Lourdes has been blessed with amazing performance opportunities playing for celebrities, ambassadors, and on world-class stages. Most notably, last summer she was one of three cellists asked to play at the Kennedy Center for John Williams' 90th Birthday Party Dinner attended by Stephen Spielberg and David Rubenstein, Chairman of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Board. In 2018, she played for the Aspen Institute's Project Play Summit's Private Dinner featuring Kobe Bryant. She has given concerts at the Embassies of Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil, played for private events for former Congresswoman Connie Morella, and at the US Senate to help promote the arts. 

​

Her more recent performances range from playing at Carnegie Hall to a Handel's Messiah Concert in Pennsylvania where she played alongside David Chan, the Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera and Violin Professor at Juilliard. While a student at Oberlin Conservatory, Lourdes's quartet performed for Latin American ambassadors and high ranking government officials at the Inter-American Defense Board. They performed at Central Union Mission homeless shelter in DC and her quartet hosted a fundraiser concert for the Children's Inn of the National Institute of Health. 

In high school, Lourdes was an NSO Youth Fellow at the Kennedy Center where she performed several times in the NSO's Concert Hall and on the Millennium Stage. On behalf of the Kennedy Center's NSO in your Neighborhood Community Outreach Program, she brought music to DC schools. Among other opportunities, she played in a master class for world-famous Cello Soloist Alban Gerhardt. As part of The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestra, Lourdes performed in front of 17,00 people as the Principal Cellist at the Microsoft Inspire International Convention. 

Lourdes is now the Founder and Director of StringTime where she is fulfilling her dream of running a beginner strings camp that will inspire kids to learn to make beautiful music. She continues to teach privately both cello and piano while also studying cello with NSO Principal Cellist David Hardy and learning to play the Viola da Gamba with John Moran, the Historical Performance Chair at Peabody Conservatory.  Learn more about her on her website. 

Award-winning American violinist Emera Kandybin, originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is celebrated for her captivating, elegant sound and versatile artistry. She has performed on major stages across the U.S. and abroad, including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Severance Hall, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. As a soloist, she has performed with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Sinfonia.

​

A passionate chamber musician, Emera has performed with esteemed organizations such as ChamberFest Cleveland, the Chamber Music Society of Ohio, and the Nashville Chamber Music Society. As a member of the Elless Quartet, she toured across North America and collaborated with renowned musicians including Phil Setzer (Emerson String Quartet) and Si-Yan Li. The Almas Quartet earned first prize at the 27th Annual Darius Milhaud Performance Prize Competition, and was invited numerous times to attend the McGill International String Quartet Academy. Both groups were recognized in major competitions such as the Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

​

Emera’s rich orchestral experience includes serving as concertmaster for the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra and the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, among others. She was selected as a violinist for the New World Symphony and has recently performed with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and D.C.’s Apollo Orchestra.

​

In addition to performing, Emera is dedicated to music education. She is Assistant Director of StringTime, a nonprofit music camp for beginner string players, where she teaches violin and music history. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, violinist and conductor Sasha Kandybin

Hannah Price is a passionate and dedicated teacher of all ages and abilities, as well as an active performer in the greater DC area. Her goal is to keep music as a core human value in a quickly evolving world.

An advocate for community engagement, Hannah has been involved with several presentations of musical storytelling across the US. She has also participated in programs that bring music instruction to the Grafton Correctional Institution and hurricane-stricken areas of Puerto Rico.

​

Throughout her musical career, Hannah has regularly performed as a chamber, orchestral, and solo musician in concert programs domestically and internationally. Hannah holds a Master’s degree with a concentration in Music in Education from the New England Conservatory, having studied under the mentorship of Ayano Ninomiya. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory after having begun her studies at Indiana University under the instruction of Sibbi Bernhardsson.

Hannah maintains an active private violin studio, and uses a pedagogical approach that combines elements from the Suzuki method with supplemental material to support a strong foundation of artistry, technique, and music theory with an emphasis on freedom of movement. Learn more about her on her website. 

