Anja Ormiston is a violinist and violist based in Cincinnati. Originally from Scotland, she holds a Bachelor of Music (honours) in violin performance and a Master of Music in viola performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Anja has a wealth of teaching experience within non-profit projects, schools of all levels, and private studio tuition. Additionally, she enjoys a wide-ranging career collaborating with ensembles, orchestras, string trios/quartets and award-winning popular artists.

Amelia Korbitz is an American violinist with a passion for new music and collaboration through chamber music. She frequently performs works by living composers and is a co-founder of the Antigone Music Collective, a nonprofit organization with the mission of bringing new music by dedicated specialists to a broad audience. Amelia is committed to performing the music of underrepresented composers and advancing the role of women in classical music. She has won the UC College-Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition, took top honors at the New Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition, and is a grant recipient of the Matinée Musicale Scholarship Fund as well as the 3Arts Foundation.

Amelia is a founder of Antigone Quartet, the core performing ensemble of the Antigone Music Collective. They perform regularly throughout the Midwest and have been invited to perform at the Southern Illinois Music Festival, Musica Le Mans, and the Musica Malicorne Festival in France. They have also been artists in residence at the Ascent International Music Festival. The Antigone Quartet was a finalist ensemble in the Glass City Chamber Competition as well as prizewinners in the UC College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Competition in 2022 and 2023. They have been featured on WGUC 90.9, performing the winning work of the inaugural Antigone Music Collective call for scores.

Solo performance highlights include Vivalid’s le Quattro Stagioni: Primavera with the West Suburban Symphony, L’Inverno with the Southern Illinois Music Festival Orchestra, Piazzolla’s Los Cuatros Estaciones Porteñas with the CCM Philharmonia Orchestra. She has spent five consecutive summers at the Southern Illinois Music Festival and as an associate concertmaster in 2022 and 2023. She is a violinist in the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Queen City Opera, Green Lake Festival Orchestra, the Immaculata Chamber Music Series, and Solaris Chamber Music Series.

Amelia is a student of Dr. Won-Bin Yim and a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory where she was a member of the CCM Philharmonia Orchestra and the contemporary music ensemble Musica Nova. Amelia has been a scholarship student at the Ascent International Chamber Music Festival, ENCORE String Quartet Intensive, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and the Green Lake Chamber Music Festival.

A passionate and inspiring performer, Ava Shedd has developed into an accomplished violinist and musician who loves engaging with audiences and educating the next generation of young musicians. She has had years of orchestral, chamber and solo experiences which have shaped her into a well-rounded individual based in the world of classical music. Hailing from Virginia Beach VA, Ava has blossomed into the violinist she is today because of ensembles such as the Bayyouth Orchestras of Virginia, Hampton Roads Chamber Players and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra where she is currently a substitute section violin. Ava is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory. While her primary focus lies in the study of the violin, she also has years of experience in teaching and playing the piano. In her free time she enjoys listening to as much music as she can, visiting local coffee shops, thrifting, reading, and going on long walks.

Lila Reeser is a violist and composer from Parrish, Florida. She began playing at the age of 9 and continued throughout school, with involvement in multiple ensembles around the area.

She received her Bachelor’s of Music in Music Composition and Music Theory from Florida State University where she studied under dr. Pamela Ryan. During her time there, she was heavily involved in orchestra, multiple chamber groups, as well as being a founding member of Florida State University’s New Music Ensemble, Polymorphia. Lila is a strong proponent of new music and loves composing for viola.

Prior to starting her masters at the University of Cincinnati, she worked with the Sarasota Youth Orchestra. Here, she worked with children and enjoyed watching the progress they made every rehearsal and being able to support them in their growth as young musicians.

Lila is currently studying with Dr. Catherine Lees at CCM while she finishes her Master’s Degree in viola performance. She has experience teaching both private lessons and group sectionals. She is looking forward to expanding her studio of violinists, violists, and early composers and to creating a safe environment that inspires students to have fun while learning new skills. In addition to music, Lila enjoys exploring Cincinnati and petting any dogs she can.

