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.

Mr. Bermudez has been passionate about classical music since he can remember. Although his undergraduate degree was in business, during his time at Southern Adventist University he remained highly active in music. He studied cello with the late Dr. James Stroud, played in the university and local orchestras, established the school’s official string quartet, and produced a daily classical music radio show. After graduation, he formed a chamber ensemble, Con Brio which performed yearly concerts in the Chattanooga, TN area. Mr. Bermudez completed a Master’s degree in Musicology at the University of Maryland with a thesis on the late works of Shostakovich. Most recently, he has completed a second Master’s degree in cello performance, studying with Benjamin Karp at the University of Kentucky. There he performed with the Niles String Quartet, was co-principal of the UK Symphony Orchestra, and is a substitute cellist in the Lexington Philharmonic. This fall he will begin work on his doctoral degree with Ilya Finkelshteyn at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

A native of Cincinnati, Natalie began her violin studies at the age of seven with Mrs. Jacquie Fennell. In middle school and high school, she was a member of Cincinnati Junior Strings and the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra Philharmonic Orchestra where she developed her passion for making music. Natalie is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s in Violin Performance at the College Conservatory of Music where she studies with Timothy Lees. During her freshman year, Natalie placed runner up in the College Conservatory of Music’s Undergraduate Scholarship Competition. Her sophomore year, she served as Principal Second Violin for the CCM Concert Orchestra. During May, 2018, she won third place in the Matinee Musicale Nancy F. Walker Memorial Scholarship Award.

Teaching is one of Natalie’s favorite aspects of playing the violin, so during August 2018, she traveled to Pittsburgh and completed Unit One of the Suzuki Violin Teacher Training program. Natalie plans on pursuing a master’s degree in Violin Performance and a career as a violin teacher and orchestral musician.

Elizabeth Lee began her cello studies with Metta Watts and Thomas Kraines when she was ten in Philadelphia. She has played in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, the Youth Chamber Orchestra of Temple University, and the Settlement Music School as an Advanced Study Scholarship recipient. In 2014, Elizabeth performed concertos with the Lansdowne Symphony and the Ambler Symphony as a recipient of the Elmer and Louise Menges Scholarship. From winning competitions to performing with orchestras, she has appeared in well-known venues including the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and the Seoul Arts Performing Center.

Elizabeth has collaborated onstage with distinguished artists such as Stephen Hough,Joshua Bell, Zuill Bailey, Luis Biava, David Noon, Eric Ewazen, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Additionally, she has performed in masterclasses for Lynn Harrell, the Johannes Quartet, the Penderecki Quartet, and the Dali Quartet. A chamber music enthusiast, Elizabeth devotes her time to her quartet, the Mipmik Quartet, which won a top prize at the Lyric Music Society Chamber Competition and performed in the Mainly Mozart Festival in Miami. On behalf of Lynn Conservatory, she travelled to Jamaica with the Robertson Quartet to coach workshops, perform concerts, and teach masterclasses. She was accepted as a fellow at the Dali Quartet International Music Festival, won a top prize in the concerto competition at Music in the Mountains in Colorado, attended Chautauqua Music Festival as a scholarship recipient, and spent this past summer at Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. She also performs regularly as a member of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. Elizabeth graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in cello performance studying with David Cole at Lynn University. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree with Alan Rafferty at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Shelby Thompson is in demand as a chamber and orchestral violist and as a teacher. She has performed with members of the Leipzig Radio Symphony in the Leipzig Gewandhaus and members of the Houston Symphony domestically. During her undergraduate degree at the University of Houston, Shelby was principal violist of the symphony, opera, and ballet orchestras at the Moores School of Music. She has been a frequent guest with the Tallahassee and Albany Symphonies and served as principal of the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra. During her master’s Shelby served as violist of the Eppes String Quartet at Florida State University. An avid proponent of new music, Shelby has appeared as soloist with the AURA New Music Ensemble and collaborates frequently with the Society of Composers, Inc. at FSU.

Shelby’s experience beginning viola in her elementary school orchestra in her native Alexandria, VA has driven her enthusiasm for teaching. She is a Suzuki-certified teacher and maintains a private studio of young viola and violin students. Shelby is currently pursuing a doctorate at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Dr. Catharine Lees Previously, Shelby studied with Wayne Brooks at the University of Houston and Dr. Pamela Ryan at Florida State University.

Risa Kaneko is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music as a full-scholarship student under the guidance of James Tocco. She began her musical education with the Yamaha program at the age of 4 and started to play the piano at age 7. Before moving to Cincinnati, she spent several years in Bloomington, Indiana, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance under the guidance of Evelyne Brancart and her Master’s under legendary pianist André Watts.

