Alexander Barantschik began his tenure as San Francisco Symphony Concertmaster in September 2001 and holds the Naoum Blinder Chair. Former concertmaster of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany, London Symphony Orchestra, and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, he has also been an active soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe. He has collaborated in chamber music with André Previn, Antonio Pappano, and Mstislav Rostropovich. As leader of the LSO, Mr. Barantschik toured Europe, Japan, and the United States; performed as soloist; and served as concertmaster for major symphonic cycles with Michael Tilson Thomas, Rostropovich, and Bernard Haitink. He was also concertmaster for Pierre Boulez’s year-long, three-continent seventy-fifth birthday celebration.

Born in Russia, Mr. Barantschik attended the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and went on to perform with the major Russian orchestras, including the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic. His awards include first prize in the International Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland, and in the Russian National Violin Competition. Since joining the San Francisco Symphony, Mr. Barantschik has led the Orchestra in several programs and appeared as soloist in concertos and other works by Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Walton, Piazzolla, and Schnittke, among others. Mr. Barantschik is a member of the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he teaches graduate students from around the world in a special concertmaster program. Through an arrangement with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Mr. Barantschik has the exclusive use of the 1742 Guarnerius del Gesù violin once owned by the virtuoso Ferdinand David, who is believed to have played it in the world premiere of the Mendelssohn E-minor Violin Concerto in 1845. It was also the favorite instrument of the legendary Jascha Heifetz, who acquired it in 1922 and who bequeathed it to the Fine Arts Museums, with the stipulation that it be played only by artists worthy of the instrument and its legacy.
 

November 2022

Jason Issokson joins the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Concertmaster, holding the San Francisco Symphony Foundation Chair, with the 2025–26 season. He has served as a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 2019.  Concerto highlights include engagements with the Fort Worth Symphony, Aspen Concert Orchestra, Waco Symphony, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, East Texas Symphony Orchestra, Great Falls Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra di Teatro San Carlo, and the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italiae, among others. 

Over the past decade Issokson has performed extensively string quartets, first as a founding member of the Argus Quartet and subsequently as the second violinist of the Rolston String Quartet.

Issokson was awarded the top prize at the International Violin Competition “Andrea Postacchini,” third prize at the International Alberto Curci Violin Competition, and the prize for best performance of a commissioned work at the International Max Rostal Competition. Chamber music honors include first prizes at the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Competition. 

He studied with Midori at the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Southern California.

WYATT UNDERHILL joined the San Francisco Symphony as Assistant Concertmaster in 2018. He was previously assistant concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony, substitute concertmaster with the New Haven Symphony, and associate concertmaster of Symphony in C. Founding first violinist of the Blue Hill String Quartet, he was a top prizewinner in the Irving M. Klein International Competition for Strings.

Jeremy Constant, Assistant Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony, came to the Orchestra in 1984 after having served in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra since 1980. A native of Toronto, he studied with Ivan Galamian at Juilliard and Itzhak Perlman at Brooklyn College, and in 1979 he won Grand Prize in the Du Maurier Competition in Canada. Mr. Constant serves as Concertmaster of both the Marin Symphony and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony and is a founding member of the Navarro Trio. He has been a member of the Donatello String Quartet and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and served as concertmaster of the Mendocino Music Festival. Mr. Constant plays the 1700 ex-Heberlein-Taylor Stradivarius violin, which was donated to the San Francisco Symphony for his exclusive use. For more on Jeremy Constant, visit sfsymphony.org/jeremyconstant.

(September 2018)

MARIKO SMILEY began violin studies at age six with her father, David Smiley, who was a violist with the SF Symphony. She joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1982 and was for many years a member of the Aurora String Quartet.

Melissa Kleinbart, occupant of the Katharine Hanrahan Chair, joined the SFS in 1998 after serving as associate concertmaster with the San Francisco Opera orchestra and assistant concertmaster with the Vancouver Symphony. In addition to solo appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, and New York Symphonic Ensemble, Ms. Kleinbart has been a participant at the Marlboro and Tanglewood music festivals and has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she performs and teaches with the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

(September 2018)

Olivia Chen joined the San Francisco Symphony’s second violin section at the beginning of the 2023–24 season. Born in Houston and a longtime resident of Maryland, she began her violin studies at the age of four. She was a Tanglewood fellow for two summers, serving as concertmaster of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. She has also performed with the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and with the Baltimore Symphony. Ms. Chen pursued her undergraduate studies at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she won the Marbury Violin Competition, the Melissa Tiller Violin Prize, and the Sidney Friedberg Prize in chamber music. Her teachers include Herbert Greenberg and Victor Danchenko.

Yun Chu joined the SFS violin section in 2002. He received his early training at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and served as concertmaster on two concert tours with the Asian Youth Orchestra under Sergiu Commissiona, where he also performed as soloist with Yo-Yo Ma. While a student at the University of Southern California (where he received the Jascha Heifetz scholarship), he was selected to participate in the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany, and was subsequently appointed concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra. Learn more about Yun Chu at sfsymphony.org/yunchu.

(September 2018)

Naomi Kazama Hull
Violin
Member since 1998
Hometown: Yokohama, Japan

Music studies:
I left Japan when I was 18 to study at the Vienna Hochschule. I was planning to be there for just three or four years to finish school. But then I started to do a lot of chamber music, and to get more involved in orchestral playing, and three years became nine years. I was pretty much set to live there for my whole life, until I got the opportunity to come to Florida and play in MTT’s New World Symphony.

On being in the Orchestra:
Playing in an orchestra, you get so many different ideas from the musicians and conductors around you. In doing that, your vision gets wider. If you play solos all the time, you develop your own strong sense of how you want to play; but here, you have to be more flexible, and I like that. After we play a really great concert, it is a great feeling to know that I contributed one little part to something that became a really fine production.

Favorite composer:
I love the music of Brahms. I think that his pieces are well-structured and complex, and also have such beautiful melodies. To me Brahms’s music is very romantic and I get emotional playing it.

 

A native of Seoul, Korea, In Sun Jang began studying violin and piano at age four. She graduated from the Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory, where she studied with Donald Weilerstein. A top prize winner at the International Henryk Szeryng Violin Competition, she made her Korean recital debut in 2000 at the Kumho Art Center in Seoul and her Japanese recital debut in 2004, playing at the Airefu Hall in Fukuoka and at the Cultural hall in Shiida. She has appeared as a soloist with the New World Symphony, Puchon Philharmonic, and the Nanpa Festival Orchestra. In 2001, by special invitation of Isaac Stern, Ms. Jang performed at Carnegie Hall as part of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop. She has collaborated with leading artists, such as Menahem Pressler, Thomas Adès, and Orion String Quartet among others. Her numerous engagements as a chamber musician have taken her to renowned venues in Asia and America such as Jordan Hall in Boston, Yellow Barn Music Festival in Vermont, Miyazaki Prefectural Arts Center in Japan, and the Seoul Art Center and LG Art Center in Korea. Prior to joining the San Francisco Symphony in 2011, she was a concertmaster with the New World Symphony.

(September 2018)

Jeein Kim joins the San Francisco Symphony as Section First Violin at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. She was previously a member of the Korean National Symphony Orchestra and has been a substitute musician with the Chicago Symphony.