Born and raised in Durango, Colorado, violist Nicholas Wilbur holds a Master’s Degree in Viola Performance from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Kenichiro Matsuda. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Viola Performance from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with George Taylor.

Nicholas began playing music at the age of four, originally learning bluegrass fiddling before beginning his studies as a classical violinist with Dr. Kasia Sokol Borup and Dr. Nathan Lambert. He began playing the viola at age twelve, and his teachers include William Foster of the National Symphony Orchestra and Dr. M. Brent Williams.

As an orchestral violist, Nicholas was the youngest member of the San Juan Symphony in two decades, where he played for two seasons before leaving to attend the Eastman School of Music. At Eastman, Nicholas held principal positions in both symphonic and opera orchestras. Nicholas attended both the Summer Music Institute fellowship run by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., and National Orchestral Institute as a full-scholarship fellow. He has worked with renowned conductors including JoAnn Falletta, David Zinman, James Judd, David Alan Miller, Ward Stare, Mark Gibson, and Neil Varon. Nicholas has also been featured in masterclasses and coachings with artists such as C.J. Chang, Daniel Foster, Joan DerHovsepian, Alan Harris, Federico Agostini, David Ying, Robin Scott, and Nicholas Stovall.

As a member of the Antigone Quartet, Nicholas has shared in winning a finalist position in the Glass City Chamber Music Competition as well as Third Prize in the 2022 CCM Chamber Music Competition (the only string quartet to earn a prize).The Antigone Quartet have toured and concertized in the United States and Europe, and were invited to perform in the Southern Illinois Music Festival (SIFest), Musica Malicorne in Le Mans, France, as well as the CCM Atrium Recital Series at the University of Cincinnati.

Nicholas has nearly a decade of experience as a viola and violin instructor and is passionate about helping his students find their own musical voice and developing the technique to express it. In his time away from the viola, Nicholas is an active composer and arranger for a variety of instruments and ensembles. He is also an amateur chef and non-classical music enthusiast. Nicholas performs on a viola made by Stanley Kiernoziak in 2017.

Born in Beijing, China, Muning Wang is currently pursuing her Doctoral Degree in Viola Performance at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (UC/CCM) with conducting as her cognate, where she studies with Catharine Lees and Aik Khai Pung. She also received her Masters Degree in Viola Performance from UC-CCM with Graduate Incentive Award, and Bachelors Degree in Viola Performance from Renmin University of China (RUC), where she studied with Yue Qi.

Muning is a passionate musician, she has been performing as an orchestral violist/violinist in CCM Philharmonia Orchestra, CCM Concert Orchestra, CCM Chamber Orchestra. She was Principal Violist of RUC Youth Philharmonia Orchestra and RUC Youth Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed in Australia, Vienna, Ireland, United States and China with Beijing 101 Middle School Philharmonia Orchestra, RUC Youth Philharmonia Orchestra, CCM Philharmonia and Concert orchestra and Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra.

Muning has attended music festivals such as National Orchestral Institute, Rencontres Musicales Internationales Des Graves, and the Beijing International Music Festival & Academy. She has played in masterclasses for Susan Dubois, Keju Wang. Muning also have teaching experiences for over 5 years of violin and viola, and piano.