As a teacher, Risa enjoys sharing her passion and knowledge about piano playing with all kinds of students. She has been on the faculty of the Pre-College Piano Program at Indiana University Bloomington, Jacobs School of Music where she taught students of various ages and levels. In the past few summers, she has worked for their Piano Academy program for serious young pianists. Risa has also taught group piano class to non-music majors as an Associate Instructor of Piano at Indiana University.

Born in Japan, Risa moved to the States when she was seven and grew up in the Washington, D.C. area where she studied with Marjorie Lee. Outside of music, she enjoys running and loves dogs and all kinds of food.

Sarah Huesman is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and began studying cello at the age of 6. While attending high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Sarah was a member of the Jia String Quartet, a semi-finalist at the 2013 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana. She studied privately with Brooks Whitehouse during her time at UNC School of the Arts.

Sarah recently graduated with a Bachelors of Music from the University of Miami Frost School of Music. She was an active member of the Stamps String Quartet, Frost Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Ibis (Contemporary Music), and occasionally played with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra. Sarah has performed in masterclasses for Zuill Bailey, Paul Watkins, and Sir James Galway.

Huesman’s summer studies and festival experiences have included participation in the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music, and the International Music Festival of the Adriatic (IMFA) in Duino, Italy. More recently, she attended the Castleman Quartet Program in 2015 and 2016 and the National Music Festival in 2017. Sarah is currently a Masters student at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati and a student of Alan Rafferty.

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. 

Jason Colón is a Violin and Piano teacher from Dallas, Texas. After getting his Bachelors of Arts in Music Performance from the University of North Texas, he now teaches in Cincinnati while pursuing his Masters in Violin performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a Graduate Assistant. As a classically trained musician of over 17 years, Jason provides a flexible, yet comprehensive approach to teaching. With years of experience privately teaching and performing with ensembles around the country, Jason aims to inspire a generation of musicians, and help them find their place in the musical world.

A native of South Korea, Violinist and Instructor Dr. Yein Jin earned both the Master of Music and Doctoral of Music Arts degrees in violin performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with University Graduate Scholarship Award under Piotr Milewski. She also studied Chamber music with Sandra Rivers, Lee Fiser, James Tocco and William Grubb.
Dr. Jin is an active chamber and orchestra musician. She has performed at Music 08 festival with Steve Reich, Grandin Festival, "Daniel Drake Medal Ceremony" by College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, and "The sights, sounds and tastes of Korea" Festival in Cincinnati Women's Club. As an orchestra player she was in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s training program, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Currently Dr. Jin is a member of the  Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharonic Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

Korea-born violist Ye Jin Goo and when moved to Canada in 2005, she has participated and won numerous awards in competitions including All-TV Music competition, Kiwanis Music Festival and Burlington Rotary Music Festival and many more. Recently, she performed the Stamitz Viola concerto with the AD Hoc Orchestra at Bloomington. She has also participated prestigious summer festivals including Orfrord, Tangelwood, New York String Quartet Seminar and many others. Throughout her career, she was invited to participated in masterclasses with Roberto Diaz, Kim Kashkashian, Misha Amory, Atar Arad, James Dunham, and many others. After earning a Bachelor of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Carol Rodland, and Master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music, under the tutelage of Edward Gazouleas, she is currently pursuing Doctorate of Music at University of Cincinnati, under the tutelage of Jan Gruning. As an active regular member at Civic Orchestra of Chicago and member of Northwest Indiana Symphony, she is also a substitute member of Columbus Symphony, and Milwaukee Symphony. Other than performance side, Ye Jin is also an advocate teacher which she teaches numerous students from Taiwan, Milwaukee, Chicago and Cincinnati area.

J. Joshua Kim is a recent graduate from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with an Artist Diploma degree in cello performance. In 2020, He graduated with a Master’s degree studying under Alan Rafferty. Kim began his cello studies at the age of five under tutelage of Samuel Woodward, a former student of the late Pablo Casals. Kim continued to advance his studies under Dr. Alexander Russakovsky of University of Southern Mississippi. During this transition,

Kim’s musical and technical ability exceptionally grew and decided to pursue music as a career. At the age of thirteen, Kim was able to perform as a soloist with the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra performing the finale of Haydn’s C Major concerto. Shortly after, he had his first professional solo debut with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra performing the last movement of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Kim was a prizewinner in several competitions including the Lois Pickard Competition, Birmingham Music Club Scholarship Competition and the Louisiana Philharmonic Concerto Competition. Recently, he placed second prize in the CCM Chamber Music Competition with his piano trio.