As a soloist, Kim has performed with Praha Hradec Kralove Philharmonic Orchestra, Yonsei University Orchestra, Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, JK Chamber Orchestra, and Northwest Sinfonietta. She studied at Yale School of Music, New England Conservatory, and Yonsei University, and attended the Taos School of Music, Heifetz Summer Institute, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. She has won top prizes at the Menuhin Competition, Seoul International Music Competition, and Northwest Sinfonietta Youth Competition.

Yvette Kraft joined the first violin section of the San Francisco Symphony in the 2025–26 season, and holds the Isaac Stern Chair. She was the winner of both the 2024 Aspen Music Festival Violin Concerto Competition and the 2024 DeLay Fellowship Award. Internationally, she placed second at the 2020 Grumiaux International Violin Competition in Brussels, was a semifinalist in the 2019 Louis Spohr International Violin Competition in Weimar, and was a 2023 Frances Walton Competition solo winner. She is an NPR From the Top Fellow and has collaborated with artists such as Augustin Hadelich, Gil Shaham, Arnaud Sussman, Jon Kimura Parker, and Jeremy Denk. Kraft was the concertmaster of the 2024 New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall. She has soloed with numerous orchestras including the Seattle Symphony, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and Spokane Symphony. After studying with Simon James, she completed her studies as a student of Robert Lipsett at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, winning the 2025 Frances Rosen Prize upon graduation.

Suzanne Leon joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1990. Following her graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music, she spent five years in France, where she served as concertmaster of the Orchestre International de Paris and taught at the Sorbonne. Ms. Leon has toured as a member of the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed chamber music frequently with her SFS colleagues, including pre-concert performances and a concert at San Francisco’s Chinese Cultural Center. She has two children with her husband, former SFS violinist Dan Nobuhiko Smiley. For more on Suzanne Leon, visit sfsymphony.org/suzanneleon.

(September 2018)

Leor Maltinski has been a member of the SFS since 2003. Born in Tel Aviv in 1976, he began playing violin at age six. He studied with Igor Polesitsky in Florence from 1985 to 1993 and then moved to the United States to continue his musical education, first at the Curtis Institute and then at Indiana University. He has also studied at the Juilliard School and the Peabody Conservatory. Mr. Maltinski has won prizes at several competitions, including first prize at the 1999 Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, an award that enabled him to present violin recitals and perform with orchestras throughout the US and Europe.

(September 2018)

Florin Parvulescu joined the San Francisco Symphony first violins in 1998. A native of Romania, he was previously a member of the St. Louis Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, won the 1993 Marbury Competition at the Peabody Conservatory, and was a prizewinner in the 1994 Yale Gordon Concerto Competition. He also attended the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival.

Victor Romasevich was born in Minsk, Belarus, and started piano studies with his mother, Lena Lubotsky, at the age of four. He entered the Gnesin Music School in Moscow at age five as a violin student of Mikhail Garlitsky and later studied with Rostislav Dubinsky of the Borodin Quartet, Boris Belenky at the Moscow Conservatory and, following his emigration to the United States in 1977, at Juilliard with Ivan Galamian. In 1979 he became a violin and viola pupil of the composer and philosopher Iosif Andriasov. Winner of the Gina Bachauer Prize at the 1985 J.S. Bach International Competition in Washington DC, Mr. Romasevich joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Viola in 1990, and in 1992 moved to the first violin section.

Catherine Van Hoesen joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1980. She has been heard as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Colorado Philharmonic, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. A native of Rochester, NY, she received degrees from the Juilliard School and the Eastman School of Music and her teachers have included Norma Auzin, Zvi Zeitlin, Eileen Malone (harp), Vincent Lenti (piano), Ivan Galamian, Margaret Pardee, William Lincer, and David Nadien. In addition to playing in the San Francisco Symphony, Ms. Van Hoesen teaches at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Dan Carlson joined the SFS in 2006. He currently serves as Principal Second Violin, occupying the Dinner & Swig Families Chair. He previously served as rotating concertmaster for the New World Symphony and he has made solo appearances with the Phoenix Symphony, Chicago String Ensemble, New World Symphony, and the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he has performed chamber music extensively throughout New York. Mr. Carlson performs and teaches with the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

Jungeun Shin joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Second Violin at the beginning of the 2026–27 season. Previously based in Germany, she served as first concertmaster of the Augsburg Philharmonic and performed with the Bavarian Radio Symphony as a first violinist and academy fellow. She also appeared as guest first concertmaster with the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and served as principal second violin of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra. In South Korea, she has appeared as first concertmaster of the Seoul Arts Center International Music Festival Orchestra.

As a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, Shin has performed in both Germany and South Korea, including appearances with Sinfonietta Dachau, the Kumho Young Artist Concert Series, and the AUX Trio.

A native of South Korea, Shin began studying the violin at the age of four and was a prizewinner in several Korean violin competitions. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Seoul National University and a master’s degree from the University of Music and Theater Munich, where she also was a part of the Meisterklasse postgraduate program.

Jessie Fellows is Assistant Principal Second Violin with the San Francisco Symphony and holds the Audrey Avis Aasen-Hull Chair. Prior to her appointment, she performed frequently with both the Saint Louis Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. Her summer festival appearances include Bravo! Vail, Lakes Area Music Festival, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Spoleto USA, and the Aspen Music Festival. Fellows received her bachelor’s degree from the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University and her master’s degree as a Jerome Greene Fellow at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Ida Kavafian

POLINA SEDUKH, a native of Saint Petersburg, Russia, joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2007. She was previously a member of the Boston Symphony and made her solo debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Liepaya in Latvia at age of seven, followed by recital tours in US, Germany, and Austria.

Raushan Akhmedyarova is a native of Kazakhstan and comes from a family of musicians. She won first prize at the National Violin Competi- tion of Kazakhstan, the International Competition of Asia in Tashkent, the UNISA International Competition in Pretoria, and the Geneva International Competition. She graduated from the Kazakh State Conservatory and studied privately at the Moscow Conservatory, and in 1994 she received a full scholarship to study at Southern Methodist University. Ms. Akhmedyarova was previously associate concertmaster of the New Century Chamber Orchestra and on the faculty of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra. She joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2006. For more about Raushan Akhmedyarova, visit sfsymphony.org/raushanakhmedyarova.

 

David Chernyavsky joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2009. Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, he began violin studies at the age of six and at eleven gave his first solo recital. After winning prizes in competitions in Russia and France, he entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. In 1997, Mr. Chernyavsky came to the US to study at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and, later, at the Juilliard School. He has recorded several CDs with the Saint Petersburg Quartet and with the Joel Rubin Klezmer Music Ensemble, and he has released a solo CD, Klezmer Violin. He also performs and teaches with the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

(September 2018)

John Chisholm joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2002. He was previously associate concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra, a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, and assistant concertmaster of the Sunriver Music Festival.

A student of Zvi Zeitlin, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Isidor Lateiner, Mr. Chisholm earned his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and a performance certificate from the Eastman School of Music, and was concertmaster at Music Academy of the West

Jane (Hyeon Jin) Cho joined the San Francisco Symphony second violin section in the 2025–26 season. She was a finalist in the 2022 16th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition.