Known for her captivating storytelling and poetic musical sensibility, Grace is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance at Stony Brook University, where she studies with renowned violin professors Arnaud Sussmann and Phil Setzer of the Emerson String Quartet. An avid chamber musician, Grace is part of the Emerson String Quartet Institute at Stony Brook, where she receives coachings from all members of the Emerson Quartet and has performed alongside violinist Eugene Drucker of the Emerson String Quartet.  She is a recipient of the prestigious Staller Scholarship, a full-tuition award recognizing exceptional artistry and achievement. She completed her undergraduate studies at Oberlin Conservatory on the Dean’s Scholarship, where she studied with Sibbi Bernhardsson, former member of the Pacifica Quartet. She was a finalist in the Oberlin Conservatory Senior Concerto Competition, the school’s most prestigious competition.

At eleven years old, Grace was accepted into the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a highly competitive high school conservatory, where she studied in the Classical Instrumental department until graduating high school. She won the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, the NOLA Chamber Fest Competition, and the Junior Philharmonic Society of New Orleans. Grace has spent her summers studying at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Harpa International Music Academy USA, Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, InterHarmony International Music Festival, and Philadelphia International Music Festival.

She has also performed in masterclasses for world-class violinists including Ronald Copes, Rachel Barton Pine, Mauricio Fuks, Kristen Lee and Paul Neubauer. Grace is also a teaching assistant at Stony Brook University, where she teaches Music Theory to undergraduate students, in addition to coaching chamber music and maintaining a private studio.

Caitlyn received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. She started the strings program at First Presbyterian Day in Macon, GA and maintains a private studio. Caitlyn was the concertmaster in the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and was in the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship Program, a full- scholarship pre-professional training program. She won the American Youth Philharmonic Concerto Competition in 2019. She has performed alongside The Piano Guys at the National Theatre, play at a private dinner for the Supreme Court Justices and performed at the Kennedy Center.

Having his international solo debut at the age of 12, violinist/conductor Sasha Kandybin has been praised as a performer with “soulful bliss and charisma”, Cremona Nazionale. As a winner of numerous competitions including the Cremona International Violin Competition and the New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra Competition, among others, he also performed Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto with the Manhattan School of Music Philharmonic Orchestra as a winner of their concerto competition.

​

Sasha has always been passionately involved in chamber music performance having participated and performed in prestigious chamber music festivals including the Manchester Music Festival as a fellowship performer. In 2019 he attended the NAC Young Artists Program working and performing intensely with Pinchas Zukerman. He also participated in the Music@Menlo chamber music festival where he performed with musicians of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Throughout his undergraduate years at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Sasha was part of the Advanced String Quartet Seminar in the Elara Quartet, where they were invited to the prestigious McGill International String Quartet Academy as well as the Juilliard String Quartet seminar and performance series. During his high school years, Sasha received weekly tutelage and collaborated with the Emerson and Escher String Quartets. At MSM, he was part of an award winning piano quintet and performed at Carnegie Hall.

​

As an orchestral performer, Sasha has been invited as a fellow to the Aspen Music Festival and the Music in the Mountains festival where he was concertmaster of the chamber orchestra. His role as a concertmaster extends throughout many ensembles including the Manhattan School of Music Symphony and Philharmonic, and Rice University’s Symphony Orchestra. Sasha was also concertmaster for NJYS when they won the Summa Cum Laude International Orchestral Competition, performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture without a conductor. He has performed in venues throughout the world such as David Geffen Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, all three stages of Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., Smetana Hall in Prague, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Bela Bartok Hall in Budapest, and many others.

Also an accomplished and aspiring conductor, Sasha studied orchestral conducting and orchestration with Jonathan Strasser at the Manhattan School of Music Pre-college, and served as an assistant conductor to the Pre-college Symphony under Nell Flanders. He continued his experience with mentorship and tutelage from Larry Rachleff and Donald Schleicher at Rice University, conducting in workshops with them throughout the country. In the summer of 2022, Sasha received a Festival Prize at the Monteux Festival for conducting a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony.

