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Maestro Hinds
The 2009-2010 Season marks Thomas Hinds’ 27th year on the MSO's podium as its music director and conductor. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Maestro Hinds was a professional ... read more.

Roster

First Violins Second Violins
Liana Gourdjia-Concertmaster
Ashley Akins
Barbara Blommers ***
Beth Hoener ****
Beth Mason
Irene Miller *****
Jeremy Padgett**
Chris Rodger*
Walker Schlundt
Clare Weil *****		 Yvonne Collins - Principal *****
Joshua Duke
Michelle Goodwyn **
Elizabeth Hill ****
William G. Kendrick ****
Wendy Ng
Allan Pirtle ***
Walden Schlundt
Westley Schlundt
Helen Steineker *****
Sandy Vogt
   
Violas Cellos
Dawn Heese - Principal **
Joanna Bosko v
Laura Katz
Rebecca DeFrate
Amanda Southern
Penny White ***


Contrabasses
Joe Cosgrove - Principal***
Carolyn Chambliss*****
Richard Howard****
Curtis Shannon*		 Dan Totan - Principal
Jan Bigham **
Fredda Buxton **
Marguerite Clayton*
Howard Clayton*
Elizabeth Jones *****
Joyce Kelley
Gary Kirksey
Clay McKinney
Robin Rawls *****
Paul Sanders
Joan Wittmann *****
Charles Wright*
 
   
Flutes Oboes
Nancy Vinson - Principal ****
Carol Franks*
Robert Scott		 Barbara Shanks - Principal
Tim Griffin
   
Clarinets Bassoons
Curtis Hollinger - Principal *****
Gary Smith		 Richard Murry - Principal ****
David Simpson**
   
Trumpets French Horns
Dennis Herrick - Principal ****
Sena Bird
Carly Johnson
Chris Sasser*		 Vicky Jewell - Principal
Hugh Cox
Cecilia Fortson***
Paul Moore
Sallie Brock
   
Trombones Tuba
Rusty Logan - Principal*
Bernard McKenzie**
Josh Cockrell		 Dale Bloodworth
   
Timpani Keyboard
Van Tony Free - Principal v Randy Foster **
   
Percussion Harp
Mark Benson  - Principal***
Dwight Fontenot
Ryan Gresko
Kaylon Jenkins**
Eddy Williams**
 		 Saharh Safavi Burke*
   
Program Notes Alumni Members
Mark Benson Fenton Fly, contrabass v
Janet Puskar, viola
Bill Bigham, clarinet
Stephanie Calhoun, cello
   
Manager Librarian
Helen Steineker Laura Ball
   
  Stage Manager
  Adam Woodfin
Key  
*     MSO member 5 or more seasons
**    MSO member 10 or more seasons
***   MSO member 15 or more seasons
****  MSO member 20 or more seasons
***** MSO member 25 or more seasons
v MSO charter member



Fellows
Dan Totan (MSO Cello Fellow and Principal Cello)
    An active soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra performer, cellist Dan Totan has performed on three continents.  Born into a family of musicians in Bucharest, Romania, Mr. Totan began studying the cello with his father at the age of eight.

    Mr. Totan has won many prizes including the National Radio Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition (Romania), the Classical Concerto Competition at McGill University, and the CBC Young Artists Series Canada.  He was the Assistant Principal Cello with the Sinfonia Cultura - Radio Orchestra (Brazil) for four years.

    Mr. Totan holds a Bachelor degree from the University of Music in Bucharest and a Konzert - Diplom from the Universität der Künste in Berlin.  He also earned an Artist Diploma and a Master's degree in cello at McGill University, and the DESS specialized diploma in cello performance from the University of Montreal.
 
Liana Gourdjia (MSO Violin Fellow and Concertmaster)
Liana      Violinist Liana Gourdjia has been acclaimed for her "astonishingly pure tone, artistry and bewitching lyricism."

     At the age of six, Liana appeared on Moscow television as a rising star and has since performed recitals in many prestigious venues throughout Russia including the Great Hall and the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and the Philharmonic Hall in Saint-Petersburg.  When she was thirteen, Liana Gourdjia was invited to perform in the concert series presented at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, and - as a laureate of the "New Names" and Vladimir Spivakov foundations - toured throughout Russia and Europe.  Some of her performance highlights included concerts in the Vatican for Pope Jean Paul II, and for Unesco in Paris.  Liana Gourdjia became a laureate of the Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Artists in Sendai (Japan) at the age of fourteen and subsequently appeared numerous times on television and radio programs dedicated to presenting young stars in Russia and Europe.

     Liana began her studies at the Central Music School at the Moscow State Conservatory with distinguished professors Irina Bochkova and Maya Glezarova.  After graduating, she moved to the United States to continue her studies with David and Linda Cerone at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees.  She is currently an Artist Diploma candidate in the Jacob's School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington, where she studies with Jaime Laredo.

     Liana Gourdjia is a Gold Medalist of the Sion-Valais International Violin Competition (Switzerland).  She is also a winner of the Concerto Competitions of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Society of American Musicians, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Indiana University.  Awarded the Special Prize for Best Chamber Music Performance at the California Young Artist Competition, she also won prizes in numerous international competitions, most recently in Kingsville and Corpus Christi (USA), and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand).

     Liana has soloed with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ashville Symphony Orchestra, City Music Cleveland, the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, and the orchestras of Indiana University and the Cleveland Institute of Music.  Her performances under James Gaffigan, Shlomo Mintz, Carl Topilow, David Effron, Steven Smith, Sergei Stadler, in concertos by Barber, Elgar, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, among other works, have been received with great acclaim.

     An active chamber musician, Liana has collaborated with such artists as Peter Salaff, Jaime Laredo, Sergei Babayan, Marc Coppey, Peter Takacs, and the Talich String Quartet.  She plays regularly with the Atlas Piano Trio, ensemble-in-residence at The Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.  Liana is also the concertmaster of The New Music Ensemble at Indiana University, a group dedicated to performing contemporary works.

     Liana Gourdjia was invited by Seiji Ozawa to participate in his newly founded International Music Academy - Switzerland (IMAS).  She has also performed in chamber music festivals in France, including Les Musicales de Colmar and the Festival Juventus Cambrai.

     In the summers of 2003 and 2004, Liana worked as assistant to David Cerone at the Encore School for Strings in Hudson, Ohio.  In 2008 she served on the faculty of the Indiana University Summer String Academy as an assistant to Mimi Zweig.

     Liana's upcoming engagements include a fall 2008 performance of Eugene O'Brien's Violin Concertino under David Dzubay in Bloomington, and an appearance in spring 2009 on the chamber music series Les Musicales de Compesieres in Geneva.
 

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