bass with Suzuki teacher Domenick Fiore in early high school, and quickly discovered a deep love of the double bass in all its musical capacities. and He has studied with renowned bass professors Tracy Rowell, Andrew Raciti, Owen Lee, and Alexander Hanna.

    Throughout his undergraduate and graduate degrees, Michael developed a passion for string pedagogy, and has taught private and group lessons at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s preparatory program, as well as lessons and ensemble coachings at Cleveland Heights High School. As part of his graduate degree, he studied string pedagogy with the legendary cello pedagogues Hans Jørgen Jensen and Cornelia Watkins-Dyer. In addition to orchestral playing, Michael found an appreciation of contemporary music in his time at Oberlin Conservatory, and can be heard on the album Songtree performing the music of Ricardo Zohn Muldoon alongside faculty of the Eastman School. Michael is also the subject of an episode of the Slate podcast How To! by Charles Duhigg on peak performance. He is also the creator of Black Reflections, a three-part panel discussion series on racial justice in music, featuring Black luminaries of classical music and jazz such as Chi-chi Nwanoku, Christian McBride, and Dr. Tammy Kernodle. 

    Michael plays a modern instrument made for him in 2019 by Christopher Savino, and a bow by acclaimed Utahn bow maker Robert Dow.

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  • Sean Krissman currently serves as Principal Clarinet of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. During his tenure at HGO, Sean completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Richie Hawley. He received his Bachelor of Music degree with Highest Honors from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and has studied extensively with Dan Gilbert, Chad Burrow, Helen Goode-Castro, and Yehuda Gilad. 

    Winner of the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize at the Tanglewood Music Center, Sean has spent previous summers at Crested Butte Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, The Banff Centre, National Repertory Orchestra, and AIMS Graz. Currently during the summers, Sean serves as 2nd and Eb Clarinet of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. In addition to being featured as a soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, University of Michigan Philharmonia, and Bob Cole Conservatory Symphony, Sean has performed with the New York Philharmonic as an inaugural Zarin Mehta Fellow. Other orchestral appearances include performances with the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and guest Principal Clarinet with Pacific Symphony. 

    Beyond performance, Sean holds a strong passion for music education and community engagement. As a former Young Artist with Da Camera of Houston and member of Rice University’s JUMP! program, he engaged in numerous outreach events in the greater Houston area and continues to take part in these initiatives. He coaches chamber groups at the Houston Youth Symphony and is on faculty at the American Festival of the Arts in the summer. Sean also maintains a private clarinet studio and is on faculty at Lone Star College-University Park.

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  • Double Bassist Andrea Beyer is an avid performer, teacher and advocate for using music as a tool for social growth. As an orchestral musician, Andrea has performed in concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, as well as national halls in Central and South America and Asia, and in 2020 she completed a 3-year fellowship at the New World Symphony. A passionate educator, Andrea teaches in her current city of Austin, Texas and on the faculty of Bass Works, a summer double bass program in Baltimore, Maryland. As a long-time proponent of innovative and socially-driven music programs, Andrea, works for the VIA Music Academy and is the Public Relations Director and a Workshop Coordinator for the MusAid Organization, which supports music programs in under-resourced countries with volunteer music teaching workshops. Andrea holds a Bachelors Degree from Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Thomas Sperl and a Masters Degree from Yale University where she studied with Don Palma.

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  • Cellist Drew Comstock has been praised for his “deep and sonorous” playing (South Florida Classical Review). During his three-year tenure with Miami’s New World Symphony, Comstock served as co-principal under Michael Tilson-Thomas and other esteemed guests, leading performances at the Arscht Center, the New World Center, as well as Carnegie Hall (NYC). Founding cellist of the Collective Quartet, their mission is to use digital media to dissolve barriers of access in classical music and deepen the connection between audience and performers. Comstock’s passion for chamber music extends beyond the string quartet, having collaborated alongside Anthony Marwood, Jonathan Crow, David Geringas, Steven Dann, and Mark Fewer.

