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Master Class Schedule & Clinician Bios

PRE-COLLEGIATE

Violin: Saturday, March 23 - 1:00-1:45 PM

Arianna String Quartet violinist Julia Sakharova is currently on the music faculty at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She also serves as concertmaster with the Orchestra Iowa. As a dedicated educator, she has given master classes at various conservatories including Peabody and Oberlin. She is a frequent guest artist and clinician at the Glezarova International Violin Festival in Moscow. Ms. Sakharova has performed at the Music Mountain Chamber Series, Madeline Island Chamber Music and Femusc Festival in Brazil. She is the recipient of the 2017 Artist Teacher Award from the American String Teachers Association, Missouri Chapter. Ms. Sakharova plays an 1819 Rafaelle and Antonio Gagliano.

Viola: Saturday, March 23 - 2:00-2:45 PM

Daniel Doña has distinguished himself as an active performer and pedagogue. He serves on the viola faculty of the Boston University School of Music alongside his duties as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Coordinator of String Chamber Music. Daniel is also Co-Director of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute String Quartet Workshop. An avid chamber musician, he is a member of TriChrome and the critically acclaimed Arneis Quartet.

Cello: Saturday, March 23 - 11:00-11:45 AM

Praised for her “beautifully full and lyrically strong tone” by Gramophone Magazine, Meredith Blecha-Wells is a sought-after performer and instructor. She has played throughout much of the United States, as well as Europe, Australia, South America, and Asia. Dr. Blecha-Wells is currently the Professor of Cello at Oklahoma State University, where she also runs the Greenwood School of Music Preparatory Academy. Dr. Blecha-Wells holds degrees from Indiana University and the Eastman School of Music.

Double Bass: Saturday, March 23 - 10:00-10:45 AM

Bebo Shiu currently performs as the Assistant Principal Bass of the Boston Pops Esplanade, teaches as Double Bass Artist Faculty at the Longy School of Music as well as at the Killington Music Festival, and is Vice President of AFM Local 9-535. He recently earned his doctoral degree to become the first and the only DMA Double Bass graduate under Edwin Barker at Boston University. Dr. Shiu is currently the Director of String Ensemble at Bridgewater State University where he teaches various music theory, music history, and Anthropology courses.

COLLEGIATE

Violin: Friday, March 22 - 1:30-2:15 PM

Katherine McLin has made over 100 appearances soloing with orchestras across the country, recorded 19 albums under the Summit, Centaur and Opus One labels, and currently serves as Concertmaster of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra (OH). A passionate educator, she is currently Professor of Violin at the Arizona State University School of Music where she was awarded the Evelyn Smith Endowed Music Professorship, and holds performance degrees from Oberlin, Indiana University, and the University of Michigan.

Viola: Friday, March 22 - 11:00-11:45 AM

Renown teacher, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the US and Europe, Kathryn Plummer is Professor of Viola at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. 2024 marks her 50th year at Vanderbilt. Previous positions include violist of the Blair String Quartet, assistant principal with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Associate Professor at the Oberlin Conservatory, and interim principal violist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Recently recognized in “Our Golden Jubilee-Fifty Extraordinary Leaders in Fifty Years” published by the Journal of the American Viola Society, Plummer was included in the category “World-Class Artists and Teachers.” She studied at Indiana University and the Juilliard School; her mentors include David Dawson, Walter Trampler, William Primrose, Samuel Rhodes, Martha Katz, and pianist György Sebők.

Cello: Thursday, March 21 - 1:30-2:15 PM

Grammy winning cellist Norman Fischer has performed on 5 continents and 49 of the 50 US states. He started his career with the Concord String Quartet (Naumburg Award, Emmy and Grammy nominations). For 52 years he has played with the Fischer Duo with over 12 recordings. He is a Professor at Rice University and Head of Chamber Music at the Tanglewood Music Center in the summer. As a Larsen Artist he performs on "Il Cannone" strings.

Double Bass: Thursday, March 21 - 11:00-11:45 AM

Jeff Bradetich is Regents Professor at the University of North Texas where he runs one of the largest and most comprehensive double bass programs in the world. He has also taught at UMichigan, Northwestern, and Cleveland Institute. His 50-year solo career has taken him to five continents. His 37th annual summer master classes are the longest running event of its kind. He is President of the Bradetich Foundation promoting education and performance of double bass.

ALL-LEVEL

Eclectic Styles: Thursday, March 21 - 4:00-4:45 PM

Mike Block is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator, passionate about cross-cultural collaboration through music. Acclaimed by the New York Times for his "vital rich-hued solo playing”, and by Salt Lake City Desert News as “a true artist... a sight to behold”, Mike Block “is one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene.” (Gramophone). Mike's performances offer a rich mixture of classical repertoire, folk music, original compositions, and songs. Since 2005, Mike has been a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, with which he has been featured as both cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for their album Sing Me Home. Mike teaches online through his Multi-Style Cello School at ArtistWorks.com, and is on faculty of New England Conservatory.

Chamber Music: Friday, March 22 - 4:00-4:45 PM

Cellist Erin Ellis leads a versatile career as a performer and teacher. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across the United States as well as in Germany. A dedicated music educator, she maintains an active private studio and is Associate Professor of Cello at West Virginia University, where she teaches cello, coaches WVU’s graduate string quartet (Montani Quartet), and coordinates the string chamber music program. Her chamber music students have received recognition at the MTNA Chamber Music Competition, have been Teaching Fellows at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, and have been awarded first prize for Collaborative Faculty Student Mentored Research at WVU.