Meet one of our incredible violists, Matt Ross!
Matt Ross (he/him), who plays enthusiastically in both orchestral and chamber music settings, joined the Toledo Symphony Orchestra in October of 2024. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey & Pennsylvania State University studying under Dr. Timothy Deighton. He has performed with many ensembles including the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Opera, Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Britten-Pears Orchestra, and the Aspen Chamber Symphony & Festival Orchestra. He has spent summers as part of the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckinridge, CO, the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, CO, and the Britten-Pears Orchestra in Aldeburgh, UK.
When he’s not playing viola, he finds great pleasure in reading, going to the movies, spending time outdoors, reading with his cat cuddling beside him, going to art museums, as well as traveling.
Thanks to everyone who came out to our Vivaldi and Rings & Dragons show on 5/10!! We had a great time with you nerds! Next up on 6/14, we will be playing some tunes by Hans Zimmer (Capt. Jack Sparrow may or may not make a special appearance) and later that night we will be premiering a new show 🎉 Coldplay x Imagine Dragons. You can get your tix at feverup.com - see you then!
A huge “thank you” to everyone who came to our shows last weekend! We were joined by the wonderful cellist Nora Willauer, here’s our official Nora appreciation post.
Be sure to check out feverup.com for details about our end-of-January candlelight concerts!🕯️🎻🕯️
Nora Willauer is a cellist and educator, devoted not only to her instrument, but to the relationship between music and community. She recently completed a doctoral degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Dr. Melissa Kraut and Mark Kosower.
Nora’s research and final lecture recital at CIM focused on exploring the connection between the language and practice of groove and cello pedagogy. Her work was awarded CIM’s Maurice and Judith Kaplow Prize for Uncommon Creativity.
Nora is the cello professor at the University of Akron, teaches privately in Shaker Heights, and happily joins Forest City Strings for the occasional candlelight concert.
Our next musician to introduce is Ann Yu:
Praised for her “full-bodied, rich and warm tone” (Cleveland.com), Cleveland-based violinist, baroque violinist, and violist Ann Yu is an accomplished soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, session musician, and educator whose versatility, excellence in artistry, and collaborative spirit has secured her as one of the most coveted musicians throughout Northeast Ohio's artistic communities.
She received her bachelors and masters degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Jaime Laredo, Jan Sloman, and William Preucil, where she was the winner of the 26th Annual Darius Milhaud Competition and Concerto Competition and the recipient of the Fortnightly Musical Award.
Ann finds great joy in exploring other genres and styles of playing the violin through jamming with local bluegrass, old time, blues, and jazz musicians. Currently she studies baroque violin with Julie Andrijeski. Her greatest love is playing chamber music, as she is a founding member of the award-winning and acclaimed Poiema Trio.
Outside of music, she enjoys dancing lindy hop and blues, hiking, and volunteering for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Our next musician in the spotlight is violinist Sam Petrey:
A native of Cleveland Ohio, Sam has collaborated and performed with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma, the Silk Road Ensemble and Eighth Blackbird. He is a member of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Pops, the Erie Philharmonic and is the host of Sunday Brunch on WCLV.
Sam holds a Masters of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied with Axel Strauss and a Performance Certificate from DePaul University where he studied with Ilya Kaler.
When he’s not fiddling away Sam enjoys cooking, running and playing guitar in multiple heavy metal projects.
Continuing on with our musician spotlights, we have Hosanna:
Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Hosanna Carella began playing the violin at the age of six after a failed attempt at learning the piano.
She completed her Bachelors, Masters, and Professional Studies diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Jaime Laredo and Jan Sloman. Hosanna has performed in renowned music festivals with acclaimed musicians in North America and Europe.
Currently, she works at a non profit in Cleveland, dabbles in website design and is lucky enough to make music with friends.
In her spare time, Hosanna likes to game (currently accepting recs for historical rpg’s), play board games, read and not be in cold weather.
Next up in our spotlight series is our viola player, Brian Slawta:
Brian has been a Cleveland local since 2016, when he began his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
While at the institute, he took lessons with viola power-couple Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey, and spent the rest of his time rehearsing with his string quartet and various other small ensembles.
Brian is especially fond of chamber music, and has competed at events such as the Fischoff and Saint Paul chamber music competitions since he was in high school. Since graduating, he has been a core member of Opus 216, the Cleveland Chamber Collective, and Forest City Strings.
Fun facts: He’s the youngest of 4 siblings, his favorite color is green, and he has a new viola that he won’t stop talking about 😅
We’ve got a couple more of these musician spotlights coming out over the next couple of days, so stay tuned!
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