​

Sasha attended Rice University where he received a masters in violin performance studying with Paul Kantor, and received his bachelor degree in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with William Preucil, then concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra followed by Phil Setzer of the Emerson String Quartet and Jessica Lee of TCO as well.

An avid orchestral performer, Ms. Navis was appointed a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Eric Jacobson in the fall of 2022 as well as a member of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra in the spring of 2025. Ms. Navis regularly performs with orchestras in the Washington D.C. area and the Midwest such as the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, The American Pops Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, the New Orchestra of Washington, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Lima Symphony Orchestra, and Lansing Symphony Orchestra, among others. As a freelancer in DC, she also has played with the Cathedral Choral Arts Society, the National Philharmonic, the Baltimore Basilica Festival Orchestra, and the Warner Theatre Orchestra.

​

Ms. Navis has attended the National Orchestral Festival + Institute in College Park, Maryland and also participated in the Next Festival for Emerging Artists, the Mid-American Center for Contemporary Music New Music Festival, and the Illinois Chamber Music Festival. Ms. Navis has been grateful to create music during the past three seasons with icons such as Gil Shaham, Yo-Yo Ma, Bela Fleck, Renee Fleming, Chris Thile, Curtis Stewart, Victor Wooten, Jennifer Rowley, Kelli O'hara, and Yuja Wang. She has worked under the baton of Maestro Eric Jacobson, Thomas Wilkins, JoAnn Falletta, Marin Alsop, Robert Moody, Andrew Crust, James Ross, Valentina Peleggi, Yaniv Segal, and Edward Polochick, to name a few.

​

Ms. Navis has a passion for educating individual students as well as coaching chamber ensembles. She teaches both traditional and Suzuki violin lessons and received her training for books 1-5 from Mr. Mark Mutter. In addition to a violin performance degree, Ms Navis also holds a Bachelor's in Instrumental Music Education (k-12). Ms. Navis is currently on faculty at Opal Music Studio in Old Town, Alexandra and is starting her own studio. She has experience teaching students of all ages and has been on faculty at Black Swamp Fine Arts School, Expressions Music Academy, Riverfront Studios, and MusicEveryday! Ms. Navis has enjoyed coaching students from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles, Toledo School for the Arts, the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestras, and the Holland Symphony Youth Orchestras. Learn more about her on her website. 

Claire Zogaib is a violist newly based in Kansas City. She is a proud graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music Degree, and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she received her Master of Music degree. During her time in Cleveland, Claire collaborated as a chamber musician with the Cavani Quartet and members of the Cleveland Orchestra. She has also performed with the Phoenix Symphony, the Houston Ballet Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, and the Erie Philharmonic. A lover of contemporary music, Claire has premiered music of several composers, including a commission from composer Daniel DiMarino. 

In recent summers, Claire has been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School and the viola teacher at StringTime, a strings camp based in Northern Virginia. In 2016, she was a guest performer on NPR’s From The Top as a member of the Cleveland based Cecilia Octet. She is also a six time 2nd prizewinner of the Ohio Viola Society Competition. Claire is grateful to have learned from wonderful teachers including James Dunham, Joan Der Hovsepian, Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Peter Slowik, and Laura Shuster.

Amelia Eckloff is the violist and music educator from Fairfax, Virginia. She is the violist of the Astrodon Quartet, a string quartet formed in the summer of 2025 in Baltimore, MD. Amelia completed her Master’s Degree in viola performance at the Peabody Institute studying with Victoria Chiang, and her Bachelor’s Degree at the Eastman School of Music studying with Masumi Rostad. Amelia began her studies on the viola with National Symphony Orchestra violist, Ramon Scavelli.

Amelia’s love for chamber music has taken her across the United States—from the East Coast to Oregon—and abroad to Seoul, South Korea. Amelia’s quartet, the Astrodon Quartet, will begin serving as the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at University of Colorado Boulder in the fall of 2026, where the ensemble will study under the mentorship of the internationally acclaimed Takács Quartet. Previously, the quartet was awarded the 2025-2026 Mount Vernon Virtuosi String Quartet Fellowship, through which they presented weekly performances and educational outreach programs throughout Baltimore and Washington D.C. Amelia was also a recipient of the Peabody Institute’s Sidney Friedberg Prize for Chamber Music and was a 2024 Coltman Competition semi-finalist with the ensemble, HEXTET.