Siyu Michael Jiang was born in Shenzhen, China in 1992. At age of 5, he began his violin studies with former concertmaster of Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Jingqi Wu. He started his viola studies at age of 15. He graduated from Shenzhen Arts School in 2013, and studied in Shanghai under the tutelage of Nian Liu (Violist of Imai Viola Quartet), which has had a great impact on his musical development. Michael graduated from CCM (College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati), during his time at CCM, he studied with Prof. Masao Kawasaki, and Prof. Jan Grüning (Violist of Ariel Quartet). Currently, Michael is pursuing his Doctor of Music Arts degree at CCM, studying under Prof. Grüning with full scholarship from the GIA foundation, cognate in chamber music with Alexander Kazovsky (Violinist of Ariel Quartet) and Kristin Lee. Mr. Jiang is active as both a soloist and chamber musician. He has participated in music festivals. On such occasions he had the chance to gain experience in learning with internationally distinguished artists Wing Ho, Dimitri Murrath, Scott Lee, Nicolas Cords, Yura Lee etc. He has given recitals performances both nationally and internationally, including Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Shenzhen Poly Theater, Shanghai Concert Hall, China National Center for the Performing Arts. Hangzhou Grand Theatre. While maintaining a professional performing career, Michael also teaches professional viola student from Shenzhen Arts School since 2014, some of his students have been accepted by Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Shanghai. Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing. Birmingham Conservatoire, UK, etc. Michael can teach student both in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

American born, British-Israeli violist Maya Fields is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music as a two-time recipient of the Graduate Incentive Award, a full tuition scholarship, where she studies with Catharine Lees and Denisse Rodriguez-Rivera. Her prior education includes studies at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music as well as the Eastman School of Music, where she holds Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Viola Performance. Additionally, Ms. Fields earned a minor in Russian language from the University of Rochester.

Born in 1997 into a family of musicians, Maya Fields began her musical studies at the age of four, originally studying violin with Callista Koh at the Cleveland Music School Settlement, before entering the Cleveland Institute of Music's Preparatory Division at the age of eleven, where she switched to the viola and began studying under the tutelage of Cleveland Orchestra violist, Lisa Boyko.

As an orchestral violist, she has held principal viola positions in several orchestras - the Cleveland Institute of Music's Preparatory String Orchestra, Cleveland Heights High School's Symphony Orchestra, Interlochen Arts Camp's Intermediate and World Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, where she was a recipient of the Mark Jackobs endowed chair award, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Eastman School of Music's Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory's Philharmonia Orchestra, and the National Orchestral Institute. She has had the honor of working with renowned conductors such as Marin Alsop, JoAnn Falletta, James Feddeck, Andrew Grams, Giancarlo Guerrero, Louis Langree, Jahja Ling, Brett Mitchell, Ruth Reinhardt, Osmo Vanska, Franz Welser-Most, and David Zinman.

Ms. Fields also holds a number of honors and awards. She is the first prize recipient of the 2011 state of Ohio's Viola Society Competition, a winner of Cleveland Heights High School's 2014 Concerto Competition, and has appeared as a guest artist on Interlochen's Public Radio as well as Cleveland Ohio's WCLV Ideastream. In June, 2019, on behalf of the Cleveland Orchestra, she had the honor of accepting an invitation to perform as a featured guest artist as part of the Cleveland Orchestra's Gourmet Matinee Series at the Blossom Music Center.

She has attended the Interlochen Arts Camp, where she was a recipient of the Emerson Scholarship, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the AIMS Festival, where she was an orchestral fellowship recipient, and the Chautauqua Festival, where she was a two time orchestral fellow.

Maya Fields is a founder of Project Build - Peer Masterclass Series, an online organization founded during the COVID-19 global pandemic, focused on creating, building, and strengthening musicianship through globally interconnected friendships.

Maggie Niekamp, violinist, is a second-year graduate student at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studies with Timothy Lees, former Concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony. Maggie received her BM degree in Violin Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music (May 2019), where she studied with Stephen Rose, principal second violinist of The Cleveland Orchestra, and Brian Lewis.

Maggie started playing the violin at the age of four. Her former teachers include Francesca Chase, Marlene Moses, and Amy Barlowe. Maggie has performed in solo masterclasses for Almita Vamos, Ilya Kaler, David Kim, and for various members of the Cleveland Orchestra, including Sonja Braaten-Molloy and Lembi Veskimets. She has also performed in chamber music masterclasses for former Cleveland Quartet member, Peter Salaff.