In 2018, Kim received his Bachelor’s degree as a full scholarship student at the University of Alabama under the tutelage of Carlton McCreery. During his undergraduate studies, Kim was given the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Alabama Symphony. In result of winning the University’s Concerto Competition in 2018, Kim performed Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with the Huxford Symphony under the baton of Dr. Blake Richardson. In his final year at University of Alabama, Kim won the section cello position with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra. He has been a tenure member since 2019. Kim serves as a substitute cellist for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, and Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Kim has attended prestigious music festivals such as Meadowmount School of Music, Green Mountain Music Festival, and Eastern Music Festival. He has received masterclasses from Yo-Yo Ma, Andres Diaz, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Stephen Geber, Mark Kosower, Melissa Kraut, and Sara Sant’Ambrogio. Kim performs on an 1844 Gaetano Guadagnini cello.

Originally from central Virginia, Robert studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) with the internationally acclaimed pianist Soyeon Kate Lee. Recently, Robert was a fellow at the Gilmore Festival and PianoFest in the Hamptons during the summer of 2022. This September, Robert began his Artist Diploma at CCM.

 Robert has performed in Spain, Germany, Netherlands, and throughout the United States. He has participated in the Saarburg and Bowdoin International Chamber Music Festivals, Art of the Piano in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Gijón International Piano Festival, and the International Holland Music Sessions. Robert has also appeared in masterclasses with renowned artists such as Emanuel Ax, Jeremy Denk, Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Awadagin Pratt, Boris Slutsky, and Wei Yi Yang.

 A devoted collaborative and chamber musician, Robert proudly served as the collaborative artist for Hear Us Hear Them, a choir based in Cincinnati with the mission to highlight works by underrepresented and marginalized composers, during its 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. Additionally, Robert is a member of the Rhine Piano Trio, along with violinist Kristine Clair Uchi Galano and cellist Juneho Josh Kim. While Robert has primarily coached with acclaimed violinist Kristin Lee, previous coaches have included Masumi Per Rostad, Ian Swensen, and Dror Biran. Robert has won numerous awards, recently including second prize in the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artists Competition and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Competition. Previous collaborative and concert engagements have included the James Madison University Wind Symphony and the Rapidan Orchestra as soloist, as well as the James Madison University Opera Theatre and Treble Chamber Choir.

 Prior to his studies with Soyeon Kate Lee, Robert received his Bachelor’s of Music degree from James Madison University magna cum laude with Paulo Steinberg, along with minors in Mathematics and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. Previous teacher’s also include Emily Yap Chua and Nicholas Ross in Lynchburg, Virginia. Besides piano, Robert enjoys creative and academic writing, baking, coffee, and relaxing with his cat, Olive.

Morgan Hunkele is currently a graduate student at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, under the instruction of Ran Dank. She began her piano studies at age eleven and completed high-school and undergraduate study at the North Carolina School of the Arts with Dmitri Shteinberg. She has studied and performed at Meadowmount School of Music, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, Baltimore International Piano Festival, Vivace International Music Festival, and Bowdoin International Music Festival.  

A recipient of the UNCSA Chancellor’s Excellence Award and a full-scholarship student at Cincinnati Conservatory, Ms. Hunkele has been a prizewinner in the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Charlotte Steinway Piano Competition, the Greensboro Euterpe Club Instrumental Competition, the Triad Institute Young Artist Competition, the North Carolina Bach Festival Young Artist Competition, and for four consecutive years in the North Carolina MTNA Piano Competitions. She has also been a finalist in the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition. She has appeared as a guest artist in the Music for a Great Space Concert series, as a soloist with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, as a returning guest artist of the North Carolina Bach Festival, and as a featured pianist alongside the Winston-Salem Festival Ballet for the performance of three Rakowski etudes. Before joining Cincinnati Strings, Ms. Hunkele served on faculty at the UNCSA Community Music School and as a vocal accompanist at Wake Forest University. A proponent of an accessible and atypical concert experience, her 2018 program, “The Creativity Workshop,” was featured in The Independent Tribune. Her students have received recognition at the North Carolina School of the Arts Junior Classical Sonata Competition and perform in recitals regularly. 

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.