Born in South Korea, Cho began violin lessons at the age of six and studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School in the United Kingdom and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. She earned her bachelor’s degree with first class honors from the Royal College of Music in London, a master of music at the Juilliard School, and an artist diploma from the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium.

Cho has collaborated with artists including Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Augustin Dumay, Gary Hoffman, Miguel da Silva, and Pamela Frank, and recorded her debut CD of Debussy’s string quartet with Augustin Dumay, Miguel da Salva, and Henri Demarquette. She also has performed as a substitute musician with the New York Philharmonic. She performs on a Giuseppe Nadotti violin, made in Piacenza, Italy, ca. 1775.

Cathryn Down joined the San Francisco Symphony as an acting member in 1994 and became a permanent member of the violin section in 2001. A Bay Area native, she played for two years with the SFS Youth Orchestra and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory. Ms. Down began her professional career in Europe as a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, and she also served as associate concertmaster of the Baden-Baden Orchestra and assistant concertmaster of the National Orchestra of Belgium. After returning to the Bay Area, she played with the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Sacramento Symphony prior to joining the SFS.

(September 2018)

Kingston Ho joins the San Francisco Symphony’s second violin section with the 2025–26 season. He recently completed a master’s degree at the Colburn School of Music, where he studied with Robert Lipsett. Previously, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, where he studied with Cornelia Heard.

A native of New Jersey, Ho began playing violin at the age of five. He has served as concertmaster of the Verbier Festival Orchestra and was a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival. He was also previously a member of the New York String Orchestra Seminar and National Youth Orchestra of the USA, where he played in a side-by-side concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

As a part of the Eunoia Quartet, he won first prize at the MTNA National Chamber Music Competition. He has also been a winner of the Vanderbilt University Concerto Competition and National YoungArts Foundation Competition, special prize recipient at the Fritz Kreisler Competition, semifinalist at the Premio Paganini Competition, and quarterfinalist at the Queen Elisabeth, Michael Hill, and Carl Nielsen competitions.

Kum Mo Kim has been a violinist with the San Francisco Symphony since 1975, having joined the Orchestra after four years in the National Symphony. A native of Korea, where her mother was a concert pianist and her father was music director of the Seoul Philharmonic, she won the National Young People’s Competition at age eleven. Ms. Kim graduated from the University of Michigan and earned her master’s degree from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay. She is active in chamber music and has performed as soloist with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. For more on Kum Mo Kim, visit sfsymphony.org/kummokim.

 

(September 2018)

Kelly Leon-Pearce, a member of the SFS since 1990, holds degrees from the Juilliard School of Music, where her teachers included Dorothy DeLay and Felix Galimir. She has served as a regular substitute of the New York Philharmonic and as associate and assistant concertmaster of the Aspen Festival Orchestra. As a founding member of the Persichetti Quartet, she played the cycle of Persichetti quartets at Kennedy Center and a Bartók cycle at MoMA in New York. For more on Kelly Leon-Pearce, visit sfsymphony.org/kellyleon-pearce.

(May 2018)

Chen Zhao joined the San Francisco Symphony second violin section in 2000 and was previously a member of the New World Symphony. He is also a professor of violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a violin coach for the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra.

As a soloist, Zhao has appeared with the SF Symphony, SF Symphony Youth Orchestra, Camellia Symphony, Oslo Chamber Orchestra, Stanford Symphony, Cal Poly Symphony, UC Davis Symphony, and Curtis Symphony. He has also toured extensively across the United States, Europe, and Asia, including appearances at the Ravinia Festival, La Jolla Music Society, Sun Valley Music Festival, Round Top, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Evian Rencontres Musicicales, Pacific Crest Music Festival, BBC Proms, and Lucerne Festival.

Zhao is a native of Shanghai and showed an early interest in music, playing a makeshift violin—a chopstick and pencil box—until receiving a one-eighth-size violin on his fourth birthday. He studied with his uncle Ronghao Nie and gave his first public performance at the Shanghai Children’s Palace at age six. He later studied at the Shanghai Conservatory, Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, Curtis Institute of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His teachers include Jiaxiang Zhou, Jiyang Zhao, Heiichiro Ohyama, Felix Galimir, and Camilla Wicks, along with members of the Amadeus, Guarneri, Vermeer, Juilliard, and Borodin quartets.

Jonathan Vinocour joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Viola in 2009 and was previously principal viola of the St. Louis Symphony and guest principal of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Chicago Symphony. He has frequently soloed with the SF Symphony and has also played concertos with the St. Louis Symphony, La Jolla Music Society, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and New World Symphony. With NWS, he is also a frequent coach and was a featured artist at their Viola Visions Festival alongside Tabea Zimmerman, Kim Kashkashian, Roberto Diaz, and Cynthia Phelps.
 
As a chamber musician, Mr. Vinocour is a regular guest of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, Marlboro Music Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Salt Bay Chamberfest, and ChamberFest Cleveland. His chamber music partners have included Yefim Bronfman, Yo-Yo Ma, Augustin Hadelich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Igor Levit, and James Ehnes, among others. He also performs frequently on the SF Symphony Chamber Music Series and as a recitalist around the country.  
 
Mr. Vinocour graduated from Princeton University with a degree in chemistry and from New England Conservatory, where he studied with Kim Kashkashian. An active and dedicated teacher, he serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as the Aspen Music Festival and School. He plays on a 1784 Lorenzo Storioni viola on loan from the SF Symphony.
 
(1/2024)

Katie Kadarauch joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2007 as Assistant Principal Viola. A native of the Bay Area, she was principal viola of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra and earned a bachelor’s degree and graduate diploma from the New England Conservatory. She also studied at the Colburn School, during which time she performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and recorded film scores. She plays on a Peter Rombouts viola ca.1720, on loan from the SF Symphony.

Katarzyna Bryla joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section beginning with the 2022–23 season and is currently Acting Assistant Principal. She was born into a family of musicians and has earned more than two dozen prizes and awards in the US, France, and her native Poland. In 2019 she became a co-principal violist of Orchestra of St. Luke’s and a member of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. She has also been a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the New York Pops. She has performed at Classical Tahoe, Napa Valley Music Festival, and Music@Menlo.

Leonid Plashinov-Johnson joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Previously a member of the St. Louis Symphony, he is a laureate of multiple competitions, most recently the Primrose International Viola Competition, and has participated in the Yellow Barn, Ravinia, and AIMS festivals. Born in Russia, he graduated from New England Conservatory, where he won the concerto competition.

Gina Cooper joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section in 1992, having served previously as a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic. A native of Ardsley, NY, she began her musical studies on piano and holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. 

(September 2019)

David Gaudry, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, joined the San Francisco Symphony’s viola section in 1982. A graduate of Indiana University, he also studied at the Vancouver Academy of Music and at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Prior to joining the SFS he was a member of the Vancouver Symphony.

(September 2018)

David Kim joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2009. He attended the Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, and—as a recipient of the 2007-08 Fulbright/Swiss Government Arts Grant—the Geneva Conservatory. Mr. Kim was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and has been a member of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the IRIS Orchestra. His chamber music engagements have included performances at the Musée du Louvre, Ravinia’s Rising Stars Series, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

(September 2018)

Christina King, a native of Newport Beach, CA, joined the SFS in 1996. She has been a member of the Tucson Symphony and served as principal viola in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony. Prior to those positions, she played with various orchestras in Mexico City. Ms. King is a graduate of Barnard College/Columbia University, where she pursued a degree in English while studying violin and viola at the Manhattan School of Music. She was later granted a fellowship to Northwestern University, where she earned her master’s degree.