An avid orchestral musician, Maggie currently holds the position of section violin in the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. Maggie also serves as a substitute violinist with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, and with The Firelands Symphony in Sandusky, Ohio.

Maggie’s summer music experiences in the last five years include the Meadowmount School of Music (2016), the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra (2017, 2018), and the National Repertory Orchestra (2019). At both Chautauqua and the National Repertory Orchestra,

Maggie was given the opportunity to perform in concerts as Principal Second Violin. This Summer, Maggie plans to return to Breckenridge, Colorado to perform in concerts as a Section Violin Member of the National Repertory Orchestra

Also passionate about teaching, Maggie has gained teaching experience through the Cleveland Institute of Music’s preparatory department, where she assisted with the preparatory orchestras for two years—leading sectionals and assisting the students with their music. Maggie is a registered Suzuki Teacher through Suzuki Violin Books one-four. She took two semesters of Suzuki Pedagogy at the Cleveland Institute of Music, under the tutelage of registered Suzuki Association of the Americas teacher trainer, Kimberly Meier-Sims. Maggie served as violin faculty at Miss Shannon’s music studio in Batesville, Indiana for her first semester at the Cincinnati—College Conservatory of Music in Fall 2019.

In her free time, Maggie enjoys practicing yoga, running, and cooking.

Carmen Granger is an orchestral musician and educator throughout the midwest and has been seen performing with many symphonies and opera companies in Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina. She is currently Principal Violist of the Lima Symphony Orchestra, and has sat as principal viola of Western Piedmont Symphony, Carolina Philharmonic, Fayetteville Symphony, and assistant principal of Greensboro Symphony and Durham Symphony.

Carmen graduated in 2017 with her Bachelor’s in Music Performance from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). During her time at UNCG, she was the principal viola of the Symphony Orchestra for two years and performed with different smaller ensembles within the school, including being the resident violinist/violist of the school’s contemporary music ensemble, Present~Continuous, the Gate City Camerata, Casella Sinfonietta and the UNCG Opera Orchestra. She has also had the pleasure of working with Lynn Harrell, Philip Glass, Molly Ringwald, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. She has performed in masterclasses for Michael Strauss, Pamela Ryan, and Elias Goldstein as well as the Friction Quartet, Daedalus Quartet, and Decoda Quartet.

In 2020, Carmen graduated from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory (CCM) of Music with her Master’s degree in Viola Performance. While she was at CCM, she was principal for the Philharmonia Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra and has performed in masterclasses for Rictor Noren, Amadi Azikiwe, Scott Lee, and Wendy Richman.

In recent years, Carmen has played at the Durham Center for Performing Arts as a guest with the MGP Live tour of The Legend of Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses (2017) as well as Distant Worlds: The Music from Final Fantasy (2018). She has also been an orchestral fellow at National Music Festival (2019) and Sewanee Summer Music Festival (2018). She is currently studying to complete her D.M.A. in Viola from CCM. In her free time, Carmen enjoys playing disc golf, video games, baking, and entertaining her two cats, Yuffie and Clementine.

Dominic Mileti has played viola for the past 16 years, and violin for 6 years. Knowing from a young age his love for music, Dominic attended Interlochen Arts Academy high school where he studied with David Holland and Renee Skerik. After graduating, he pursued his music education at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music studying with Dr. Catherine Lees. During his undergraduate, Dominic was principal and co-principal of the conservatories Philharmonia Orchestra. Dominic attended the Chicago Suzuki Institute in 2016, receiving teacher training with Kathleen Spring. After which, he started his adult teaching career working with multiple studios through the tristate area. Currently, Dominic is finishing his master degree in viola performance from CCM, where he performs on a monthly basis with the Philharmonia, as well as chamber groups in the Cincinnati area and at school. He is currently studying under Denisse Rodriguez from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and has a studio of violin and viola students ranging from six years old to adults in Batesville Indiana that he has been cultivating for the past three years.