Lacee Link is an accomplished cellist with extensive experience in performance, teaching, and education. She recently completed her Master’s degree at Miami University, where she studied under Dr. Sarah Kim and served as a Graduate Assistant. Lacee is an active performer with the Cincinnati Community Orchestra, showcasing her talent and passion for music. Before Miami University, Lacee earned another Master’s degree from Boise State University, where she studied with Dr. Brian Hodges and was a member of the Graduate String Quartet. During her time at Boise State, she performed as a substitute cellist with the Boise Philharmonic, won first prize in the Concerto-Aria competition, and managed her own private studio. Lacee’s academic journey began with a Bachelor’s degree from Kennesaw State University, where she studied under Charae Krueger. At Kennesaw State, she was a member of the John and Linda Cooke Scholarship Quartet and performed as a substitute cellist with the Georgia Symphony and LaGrange Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her performance career, Lacee is a dedicated cello instructor. She teaches at the Virginia Pearce Glick Music Academy in Oxford, West Chester Academy, City Strings in Cincinnati, and offers private lessons at Princeton Middle School. She is also a faculty member at the Oxford Summer Music Institute, where she coaches chamber music and teaches private lessons. Lacee has enriched her skills through masterclasses with esteemed cellists such as Zuill Bailey, Dr. Melissa Kraut, Myron Lutzke, Daniel Laufer, and Greg Sauer. She has also received chamber music instruction from the Vega String Quartet, Dali Quartet, and the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet. Her commitment to excellence is further demonstrated by her participation in summer music institutes such as Brevard Music Center, Green Mountain Chamber Festival, and the Ascent Dual Program, where she received merit-based and full-ride scholarships. With a blend of teaching, performance, and academic achievements, Lacee Link continues to inspire and contribute to the world of music.

Chia-Jui He is a  flutist and pianist from Tainan, Taiwan. Chia-Jui studied at College-Conservatory of Music University of Cincinnati and National Chiayi University. Her teachers included Dr. Bradely Garner, Dr. Tzu-Ying Lin, Anders Norell, Yu Hui Lin and Li-Xiang Lee.
As a music instructor Ms. He has more than 10 years teaching experience both in Flute and Piano. She creates her particular teaching methods to adapt to various  students of all ages and she believes that truly enjoying the music is the best way to keep the student interested in learning. Under her instruction, students have been members of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Youth orchestra,
All-State Ensemble of Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) and achieved top places in national competitions and high levels for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).
As a musician, Chia-Jui is also very active in all kinds of music performances. Recent performance activities are around the world which includes in Taiwan, Japan, China, Cincinnati, Dayton, New York City and Malibu, California. Chia-Jui has served as a church pianist in Sharon Baptist Church since 2010 and was an Adjunct faculty in flute performance of University of Dayton, flute sectional teacher in Kings High School and Cincinnati Hills Christian academy. Currently, Chia-Jui is a doctorate candidate of College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.

Skylar Hansen is an active orchestral violinist and chamber musician based out of Cincinnati, OH. She has performed in various notable orchestras including the National Orchestral Institute and Festival, Lexington Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and Brevard Music Center Orchestra. Additionally, she is passionate about historical performance and has performed with groups like Seven Hills Baroque Ensemble. She has recently been granted the Instrumental Scholar position in the prestigious group, The Bach Ensemble at St. Thomas. Skylar has also enjoyed performing internationally, receiving the Melick-Hart Instrumentalist Award at the Prague Summer Nights Music Festival. Along with performing in ensembles, she has enjoyed performing in masterclasses for Nathan Cole, Marc Ravetti, Jennifer Ross, Amy Oshiro-Morales, along with members of the Nashville Symphony. 

Ms. Hansen received her Bachelor’s Degree at Belmont University studying with Alison Gooding-Hoffman. She received her Master’s Degree at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Timothy Lees, former concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. She continues to study with Professor Lees as she works towards an Artist Diploma. 

When she is not performing, Skylar is passionate about educating, spending time with her friends and family, crocheting, and video games. 

Jennifer is an experienced violin and viola teacher with a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Catharine Carroll. Jennifer is also experienced as a Suzuki violin parent and her students appreciate her varied perspectives on violin and practicing. An expert at fitting violin into today's busy lifestyles, she has developed unique tools to allow music to complement your schedule. Jennifer is also a music historian and strongly believes that greater knowledge about music broadens student perspectives.

Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Kanako Shimasaki of Springfield, Ohio, began studying violin at the age of four.  As a soloist, she has been featured on Discover Classical 88.1, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC and has appeared as guest soloist with the National Symphony Summer Music Institute Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, CCM Philharmonia and Artaria Ensemble, and Great Wall Soloists.

Kanako is a founding member of “Three,” a collaborative trio with Luke Gillespie, Professor of Piano/Jazz at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and her sister, Mariko. Together, they perform in concert series’ around Japan and the United States, most recently appearing at the Millennium Stage in DC, John Legend Theater, and the Kyoto City International Foundation.  

Kanako received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees, and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree, all with full scholarships, from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM.) She currently serves as a teaching assistant and is on the faculty in CCM’s Preparatory Department.