(September 2018)

Nanci Severance has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony since 1982. Before joining the Orchestra she attended Oberlin College, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and Northern Illinois University and her primary teachers were Denes Koromzay and Bernard Zaslav. Ms. Severance has appeared with and been a member of many Bay Area ensembles, including the Donatello Quartet, San Francisco Contemporary Music Ensemble, PARLANTE Chamber Orchestra, and the Stanford String Quartet. She has participated in such summer festivals as the Grand Teton Music Festival, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Telluride Chamber Music Festival, and the Eastern Music Festival.

(September 2018)

Adam Smyla joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section in 2000 and served as an Acting Associate Principal violist from 2005 to 2007. He was previously associate principal viola of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as principal viola of the Peninsula Music Festival in Wisconsin and the Storioni Ensemble at Northwestern University. From 2005 to 2015, Smyla was a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 2000, he joined the Sun Valley Music Festival in Sun Valley, Idaho, and in 2005 was appointed principal violist there, a position he continues to hold. Smyla regularly appears as a soloist in Sun Valley and with orchestras nationally and internationally.

At age 17, Smyla won the Polish National Viola Competition in his native Poland. A year later, he became the youngest member of the Polish National Radio and Television Orchestra in Katowice. He completed his bachelor and master’s degrees in three years at the Katowice Academy of Music. As a founding member of the Penderecki String Quartet, Smyla toured internationally for nearly a decade throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He pursued advanced chamber music studies with the Fine Arts Quartet at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and earned an artist diploma at Indiana University in Bloomington.

In addition to performing with the San Francisco Symphony, Smyla has been the viola coach for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2005 and plays chamber music throughout the Bay Area, frequently with his wife, pianist Edna Koren. He plays a 1773 Mantegazza viola on loan from the San Francisco Symphony. In his free time, he enjoys cultivating his passions for physics, astronomy, playing the guitar, and composing.

Matthew Young joined the SFS viola section in 2012. He was a founding member of the Verklärte Quartet, which won grand prize in the 2003 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. He currently performs as a member of Ensemble San Francisco. Winner of a 2007 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians and the Robert Vernon Prize for Viola Performance, he attended the University of Kentucky, Yale School of Music, and Cleveland Institute of Music. 

(November 2019)

Rainer Eudeikis has been Principal Cello of the San Francisco Symphony since 2022, holding the Philip S. Boone Chair. Prior to his appointment, he was principal cello of the Atlanta Symphony and the Utah Symphony.
He made an acclaimed solo debut with the SF Symphony in 2024, performing Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto under the composer’s baton, leading to a commercial release on SFS Media, distributed by Warner Classics. Other notable performances include concerto appearances with the Atlanta Symphony, Utah Symphony, and other ensembles, as well as solo, recital, and chamber music performances across the United States and abroad.

Born in Texas, Eudeikis began studying cello at the age of six. Following studies in Colorado with Jurgen de Lemos, he attended the University of Michigan as a student of Richard Aaron, completing his bachelor of music in three years with highest honors. He received his master of music from Indiana University, where he studied with Eric Kim, and subsequently completed his artist diploma at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley.

Eudeikis has been invited to serve as artist-faculty at the Aspen Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, and Festival Napa Valley, and is a dedicated teacher and coach. He performs exclusively on Larsen strings.

Anne Richardson joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Cello at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. She was most recently an academy fellow with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and has performed with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and Pittsburgh Symphony. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Louisville Orchestra, Massapequa Philharmonic, Bryan Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard Orchestra, and has been featured by Lincoln Center’s Great Performance Circle, Juilliard in Aiken Festival, and Vail International Dance Festival. She has also performed extensively as a chamber musician at the Nymphenburger Sommer in Munich, Tegernsee International Music Festival, Wasserburg Rathauskonzerte Series, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, United Nations Chamber Music Society, and with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Richardson completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Juilliard School as a student of Richard Aaron, and earned a doctor of musical arts at the University of Michigan. She was named the Kentucky Center’s Gheens Artist in Residence in 2019 and was a guest faculty member and artist in residence at the 2018 Tennessee Cello Workshop.

Amos Yang joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2007 as Assistant Principal Cello and holds the Karel & Lida Urbanek chair. He was previously a member of the Seattle Symphony and a member of the Maia String Quartet. 

Born and raised in San Francisco, he was a member of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra and San Francisco Boys Choir. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School and now serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

Davis You joined the San Francisco Symphony cello section at the beginning of the 2024–25 season and holds the Lyman & Carol Casey Second Century Chair. He earned his bachelor of music from New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser and Paul Katz, and regularly appeared as principal cello of the NEC Philharmonia. He was a member of Quartet Luminera, which won the silver medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. A Bay Area native, You began his cello studies with Irene Sharp and Jonathan Koh. He has appeared on NPR’s From the Top, San Francisco International Piano Festival, Wellesley Chamber Players Series, Taos Chamber Music Festival, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

Barbara Andres, occupant of the Stanley S. Langendorf Foundation Second Century Chair, joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1977 upon graduation from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She studied with Lynn Harrell and Stephen Geber. Ms. Andres has been principal cellist of the Sierra Chamber Society since 1989, and performs with Chamber Music Sundaes and Gold Coast Chamber Players. She was orchestra cello coach for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for nine years, and cello coach for the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra for five years.

Starla Breshears joined the San Francisco Symphony cello section at the beginning of the 2026–27 season and holds the Gary & Kathleen Heidenreich Chair. She was a prizewinner of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, Stulberg International String Competition, Johansen International Competition, and the Shkolnikova Academy String Orchestra at the Château de La Flocellière in France. She was previously principal cello of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Breshears was a Kohl Scholar at the Colburn Music Academy, where she studied with Clive Greensmith, and before that was a Joseph Chan Scholarship recipient at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Academy, where she studied with Richard Aaron and Jean-Michel Founteneau.

Barbara Bogatin joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1994. Previously she was principal cello with the Milwaukee and New Jersey symphonies and played as a substitute with the New York Philharmonic for ten years. She studied cello in the preparatory division of the San Francisco Conservatory, and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School. Along with her neuroscientist husband, she has led workshops on meditation and music practice at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, the Esalen Institute, Stanford University, and in Italy and South Africa. She is a proud parent of two University of California graduates.

Sarah Chong joins the San Francisco Symphony cello section, holding the Elizabeth C. Peters Cello Chair, in the 2025–26 season. A Bay Area native, she began her musical studies at age nine under Jihee Kim. She has appeared as a soloist with the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra as well as the FilAm Music Foundation and was a prizewinner at the MTNA Competition, United States Open Music Competition, and American Fine Arts Festival Competition.

An avid chamber musician, Chong performed on the stages of the St. Paul String Quartet Competition and Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Other notable chamber appearances include the Meadowmount School of Music, Music@Menlo, and Musique Dans le Gers. Chong was the cellist in residence of Nova Linea Musica’s 2024–25 season, focusing on new music and commissions. She spent years under the guidance of the Dover Quartet and has shared the stage in performance with the Takács Quartet. Other chamber influences include Rainer Küchl, Kikue Ikeda, David Geber, and Julia Lichten.

