Music School > Faculty > Strings

Strings

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Hans Christian Andersen once said, "Where words fail, music speaks." The goal of the String Department at Indian Hill Music School is to help students of all ages find a way to communicate with music. A student at any level of playing can find his or her home here. Beginners and advanced players alike are able to learn and grow in their abilities to communicate through the lyrical nature and beauty of stringed instruments. Private lessons are offered in violin, viola, cello and bass along with semi-private lessons and group classes. Students are accepted from age three to 133, with beginners through advanced players at any age.

In addition to weekly lessons, students may enroll in a variety of ensembles, both large and small. For those who prefer smaller ensembles, chamber music is an option at any age and level. Additionally, two orchestras allow students to perform in larger groups. The first orchestra is for children between ages seven and thirteen who can read music and are seeking an opportunity to perform in an ensemble, allowing them to learn about playing different parts, following a conductor and all of the experiences that go along with working in large group. The second orchestra is for intermediate to advanced players, allowing more experienced players to perform with others at and above their own level. In this orchestra, students will work together to create rich tone colors and discover the more complex characteristics of orchestral music in ways only performing as a group can offer. Young players that are more advanced are also accepted into this group as recommended by their private instructors.

The overall goal of the String Department is to make music fun, rewarding and enjoyable, allowing players at any age and level to develop a greater appreciation for what they can accomplish as musicians. Welcome to all!