Hannah MacNeal began her musical studies at the age of 11 in her hometown, Louisville, Kentucky with Stacey Yates. In 2012, she began attending the Youth Performing Arts Program at DuPont Manual High School for Viola Performance, where she studied with Jason Seber, Daniel Whisler, and Jonathan Mueller, a member of the Louisville Orchestra. During the four years spent there, she performed in the American String Teacher’s Association (ASTA) conference, the Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) conference, and the Indianapolis Music For All Festival. She was also a part of the Louisville Youth Orchestra from 2011 until 2016 and had many regional performance opportunities alongside the Louisville Orchestra. In 2015, she was the only violist in Kentucky selected to be a part of the Kentucky Center’s Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA). These opportunities inspired her to continue her viola performance studies at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) with Dr. Catharine Lees. Throughout her time spent at CCM, she has been a part of countless solo, chamber, and orchestral performances. Hannah has recently performed with the Kentuckiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lima Symphony. Not only has she continued her passion for performance, but she has also fallen in love with teaching. She has several years of teaching experience with a variety of ages and skill level. She loves to share her experiences and hopes to spark the light of music in those around her. She is currently finishing her degree at CCM, teaching private viola and violin lessons, and a part of a touring band, Acarya, where she plays a five- stringed electric viola. They have just released their first album, “The Way Home,” which was produced by Turtle and the Stone Productions. Hannah plans on pursuing a career in violin and viola performance and teaching based on experience, adaptability, and passion for music.

Hannah Schendel is a conductor, violinist and pianist. She began studying violin and piano at the age of 4, and has experience teaching students of all ages and abilities. Originally from Minneapolis, Hannah taught private lessons and coached chamber music ensembles in addition to her duties at Bethel University where she was Director of Orchestras and String Activities.

Hannah recently completed coursework for the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) under the mentorship of Mark Gibson. She holds a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music (Violin) from the University of Minnesota.

Sarah Thomas received her Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, in violin performance from the University of Tulsa and her Master of Music in violin performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, she began her violin studies at the age of three and a half. Despite falling asleep in lessons during the "Twinkle years," she has pursued her passion for music all of her life. Sarah is an alum of the IES Vienna Music Program, where she spent Fall 2015 studying music, performing, and attending concerts. She is also an alumna of the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Brevard Music Center. During her time at the University of Tulsa, Sarah was an active chamber musician and concertmaster of the TU Symphony. Most recently, Sarah was the principal 2nd violinist of CCM's top orchestra, Philharmonia. While at CCM, she participated in the string quartet program coached by the Ariel String Quartet and also performed in numerous student recitals and collaborations. From 2016-2017 she taught elementary school orchestra in Tulsa Public Schools and was the Beginner Strings Teacher at Sistema Tulsa. Sarah teaches private students in the Greater Cincinnati area and is a faculty member of Cincinnati Strings and the Immanuel School of Music in Lakeside Park, KY. Sarah has performed with the Signature Symphony and String Quartet and the Tulsa, Richmond, and Kentucky Symphonies. When not playing violin or teaching, Sarah enjoys gardening, cooking, hanging out with friends, and exploring all the fun things to do in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. 

Born in Beijing, China, Yuanchun Wu is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Violin Performance at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (UC/CCM) and graduated as an honor student for the bachelor’s degree at the CCM as well. She has been studied with multiple professors that could cover different aspects of violin playing during her bachelor's and master’s degrees. Ms. Wu studied with a fantastic violinist Liang Chai, an excellent chamber musician Alexandra Kazovsky from Ariel Quartet, fabulous violin soloist Giora Schmidt, currently a student of a well-known educator Dr. Won-bin Yim and the principal of CSO Stefani Matsuo.

Among the study, Yuanchun has been involved in all kinds of areas in music, such as Chamber music festivals and orchestral violinist in some of the great orchestras in China. Simultaneously, she has a lot of experience in teaching, especially from the age of 4-16. During the years of studying and teaching, Ms. Wu has a good sense of looking at different methods of teaching and trying to find a way that suits the student best.