Chong received her bachelor’s degree in cello performance and a minor in psychology from Northwestern University, where she studied under Hans Jørgen Jensen and Wei Yu.
 

Sébastien Gingras joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2010 and was previously a member of the New World Symphony and the Saint Louis Symphony. Mr. Gingras grew up in Chicoutimi, Québec, where he was educated at the Conservatoire de Musique. After graduating, he moved to Boston to study at New England Conservatory, where he received his master’s degree in 2005. He has participated in the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute and Yellow Barn.

David Goldblatt, occupant of the Christine & Pierre Lamond Second Century Chair, joined the SFS cello section in 1978, having previously played in the Pittsburgh Symphony. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Mr. Goldblatt has also been a cellist with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia (now the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He is currently a coach for the SFS Youth Orchestra.

Scott Pingel became Principal Bass of the SFS in 2004, having previously served in that position with the Charleston Symphony. Prior to that, he was a member of the New World Symphony. He has also served as guest principal with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada. Mr. Pingel received degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the Manhattan School of Music. Also a jazz musician, he has worked with artists including Michael Brecker, Geoff Keezer, and James Williams. For more on Scott Pingel, visit sfsymphony.org/scottpingel.

Daniel G. Smith was appointed Associate Principal Bass of the San Francisco Symphony in 2017. He previously served as principal bass of the Santa Barbara Symphony, and he was a member of the San Diego Symphony. He has served as guest principal and associate principal bass with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and guest principal of the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, MN. Mr. Smith received his Bachelor of Music from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Timothy Pitts.

Stephen Tramontozzi joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1980 and serves as Assistant Principal Bass, holding the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Chair. In the summers, he is principal bass with the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.

A member of the faculties of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and University of California, Berkeley, Mr. Tramontozzi previously taught at Stanford University and University of California, Santa Cruz. He has coached the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra bass section since its inception in 1981, and he gives masterclasses across the United States.

He has produced three solo CDs, Walkabout, Home Bass, and Urban Bass; recorded George Crumb’s Book of Madrigals under the composer’s supervision; appeared on an album of chamber music by Lou Harrison; and joined Awadagin Pratt and the St. Lawrence String Quartet for a recording of J.S. Bach’s keyboard concertos. His publications include The Solo Cello Suites of J.S. Bach for Double Bass, Nos. 1–5 and other works for double bass.

A native of Arlington, Massachusetts, Mr. Tramontozzi studied at the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, and the San Francisco Conservatory.

Bowen Ha joins the San Francisco Symphony bass section at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. He is currently a master’s student at the Juilliard School, studying with Timothy Cobb and Harold Robinson, and has appeared as a substitute musician with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Indianapolis Symphony.

Born in Shanghai, Ha studied at the Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory and then moved to the United States to study at Interlochen Arts Academy. He subsequently earned a bachelor of music at Juilliard. He has participated in festivals including the Pirastro Strings Elite Soloists Program at the University of North Texas, Verbier Festival Orchestra, and Aspen Music Festival as an orchestral leadership fellow.

Ha has been a prizewinner at numerous competitions including the Tang Rhyme Carnival International Double Bass Competition, Shanghai Conservatory Concerto Competition, Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Louisiana Bass Fest, International Concerto Competition of the Master Players Festival & School, and Juilliard Double Bass Concerto Competition.

Charles Chandler is the first member of the SFS Youth Orchestra to have become a member of the San Francisco Symphony. He studied with Shinji Eshima of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and with David Walter at Juilliard. Prior to joining the SFS in 1992, he performed at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and served as associate principal bass of the Phoenix Symphony.

(September 2018)

Brian Marcus
Bass
Member since 1981
Hometown: Northridge, CA

Activities:
I love improvisational theater. Doing improv requires amazing listening skills and the ability to be present—what drives a scene is how you listen and relate to someone else on stage. I also do a great deal of Feldenkrais, the movement method, which helps with my own health and well-being as well as my playing.

Current listening:
I enjoy listening to the Guarneri Quartet playing late Beethoven string quartets; also recordings of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau singing Schubert lieder. I love listening to him because of the quality of his sound and his amazing musicality—it’s all so perfect and effortless.

Advice for aspiring musicians:
Take a movement class. It makes such a difference to become aware of what you’re doing with your body while you’re playing. Take yoga or Feldenkrais, whatever it is—this is especially true for young bass players, because bass is such a physical instrument. Also, I think it’s important to learn and practice music away from your instrument. Study scores, practice visualization, and listen.

 

Orion Miller joins the San Francisco Symphony bass section at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. He previously performed with the London Symphony as a Keston Max Fellow, as a substitute musician with the Houston Symphony, and with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a side-by-side performance at Carnegie Hall. He also served as principal bass for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States and the New York String Orchestra Seminar.

Miller began playing cello at the age of three and switched to bass at age 11. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where he studied with Timothy Pitts. He has been a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of West, and Aspen Music Festival. His accolades include first prize in the Ruth Burr Competition and second prizes in the Lynn Harrell Competition and International Society of Bassists Orchestral Competition. He is also a two-time finalist and winner at the National YoungArts Foundation.

Mark Wright, a native of Emporia, KS, attended the Interlochen Music Camp as a child and studied bass with Larry Hurst at the University of Michigan. He played in the Detroit Symphony throughout the summer of 1986, joining the San Francisco Symphony in September of that year. For more on Mark Wright, visit sfsymphony.org/markwright.

(September 2018)

Yubeen Kim joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Flute in January 2024 and holds the Caroline H. Hume Chair. He was previously principal flute of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra and has frequently played as guest principal flute with the Berlin Philharmonic. He is also a professor of flute at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he is passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of musicians. He made his San Francisco Symphony concerto debut in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 last November, and makes his solo debut with the full orchestra on this week’s program.

Kim won first prizes at the ARD International Music Competition and Prague Spring International Music Competition, as well as second prize at the Concours de Genève when no first prize was awarded. As a soloist, he has been invited to perform at numerous concerts and festivals, including the Prague Spring Festival, Nimus Festival, LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella New Music Series, Bemus Festival, Festival du Jura, Weiwuying International Music Festival, and Tongyeong International Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Bochumer Symphony, Turku Philharmonic, and Zagreb Philharmonic. He also performs regularly in Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic, KBS Symphony, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Korean National Symphony, Bucheon Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, Chungnam Philharmonic, Cheongju Philharmonic, and Ensemble of Tokyo.

Originally from South Korea, Kim started taking piano and violin lessons at age six before switching to the flute at nine years old. He studied at the Lyon Conservatory and Paris Conservatory, and graduated from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with a concert exam degree.

Learn more about Yubeen Kim here.

Blair Francis Paponiu joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Flute, holding the Catherine & Russell Clark Chair, at the beginning of the 2023–24 season. She previously held the Susan and Tom Brown Chair as assistant principal and second flute with the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, and performed with the New York Philharmonic as acting section flute for two seasons. She has also been a member of the Austin Symphony and has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Oregon Symphony.