During her time on the East Coast, Amelia performed regularly with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Great Falls Philharmonic. She is an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Korean National Symphony Orchestra Academy, and frequently served as principal violist during her studies at both the Peabody Institute and the Eastman School of Music. Amelia is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with and performed in masterclasses for leading violists in the field, including Choong-Jin Chang, Mai Motobuchi, Cristian Colberg, and Karen Ritscher.

Amelia owes her passion and dedication to music to the rich educational opportunities and inspiring mentors she encountered as a young student. In turn, she is deeply committed to making music education accessible to communities of all backgrounds, with the hope of fostering the same love for music in the next generation of young musicians. From 2024–2026, she led the curriculum for Every Child Deserves a Voice, a twice-weekly after-school strings program serving two elementary schools in Baltimore City. Amelia also maintains an active private studio of young violinists and violists, emphasizing both a curiosity-driven approach to string playing and the development of strong technical foundations.

Tatum Hodgson recently graduated from CIM and will be starting her graduate studies at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying with Desmond Hoebig.  Prior to starting her Bachelor of Music degree, Tatum Hodgson accumulated a breadth of chamber, orchestral, and solo experience as a freelance musician in Los Angeles. She was principal cellist in Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra (CYMO) and held a position in the American Youth Symphony. Tatum won CYMO’s concerto competition, performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations on their 30th anniversary concert. She also won the baroque concerto competition at Indiana University’s String Academy and performed with orchestra on the final gala. Tatum has won first place in ASTA solo recital, MTAC’s VOCE, and Satori Strings competitions, among others.

She has attended music programs all over the U.S. and Internationally. Most recently, she won a fellowship position with Aspen Music Festival and School, Britt Festival Orchestra and the AIMS opera orchestra in Graz, Austria. Tatum was in the Advanced String Quartet program at CIM and won first place at Glass City Chamber Music Competition with her quartet. She teaches privately and plays for The Cleveland Ballet Orchestra, Canton symphony, and other regional orchestras in the Cleveland area.
 

Tatum has had extensive training in cello pedagogy with Tanya Carey, Abbey Hansen, and Carey Beth Hocket. She teaches private cello lessons with a focus on excellence and fun. In her private studio, Tatum is passionate about sharing her love for learning, following Suzuki’s philosophy that every child can learn at a high ability given excellent training. Tatum is dedicated to life-long professional development in her performance career as well as teaching methods so that she can provide the highest-level training to her students.

Samuel Sykes began studying the cello at age three at the Northeast Iowa School of Music and made his concerto debut with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra at age twelve. He was named a National YoungArts Winner and has also won first prize in several competitions across the country. He was recently a prize winner in the inaugural Hill Competition and performed as a soloist with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in New York. Previously a member of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, he is a frequent substitute with the Houston Symphony and has been a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival for multiple summers. Additionally, Samuel joined the cello section of the North Carolina Symphony in 2024 and will join them permanently in 2026.

Sykes graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Melissa Kraut, and a master’s degree with Brinton Averil Smith at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He has also worked with cellists such as Zuill Bailey, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Darrett Adkins, and Eric Kim. His cello is generously on loan from the Maestro Foundation.

Samuel is also passionate about arranging music for cello ensembles. His version of Poulenc’s Les chemins de l’amour for cello quintet premiered in concert in Graz, Austria, along with his arrangements of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major for cello trio and Schumann’s Cello Concerto for cello sextet. He has been commissioned to write many other cello ensemble arrangements for concert programs around the country. Last year, he also wrote and performed in his cello sextet version of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto—the first and only arrangement to have the solo part switch between players. Additionally, the cellists of the Houston Symphony performed his arrangement of Dvořák’s Songs My Mother Taught Me in concert with soloist Brinton Averil Smith as an encore.