Amelia Abouljoud
Francesca Abusamra
Sonja Allen
Nensi bakiu
amanda beaune
alyssa campbell
Alyssa Campbell is a violinist from Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan and is currently studying violin performance with Aaron Berofsky at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance.
Alyssa began the violin at the age of 10 in the Grosse Pointe School District and quickly fell in love with the instrument. As a child, she studied privately under Detroit Opera Violinist Julia Kurtyka and Detroit Symphony Orchestra violinist Derek Francis. In high school, Alyssa continued her studies with Hai Xin Wu, assistant concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the violin, Alyssa has also studied piano, percussion, and composition, all of which she is greatly passionate about. As a composer, Alyssa has won the National Federation of Musician’s Composers Contest at the state, regional, and national levels. She has also been awarded top prizes in composition with the National Guild of Piano Teachers in addition to participating in the All-State and Michigan Youth Arts Composition programs. Alyssa enjoyed studying composition with the great faculty at Blue Lake and Interlochen Fine Arts Camps.
As a violinist, Alyssa has performed in masterclasses by Lucie Robert, Blair Milton, Gerardo Riberio, Cyrus Forough, Marucio Fuks, and Kim Fischer. She was lucky enough to be a winner of the Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition in 2015 and performed Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto from The Four Seasons with them later that year. In high school she was a member of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra and played in the All-State and Michigan Youth Arts Festival Orchestras. In addition, Alyssa has been a member of many different chamber ensembles, including string quartets, piano quartets and trios, and, most recently, a clarinet trio at the University of Michigan.
In 2016, Alyssa began studying the baroque violin and played in The Baroque Chamber Orchestra lead by Joseph Gascho and Aaron Berofsky. In the summer of 2017 she is looking forward to studying with Julia Wedmen at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto, Canada. Other summer programs she has participated in include Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Interlochen Fine Arts Camp, the Tanglewood Young Artists Orchestra, and The Northwestern Summer Violin Institute. She has also been a member of the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra in both 2016 and 2017.
With the help of her great colleagues, she was one of the founding members of the Detroit Chamber Orchestra and aims to promote musical cooperation and accessible performances to the people of the Detroit area. When not playing the violin, Alyssa loves to read and stay involved in TEDx events. She is currently on the TEDxUofM team at the University of Michigan and gave a talk on music therapy at TEDxGPSouth in 2015.
tharron combs
KELLEN DEGNAN
SAM EDWARDS
Violist Sam Edwards, born in Detroit, Michigan, began studying viola at the age of 10. He started private studies with violist Shanda Lowery-Sachs and went on to study with Caroline Coade, both members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Edwards has attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Bowdoin International Music Festival; he was an Emerson Scholar at the Interlochen Arts Camp. This summer, he will be serving as principal violist for the Opera in the Ozarks Orchestra. Edwards is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music
with Carol Rodland at the Eastman School of Music.
Sam is an avid chef and outdoorsman. Among his main interests are contemporary dance and yoga as well. In fact, Sam attended and performed a duet at the American College Dance Association’s 2017 Northeast Conference.
mEAGAN gIANCARLO
jOSEPH gRAY
Violinist Joseph Gray has developed a versatile career as an orchestral, chamber, and solo musician. Dedicated to expanding the appreciation of new music, he has taken part in premiering compositions for solo violin, string quartet, pierrot ensemble, and much more. In the past years he has been awarded the Teresa Schuster Memorial Award, 2nd prize in the American Protege International Concerto Competition, Dean Richardson Scholarship, and the Dora Dawson Memorial Award. An enthusiastic performer, Joseph has been invited to perform in numerous concert halls among the the east coast such as: Lincoln Centers David Geffen Hall, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Max M. Fischer Theatre, and many other venues. He is currently a student of Prof. Wei He, and Joseph Maile at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Joseph began his primary studies under the direction of Katherine Dunham. His time with Dunham offered a great foundation of the technical aspects for violin, leading him to his acceptance into Interlochen Arts Academy. From here, he began to study with Ara Sarkissian. This was a time of great development as a performer, being given the opportunity to premiere many new chamber works such as “Ameriquartet” by Mary Monahan, “String Quartet No. 1” by Nathaniel Heyder, and “Ring” by Kayla Behforouz. His orchestral highlights include premiering works of Jennifer Higdon, Hannah Lash, Nico Muhly, and Ashley Fure at the New York Philharmonic Biennial Festival, and “The Three Musketeers” by Michael Thurber on From The Top Live with host Christopher O’riley. Most recently, Joseph has premiered pieces by Matthew Boehler, Bryan Lin, and Taylor Joshua Rankin, students of David Garner and Mason Bates.
Joseph has attended numerous music festivals, some of the highlights being: Interlochen Center for the Arts, and Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. Because of his travels, he has been able to work with many wonderful musicians such as Irina Muresanu, Lina Bahn, the Weilerstein Duo, Prima Trio, Ian Swensen, David Garner, and Paul Hersche. He has had the honor to play under the baton of Carlos Kalmar, Leonard Slatkin, Zeljko Milicevic, John Axelrod, and Jung-Ho Pak. Joseph has served as concertmaster in the Detroit Philharmonic, Interlochen Philharmonic, Trinity Symphony, and Manhattan Summer Symphony Orchestras.
aLIA gRIBBON
jHERRARD hardeman
Jherrard Marseille Hardeman is a Conductor and Composer from Detroit, Michigan. Jherrard currently studies Music Composition with Dr. Aaron Helgeson at the Longy School of Music of Bard College where Jherrard is a Presidential Scholar.
His musical studies began at the age of 7 as a guitar student of Lamar Phillips through City Camp at Gesu Catholic School in Detroit. He continued instruction with accomplished guitarists, David Burton Jr., and Peter Ayala. At the age of 8 he began his violin studies at Charles H. Wright Academy of Arts and Science in Detroit. Jherrard also studied jazz and improvisation with Al McKenzie through the Kids and Jazz program at the world-famous Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. At the age of 13, Jherrard continued his violin studies with Gregory Staples of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Jherrard has also studied composition with Chad Hughes, Director of Bands at Morehouse College, Malcolm Peyton of the New England Conservatory of Music and Dr. Lincoln Hanks of Pepperdine University.
Jherrard began conducting when he was 13, and has studied with Maestro Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Paul Shawver, Conductor of the Concert Orchestra at the Detroit Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Timothy Cibor, who serves as Artistic Director of the Dearborn Youth Symphony, Dorothy McDonald, conductor of the Session IV Symphony Orchestra at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and William (Tony) Porter, who serves as conductor of the Masterworks Orchestra at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
Jherrard has put together 13 chamber string orchestras of 20 – 50 musicians and dozens of smaller chamber ensembles all under the name of Integrated Strings Perfection. When Hardeman was 16, he conducted one of his compositions with the Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestra. At the ages of 16 and 17, he conducted the Chicago premiere of one of his compositions with the Chicago Sinfonietta. Jherrard continues to work as a guest conductor for all ensembles in the Detroit Metropolitan Youth Symphony and the Dearborn Youth Symphony programs. Jherrard has also been an orchestral adjudicator at the first National Heritage Academies East Regional Music Festival.
In his free time, Jherrard enjoys bowling, golf, playing basketball, and has been known to occasionally bake desserts.
henri gross
elise komer
noah leong
chance mcdermott
Leah pernick
Christian Sands
Lydia Sarver
Eddie Tchaouchev
Andrew Toering
Larissa Verley
Larry Joe Williams iii