The recipient of numerous awards, Mrs. Francis Paponiu won second prize in the 2020 National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition. She has been an instrumental fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, Sarasota Music Festival, and Brevard Music Center.

She received a professional studies certificate in orchestral performance from the Manhattan School of Music, a master of music from the University of Texas at Austin, and a bachelor of music from the University of South Carolina, where she graduated summa cum laude and received the Presser Scholar Award. Her teachers include Robert Langevin, Marianne Gedigian, Jennifer Parker-Harley, and Cynthia Hopkins.

Linda Lukas joined the San Francisco Symphony flute section in 1990, occupying the Alfred and Dede Wilsey Chair. She holds degrees from Ohio State University, University of Iowa, and the École Normale de Musique in Paris. She previously served as principal flute with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra and was a member of the San Diego Opera Orchestra. Ms. Lukas has been principal flute of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho since 1996, and she is on the faculty of San Francisco State University.

Catherine Payne joined the San Francisco Symphony as piccolo player in 1996. She previously performed with the Boston Symphony as acting second flute and served as principal flute of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston and associate principal flute and piccolo player with the Portland Symphony. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Ms. Payne graduated from New England Conservatory and Tufts University. She is currently a flute coach for the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Eugene Izotov joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Oboe in the 2015–16 season and holds the Edo de Waart Chair. He previously served as principal oboe with the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony, and was guest principal oboe with the Boston Symphony and New York Philharmonic. Mr. Izotov is the first Russian-born musician to hold a principal wind position in a major American orchestra and his numerous awards include top prizes at solo competitions in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, New York, and at the Fernand Gillet International Competition. Mr. Izotov has appeared more than 70 times as soloist with orchestras of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Metropolitan Opera, Mainly Mozart, and Pacific Music Festival, working with conductors Bernard Haitink, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, Nicholas McGegan, Riccardo Muti, Edo De Waart, Ludovic Morlot, Ton Koopman, and Michael Tilson Thomas, performing works by Mozart, Strauss, Marcello, Haydn, Martinů, Vivaldi, Carter, Hummel, Krommer, and Bach. He has recorded for Sony Classical, BMG, Boston Records, Elektra, and CSO Resound, and was a featured soloist with the Chicago Symphony under the baton of John Williams on the Oscar-nominated recording for Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln. He has also been a guest soloist on NPR’s Live from Here with Chris Thile. Mr. Izotov has collaborated regularly with the Met Chamber Ensemble throughout its residence at Carnegie Hall, as well as with Yefim Bronfman, Pinchas Zukerman, Jamie Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, André Watts, and the Tokyo String Quartet.

One of today’s most prolific teachers, Mr. Izotov serves on the faculties of San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Colburn School in Los Angeles, Music Academy in Santa Barbara, and he previously taught at the Juilliard School. He presents masterclasses at conservatories across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including Oberlin, Cleveland Institute of Music, New World Symphony, Aspen, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Tanglewood Music Center, Lynn University, Interlochen Center for the Arts, University of Michigan, Conservatoire de Musique in Luxembourg, Hyundai Center in Korea, Shanghai Orchestra Academy, Verbier Festival, Glenn Gould School, McGill University, and Domaine Forget in Canada.

Since 2005, he has served on the International Principals faculty of the Pacific Music Festival founded by Leonard Bernstein in Sapporo, Japan. Mr. Izotov was the oboe mentor for the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra during its residency at the Sydney Opera House, which included a live internet simulcast to more than 30 million of worldwide viewers. In 2019 he was invited by Valery Gergiev to serve on the first-ever woodwind jury of the Tchaikovsky International Competition. Mr. Izotov’s former students enjoy careers in symphony orchestras of Chicago, San Francisco, Saint Louis, Montreal, Kansas City, Buffalo, San Diego, Lexington, Ontario, Atlanta, Osaka, Fort Worth, Jerusalem, and others.

Born in Moscow, Mr. Izotov studied at the Gnesin School of Music with Ivan Pushechnikov and Sergey Velikanov. After immigrating to the United States, he studied at Boston University with Ralph Gomberg.

James Button was appointed Associate Principal Oboe of the San Francisco Symphony in September 2017. A native of Australia, he made his solo debut with the Melbourne Symphony at the age of 17. He later attended Temple University and the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jonathan Blumenfeld and Eugene Izotov respectively. He has also studied with John Mack, John de Lancie, and Joseph Turner. Mr. Button was previously a member of the Nashville Symphony, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, New World Symphony, and has appeared as guest principal with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Melbourne Symphony. He has performed at the Verbier, Edinburgh, and Tanglewood festivals, as well as Italy’s Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. His live recording of Jennifer Higdon's Oboe Concerto with the Nashville Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2018.

Brooks Fisher joins the San Francisco Symphony oboe section, holding the Dr. William D. Clinite Chair, with the 2025–26 season. He was an acting member of the San Francisco Symphony in the 2024–25 season and previously served as principal oboe of Symphony San Jose. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre, Utah Symphony, National Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, and Houston Symphony.

Fisher received his bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he studied with Robert Walters, and he earned a master’s degree from Rice University, where he studied with Robert Atherholt. He also studied with Eugene Izotov at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he received a professional studies certificate.

A native of the Bay Area, Fisher’s first oboe teacher was Brenda Schuman-Post. He was a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and coaches that ensemble today.

Russ de Luna joined the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra as English Horn in 2007 and holds the Joseph & Pauline Scafidi Chair. In the 2022–23 season, he appears as soloist with the orchestra in the US premiere of Outi Tarkiainen’s Milky Ways, and he was previously featured in Aaron Copland’s Quiet City and Jean Sibelius’s The Swan of Tuonela under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He appears regularly on the San Francisco Symphony chamber music series.

Mr. de Luna has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic, where he soloed in The Swan of Tuonela. He spent three summers as a member of the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Japan under the direction of Seiji Ozawa and is now the English Horn for the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.

A graduate of Boston University and Northwestern University, Mr. de Luna now teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and coaches the oboe section of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Carey Bell joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Clarinet in 2007 and holds the William R. & Gretchen B. Kimball Chair. This week’s concerts mark his seventh solo appearances with the Symphony, having previously performed Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto with Herbert Blomstedt, Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsodie and Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs with Michael Tilson Thomas, and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto on three occasions with Jaap van Zweden, Bernard Labadie, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Cultivating a career in the Bay Area for over two decades, Mr. Bell has performed with numerous local orchestras and chamber ensembles. He is a former member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and has participated in several other local contemporary music groups. His summer engagements have included the Marlboro Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Oregon Bach Festival, and Telluride Chamber Music Festival. Notable chamber performances include collaboration with violist Scott St. John and pianist Jonathan Biss for San Francisco Performances, and Lukas Foss’s Echoi with Jeremy Denk, Peter Wyrick, and Jack van Geem, as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s 2012 American Mavericks tour, culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall.

Mr. Bell was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, where he developed his musical skills as a pianist, singer, and composer. After taking up clarinet at age 12, he studied for several years with Cindi Bartels. He received several honors as a young clarinetist, and he wrote a symphonic overture performed by the Oregon Symphony in 1992. For his undergraduate work, he studied with Fred Ormand at the University of Michigan and pursued a composition degree with William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, Michael Daugherty, and Evan Chambers. As a student, he participated in summer fellowships at Tanglewood and Music Academy in Santa Barbara. After graduating he continued his clarinet studies with Larry Combs, then principal clarinet of the Chicago Symphony.