please hover over the names to see the		Short Bio:
Lynn Mielke Basila		Lynn Mielke Basila B.M., Colorado State University; M.M., Arizona State University, plus additional studies toward D.M.A. The winner of several competitions, including the Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Ms. Basila has been a soloist with many orchestras and chamber ensembles. She performs in the Colorado Music Festival and was a former member of the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra. A registered Suzuki teacher, she has been on the faculty at the Tulsa Suzuki School and the Rocky Mountain Summer Music Camp.
- violin
Arkady Beletsky		Arkady Beletsky B.A., Gnesin College of Music, Moscow; M.A., Gnesin Musical and Pedagogical Institute. Mr. Beletsky has performed in concerts and music festivals in the U.S., Europe and the former Soviet Union. He has appeared at Jordan Hall, Sanders Theater, Mechanics Hall, and on WGBH radio's Morning Pro Musica.
- cello
Julia Cash		Julia Cash B.A., New England Conservatory; M.M., Staatliche Hochshcule fur Musik, Germany; Artist Diploma from Royal Conservatory of Music, The Hague. An active recitalist and chamber musician, Ms. Cash has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Chamber Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and the Boston Philharmonic. A frequent participant at music festivals, she has appeared at Tanglewood, the Conservatoire des Americaines in Fontainbleau, France, and the Accedemia Musicale Chigiana in Sienna, Italy.
- violin
Andrew Eng		Andrew Eng ARCT (First Class Honors with Distinction), Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto; Diploma in Violin Performance, M.M. in Modern American Music, Longy School of Music. Principal teachers: Laura Bossert, Peter Cassino, Terry King Andrew Eng has garnered a versatile reputation playing such varied genres as Classical, Contemporary, Jazz, and Tango styles. Mr. Eng performs recitals and chamber music concerts across Canada and the United States. He is a frequent guest on the Lyrica Chamber Music series and Longy School of Music's Modern American Music Series.
- violin
Cynthia Forbes		Cynthia Forbes B.A., Anthropology, Harvard University; M.M., Syracuse University. Principal teachers: George Neikrug and Benjamin Zander. Ms. Forbes performs as soloist and principal cellist with, among others, Boston Virtuosi and the Nigun Ensemble. She has performed as concerto soloist with New England String Ensemble and Syracuse Camerata. Ms. Forbes has had works composed for her, including the premiere cello and chamber works by Vuk Kulenovic. She teaches at Philips Exeter Academy Summer School, has taught in the Boston Public Schools and The New England Conservatory Preparatory School.
- cello
Susan Gottschalk		Susan Gottschalk B.M., Boston University; further studies at the Suzuki Institute, Ithaca, and University of Colorado. Principal teachers: Roman Totenberg, Raphael Bronstein. An active freelancer, Ms. Gottschalk is a member of The Orchestra of Indian Hill and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra.
- violin, viola
Ala Jojatu		Ala Jojatu M.M. candidate, Boston University. Born in Moldavia, began studying the violin at the age of six. She is currently studying with Malcolm Lowe, Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She was the winner of the Concerto Competition at Boston Conservatory, was principal violinist under Seiji Ozawa, Tanglewood, where she performed under renowned conductors such as James Conlon, and George Benjamin. As a freelance performer, she can be heard with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, and Opera Boston.
- violin
Peter Krysa		Peter Krysa Gnessin Special Music School; Music School of Moscow Conservatory; Royal Conservatory of Music; B.M., Manhattan School of Music; Performance Diploma. Principal teachers: Mary Lou Speaker Churchill, Ariana Bronne, David Zafer, Albert Markov, Oleh Krysa, Sergei Kravtchenko. Mr. Krysa has performed in major concert halls throughout the U.S., former Soviet Union, and Europe, including The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory and 'GBH's Studio Four. He has recorded with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra under Saulius Sondeckis, and performed in many organizations including the Washington National Opera, New York City Opera, Bachanalia Chamber Orchestra (concertmaster). He is founder and director of LWMF "Music in Our Schools", which was designed to help public schools develop string programs and to bring visiting artists to public schools.
- violin, viola
Laurel Martin		Laurel Martin Traditional Irish fiddle player Laurel Martin learned her music from Master fiddler Seamus Connolly, a highly respected musician from County Clare with whom she studied from 1990-1993 under a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Laurel has served on the faculty of the Boston College Irish Studies program since 1994 as an instructor of Irish fiddle. She is the Director of the Fiddleheads traditional Celtic music ensemble at Wellesley College, teaches privately and has led many workshops in the United States and abroad. In 2002, Laurel was again awarded a Traditional Arts Master-Apprentice grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, this time as a master teacher. Laurel is co-author with Seamus Connolly of the acclaimed book/CD Forget Me Not: Fifty Memorable Traditional Irish Tunes which was published in 2002 by Mel Bay Publications. She performs frequently in the Boston area and throughout New England, has appeared on several recordings including the Childsplay Live and Heaven and Earth CDs of the fiddle ensemble "Childsplay" of which she is a member, and her first solo recording, The Groves, was released in November 2006.
- Irish fiddle
Justin Meyer		Justin Meyer B.A., University of North Carolina; Berklee School of Music, studies with Dave Clark (jazz) and Oscar Stegnaro (Latin bass). Mr. Meyer has performed around the country with numerous ensembles, including the Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers Circus Orchestra and the Chris Fitz Band, which won the 2001 Boston Music Award for "Best New Blues Band". He is presently a freelance bassist in the Greater Boston area and house bassist at Club Caravan in Revere.
- bass
Mona Rashad		Mona Rashad B.M., Shepherd School of Music, Rice University; B.M. in violin performance, with academic honors, M.M. in violin performance, M.M. in music education, New England Conservatory of Music. Principal teachers: James Buswell, Kenneth Goldsmith, Gregory Fulkerson Mona Rashad has been a member of the Orchestra of Indian Hill for 4 years. One of the founding violin teachers at the Conservatory Lab Charter School, Mona has had extensive teaching experience, including teaching posts at the Holyoke Public Schools, the Norwood Public Schools, and the Dana Hall Music School. She currently teaches violin in the Intensive Community Program of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and in the Prodigy Program in the Westwood Public Schools where she is also the Elementary Orchestra Director. Mona grew up in Houston as a Suzuki student and at the age of 13 was invited to Japan to participate in a Suzuki Festival and meet and play for Dr. Suzuki. A recipient of the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Music Performance, Mona is an advocate for New Music and has performed works by John Zorn, Gyorgy Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Giacinto Scelsi, David Shea, and Joe Maneri.
- violin
Timothy Terranella		Timothy Terranella Artist Diploma, Boston Conservatory, B.M. Curtis Institute of Music, M.M. (flute) Boston Conservatory; Principal teachers Leonard Rose, Orlando Cole, Mischa Nieland, Ronald Thomas. Mr. Terranella has performed as both cellist and flutist with many of Boston's most prestigious musical organizations including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Esplanade Pops, New Hampshire Symphony, Cape Cod Symphony, Nashua Symphony, Boston Academy of Music, Claflin Hill Symphony, Boston Lyric Opera and the Bostonian Chamber Players. He has performed and recorded in the New York area as a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Terranella has dedicated much of his professional experience to teaching the cello and flute and coaching chamber ensembles. He has served on the faculties of Boston University, Buckingham and Nichols School, Groton School and the Joy of Music Program (Worcester, MA) where he is the conductor of the JOMP Chamber Orchestra.
- cello, flute Strings Department Chair
Alexander Vavilov		Alexander Vavilov Music Diploma, Kiev Glier College of Music; B.M. magna cum laude, M.M., Boston Conservatory; Graduate Diploma, New England Conservatory. Principal teachers: Patricia McCarty, Kim Kashkashian Alexander Vavilov is principal viola of the Atlantic Symphony, and performs regularly with Boston Modern Orchestra Project and other area orchestras. As a chamber musician he collaborated with Borromeo String Quartet, as a winner of their NEC guest artist award, and with prominent musicians like Lynn Chang, Barbara Westphal, Ronald Leonard, James Buswell and Rhonda Rider. Summer festivals include Tanglewood, Sarasota and Meadowmount. Mr. Vavilov is also teaching at Winchester Community Music School and during the summer at Point Counterpoint Music Camp.
- viola, violin