    Mr. Comstock has premiered several contemporary works, including Post-Echoi by Efstratios Minakakis, Playthings of the Wind by Michael Tilson-Thomas, and The Abandoned Castle by Jordan Millar – a work commissioned through a partnership with the NY Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers Program. Comstock studied at the New England Conservatory, McGill University, and the Glenn Gould School. His mentors include Yeesun Kim, Brian Manker, Desmond Hoebig, and Steven Dann. His festival appearances include le Domaine Forget, Stratford Summer Music (Ontario), Music by the Sea (British Columbia), Toronto Summer Music, and in Hvide Sande (Denmark). A committed teacher, Comstock seeks to enable the next generation of young musicians through coaching the NYO2 (USA), Taylor Academy (Toronto), and VIA Academy.

A young man holding a violin.

  • Bradley Parrimore is a second-year Viola Fellow at the New World Symphony. Noted as “most striking” with “no weaknesses” (American Record Guide), he has won top prizes in competitions across the U.S., such as the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition and National YoungArts Foundation. Mr. Parrimore has been featured on radio and television broadcasts of WQXR and HBO. In 2015 Soundset Recordings released the album Block, Glinka, Bowen: Viola Works that featured Mr. Parrimore and pianist Vivian Fan.

    An avid chamber musician, Mr. Parrimore has played chamber music across North American and Europe in string quartet performances, master classes or recitals. He has collaborated with esteemed musicians from the Toyko, Medici and St. Lawrence string quartets, as well as Jon Kimura-Parker, Joshua Bell, Anthony McGill and Paul Coletti.

    Mr. Parrimore has performed with Minnesota Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Oregon Symphony and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. During the summer, he has been invited to festivals and institutes, such as the Mozarteum’s Sommerakademie, Heifetz International Music Institute and Music Academy of the West, where he was selected to participate in the String Quartet Seminar under the mentorship of the Grammy Award-winning Takács Quartet.

    Mr. Parrimore received this bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a graduate certificate in performance from University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Principal teachers include Ivo-Jan van der Werff and Karen Dreyfus.

Man dressed in a black suit holding a bassoon

  • Francisco is currently the second bassoonist of the Louisville Orchestra and lecturer of bassoon at the University of Louisville. Originally from Puerto Rico, Mr. Joubert Bernard completed his B.M. at the "Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico" and has an M.M. degree from the Yale School of Music. Before joining the Louisville Orchestra, Francisco was a bassoon fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida where he performed with renowned artists around the world including a soloist performance for the famous film composer John Williams conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.  

    Besides his current orchestral performances with the Louisville Orchestra, Francisco has performed with orchestras such as The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and many others. Francisco was featured in the April 2024 volume of the International Musician.  

    Throughout his career, Francisco has been a very active advocate for music education by coaching in programs such as the National Youth Orchestra (NYO/NYO2) and VIA Academy, giving masterclasses around universities such as the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico, and at events such as MegQuigley. Francisco also has created an online platform for Spanish speakers to learn bassoon.  

    In addition to his interests in classical music, Mr. Joubert Bernard is also interested in other music genres, expanding the role of the bassoon in music through his online persona VG Bassoonist. In 2022 Francisco became one of Sphinx's MPower Artist Grant recipients and plans to continue inspiring and educating young bassoonists through his online platforms with the aid of this grant.

Man in black shirt holding a violin and smiling.

  • Born and raised in Kankakee, IL, Violist Andrew Francois began his musical studies at the age of 10 on violin in his school’s string program. 

    As a chamber musician and soloist, Mr. Francois has given recitals throughout the United States and Europe. Francois also served as artist faculty with the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. Currently a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Francois has played and served as principal with various orchestras, including the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, New World Symphony Orchestra, and was in the inaugural class of fellows with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Resident Fellows program.  

    Mr. Francois has received Artistic Excellence Fellowships from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University as well as Illinois State University. Mr. Francois enjoys teaching and community outreach, and has traveled to Medellin, Colombia to teach Masterclasses and Lessons at Eafit Universidad. While an undergraduate student, he was a Teaching assistant and private instructor at Illinois State University in their String Project program. As a graduate of the Jacobs School of music, studying under string department chair Stephen Wyrczynski, Mr. Francois held the title of Graduate Assistant for the string department, as well as sat on the Jacobs School of Music Council as a Graduate representative.  In his spare time, Francois enjoys playing tennis and reading.