Mr. Bell spent one year as a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago before winning his first audition for principal clarinet of the Syracuse Symphony in 1998. He became principal of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in 2001, and has served as acting principal of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and guest principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Bell teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and formerly taught at Stanford University.

Matthew Griffith joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal and E-flat Clarinet at the beginning of the 2022–23 season. He previously served as acting assistant principal clarinet with the North Carolina Symphony and the Nashville Symphony and was a member of TŌN (The Orchestra Now), a graduate-level training orchestra based at Bard College.

Mr. Griffith has performed as guest soloist with the Boston Pops, Milwaukee Symphony, Ocean City Pops, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, United States Army Field Band, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. In 2014 Yale University published The Algorithm of Jazz, a video following his experience performing Artie Shaw’s concerto with the Yale Symphony Orchestra.

After graduating from Yale University with distinction in both majors of music and computer science, Mr. Griffith earned graduate degrees in clarinet performance at the New England Conservatory. He was a Tanglewood Music Center fellow, where he was awarded the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize and returned as a New Fromm Player. His teachers included Michael Wayne, David Shifrin, Todd Levy, and Jill Hanes. He grew up in Sheboygan, WI, and enjoys writing computer code and designing videogames.

Yuhsin Galaxy Su joined the San Francisco Symphony as Second Clarinet at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. Prior to joining the Symphony, she completed a master’s degree at the Colburn School, where she studied with Yehuda Gilad, and before that studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Anthony McGill. She has also performed as a pianist on the SF Symphony’s Chamber Music Series, and makes her solo clarinet debut with the Symphony at this year’s Lunar New Year concert.

During her time at Curtis, Su was selected for the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble and performed Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire in fully choreographed productions at the Kimmel Center, Columbia University, Kennedy Center, and Curtis Field Recital Hall. She has also been a soloist at the Musique et Vin Music Festival and Marlboro Music Festival. She won top prizes in the 2013 and ‘14 HSNU Concerto Competition, third prize and audience prize at the International Morningside Music Bridge in Canada, first prize at the Young Classical Virtuoso of Tomorrow Music Competition, and two Chimei Arts Awards.

Jerome Simas joined the San Francisco Symphony as bass clarinet in 2012. Prior to that, he was principal clarinet with the California Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Monterey Symphony, and IRIS Orchestra. He has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony, and Naples (Florida) Philharmonic.
 
Mr. Simas is a member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and performs with the Sierra Chamber Society and on the SF Symphony chamber music series. He won grand prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, first prize at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, and first prize at the International Clarinet Association’s Young Artist Competition, and participated in the Marlboro Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and Tanglewood Music Center. Previously a fellow at the New World Symphony, he is featured in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto on the New World Symphony’s RCA Victor Red Seal recording New World Jazz with Michael Tilson Thomas.
 
A dedicated music educator, Mr. Simas is professor of clarinet and chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is a coach with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinet Franklin Cohen.

Joshua Elmore joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Bassoon in March 2025 and made his solo debut in September 2026. He previously served as principal bassoon of the Fort Worth Symphony and has also performed with the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Chineke! Orchestra.

A graduate of the Juilliard School as a Kovner Fellow, Elmore also holds a Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School. He has been a fellow at Tanglewood Music Center and Music Academy of the West and contributed to a Grammy Award-nominated album with the National Orchestra Institute. Recently profiled by San Francisco Classical Voice, his playing was described as “evoking a river,” reflecting the expressive warmth and lyrical fluidity that characterize his artistry.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Elmore was principal bassoon of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony and a member of the Cleveland Youth Orchestra before touring internationally with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States.

Elmore is Professor of Bassoon at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and serves on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of musicians, he collaborated with Alfred Music on an intermediate bassoon method book and served on the bassoon faculty of the 2023 Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in South Africa, presenting masterclasses and coaching young musicians. Outside of music, he enjoys cultivating his plant collection and spending time in nature.

Justin Cummings joined the San Francisco Symphony bassoon section at the beginning of the 2023–24 season, and was appointed Associate Principal Bassoon in fall 2026. He was previously principal bassoon of the Knoxville Symphony and a fellow of the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. He has also performed as a guest with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He is an alumnus of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with SF Symphony Principal Bassoon Stephen Paulson. He went on to complete graduate studies with Richard Beene at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

Jessica Valeri joined the San Francisco Symphony horn section in 2008. Prior to her appointment, she was a member of the St. Louis Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, and Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra. She has also performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the International Contemporary Ensemble, and participated in the Grand Teton Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Mainly Mozart.

A native of Minnesota, Ms. Valeri holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Northwestern University, and she currently serves on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Mark Inouye joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1999 and became Principal Trumpet in 2008, holding the William G. Irwin Charity Foundation Chair. He was previously principal trumpet with the Houston Symphony and Charleston Symphony and has been a guest principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony. He has toured the United States with Toccatas and Flourishes, the acclaimed organ and trumpet duo, and was a member of the Empire Brass Quintet. Inouye graduated from the Juilliard School, where he transferred after two years as a civil engineering major at the University of California, Davis.

With the SF Symphony, Inouye has been a soloist in Copland’s Quiet City, Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, and Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on three occasions with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yuja Wang, and Seong-Jin Cho. He also led and soloed on a Summer with the Symphony program in both jazz and classical styles. As a composer, his works have been performed on the SF Symphony Chamber Music Series.

Equally at home in classical music and jazz, Inouye was a founding member of the Juilliard Jazz Sextet at Lincoln Center and a guest performer at the Hollywood Bowl in the Playboy Jazz Festival. He appeared as soloist in Wynton Marsalis’s video Marsalis on Music, on a Disney Channel production featuring the Who at Carnegie Hall, and released his own debut jazz album, The Trumpet & The Bull.

Aaron Schuman joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Trumpet in 2018.
He has also performed with the Boston Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, Chautauqua Symphony, Sun Valley Music Festival, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and has been a guest artist with the Aspen Chamber Symphony and the Colburn School.
 
A native of Buffalo, New York, Mr. Schuman graduated from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, pursued graduate studies at Rice University, and was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow. His teachers included Charles Geyer, Barbara Butler, Robert Sullivan, and Alex Jokipii. He performs on Bach brand trumpets.

Guy Piddington joined the San Francisco Symphony trumpet section, occupying the Ann L. & Charles B. Johnson Chair, in 2012. He has held positions with the Metropolitan Opera and the Syracuse Symphony, and he has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and Mariinsky Orchestra. He studied with Charles Geyer at the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, where he received his bachelor’s degree. He holds a master’s degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Philip Smith

Jeff Biancalana, a native of Chicago, joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2011. He studied at the Eastman School of Music and has performed with ensembles including the Milwaukee Symphony; the New York, Buffalo, and Rochester philharmonics; the New World Symphony; New York Big Brass; Chicago’s Music of the Baroque; Houston Grand Opera; and the Chicago Contemporary Players. Mr. Biancalana is a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, performs in the Grand Teton Music Festival, and is on faculty at California State University East Bay.

(September 2018)

Paul Welcomer joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1994 after a year as an acting member of the Orchestra. Born in West Chester, PA, he received a bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory. Before joining the SFS, he served as principal trombone of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the United States Air Force Band. He is a founding member of the Bay Brass and teaches trombone at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. For more on Paul Welcomer, visit sfsymphony.org/paulwelcomer.

(September 2018)

Jeffrey Anderson joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Tuba, occupying the James Irvine Chair, in 2002. He holds a bachelor’s degree and performer's certificate from Indiana University, where he studied with Harvey Phillips, and he completed his master’s degree at Arizona State University as a student of Daniel Perantoni. As a member of the New Mexico Symphony from 1989 to 1998, he made several solo appearances. Previously a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, he was featured as soloist in Vaughan Williams’s Tuba Concerto with that orchestra in 2000. He has also performed with the National Repertory Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and he appeared as guest principal tuba with the Chicago Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic and in the 2009 Seattle Opera production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. With the SFS, he has been heard as soloist in David Lang’s are you experienced? in the SoundBox series, and in the North American premiere of Robin Holloway’s Europa & and the Bull.

Mr. Anderson is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he teaches tuba and coaches chamber music. He is in demand as a clinician and performer, making appearances at International Tuba and Euphonium Association international and regional conferences as well as in master classes at Indiana University, Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music, and the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. Mr. Anderson is Buffet-Crampon Group artist and exclusively plays B&S tubas. For more on Jeffrey Anderson, visit sfsymphony.org/jeffreyanderson.

Katherine Siochi joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Harp beginning in the 2023–24 season and made her solo debut in September 2024. She was previously principal harp of the Minnesota Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra, and has appeared as a guest with the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic. She was the gold medalist of the 2016 USA International Harp Competition.

As a soloist, Ms. Siochi has performed in China, Hong Kong, Israel, and at Lyon & Healy Hall in Chicago. She has served as a concert artist for the American Harp Society, presenting solo concerts and masterclasses across the United States. Recently she also served as artist-faculty at Aspen Music Festival and School, teaching and performing with the Aspen Festival Orchestra.

Ms. Siochi earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School as a student of Nancy Allen, and also studied piano as a secondary instrument. In 2021 she released her debut album, Nocturne, on Lyon & Healy Records.

In 2021 Siochi released her debut album, Nocturne, on Lyon & Healy Records. She serves on the faculty of San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Edward Stephan joined the SFS as Principal Timpani, occupying the Marcia & John Goldman Chair, in 2016. Prior to joining the Orchestra, he served as principal timpani of the Pittsburgh, Dallas, and the Fort Worth symphonies. Mr. Stephan holds degrees from the University of North Texas and New England Conservatory of Music. Currently timpanist of the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, WY, he also serves as chair of the percussion department at Duquesne University. Recently appointed to the faculty of San Francisco Conservatory, he is currently a coach for the SFS Youth Orchestra.

James Benoit joined the San Francisco Symphony as Assistant Principal Timpani and Section Percussion at the beginning of the 2026–27 season. He was previously principal timpani of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Seattle Symphony and associate principal percussion and assistant principal timpani of the Fort Worth Symphony. He has also performed as guest principal timpani with the Cleveland Orchestra.

As an educator, Benoit serves on the faculty of Duquesne University, where he teaches and coaches timpani, percussion, and chamber music. He also has a passion for performing and teaching jazz vibraphone, stemming from his time touring and recording as the vibraphonist of the Waitiki 7.

A native of Niskayuna, New York, Benoit earned a bachelor of music degree from Berklee College of Music, a master of music degree from the Juilliard School, and an artist diploma from Duquesne University.

Jacob Nissly joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Percussion in 2013. Previously, he was principal percussion of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony. He also spent two years as a fellow in the New World Symphony.

Nissly is chair of the Percussion Department and professor of percussion at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is also a regular coach at the New World Symphony. He previously taught at the Eastman School of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music. He has served as a percussion coach for the Aspen Music Festival since 2019, National Youth Orchestra-USA, Verbier Festival, and others.

Nissly can be heard on recordings with the San Francisco Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. He also played drum set on the St. Louis Symphony's Grammy award-winning recording of John Adams's City Noir.
In 2019, Nissly premiered Adam Schoenberg’s percussion concerto Losing Earth with the San Francisco Symphony. He has performed the piece with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Omaha Symphony and will perform it with the Nuremberg Symphony in 2026.

Nissly holds a Bachelor of Music and Jazz Studies degree from Northwestern University and Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School. He endorses Vic Firth drumsticks, Zildjian cymbals, Kolberg percussion, and Remo drumheads.

For more on Jacob Nissly, visit sfsymphony.org/jacobnissly.

James Benoit joined the San Francisco Symphony as Assistant Principal Timpani and Section Percussion at the beginning of the 2026–27 season. He was previously principal timpani of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Seattle Symphony and associate principal percussion and assistant principal timpani of the Fort Worth Symphony. He has also performed as guest principal timpani with the Cleveland Orchestra.

As an educator, Benoit serves on the faculty of Duquesne University, where he teaches and coaches timpani, percussion, and chamber music. He also has a passion for performing and teaching jazz vibraphone, stemming from his time touring and recording as the vibraphonist of the Waitiki 7.

A native of Niskayuna, New York, Benoit earned a bachelor of music degree from Berklee College of Music, a master of music degree from the Juilliard School, and an artist diploma from Duquesne University.

Stan Muncy joined the San Francisco Symphony percussion section in fall 2024 after serving as a frequent extra musician since 2010. He was previously a member of the Honolulu Symphony and Santa Rosa Symphony. He has also toured with the contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird, participated in the Spoleto Festival and Music Academy of the West, and recorded film and video game scores at Skywalker Sound, Capitol Records, and Warner Brothers Studios.

A native of California, Muncy grew up in the Central Valley and moved to the Bay Area for college, earning a bachelor’s degree from California State University, East Bay, where he studied with Artie Storch, and a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Jack Van Geem. During that time, he was also a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he received a professional studies certificate from the Colburn School.

Muncy is currently a faculty member at the SFCM Pre-College and previously taught at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and California State University, Stanislaus. He has also coached many youth orchestra percussion sections, including the SFSYO.

James Lee Wyatt III joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2001 after serving as principal percussionist of the Honolulu Symphony. A native of Princeton, KY, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and his master’s degree from Temple University. Mr. Wyatt has performed with the Santa Fe Opera, National Repertory Orchestra, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, and the Ojai, Tanglewood, Spoleto festivals.

(September 2018)

Matt Holland-Gray joined the San Francisco Symphony as Assistant Librarian in 2017 and was previously assistant librarian with the Cincinnati Symphony. A native of La Crescenta, California, he grew up playing double bass and piano, earned his bachelor of music degree from Indiana University as a bassist, and attended McGill University for postgraduate studies. Mr. Holland-Gray began his journey as an orchestra librarian during his time in Indiana, where he worked for the university’s five resident orchestras. Outside the library, he enjoys hiking, cooking, traveling, and photography.

Matthew Searing joined the San Francisco Symphony as Assistant Librarian beginning with the 2023–24 season. He previously served as assistant librarian for the Florida Orchestra and Sarasota Orchestra. Mr. Searing studied horn at Montclair State University in New Jersey and was a library fellow with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas.