Archives: Musicians

Since 1990 Sean Claire has been a core member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Knoxville Chamber Orchestra.  During his tenure he has served as Acting Associate Concertmaster, which included an extended period as Concertmaster, and has twice held the position of Acting Principal Second Violin and member of the KSO Principal Quartet.  He also […]

Lin is from Taipei, Taiwan. She began studying piano and violin at age 5. She acquired a Bachelor of Music in 2009 and Master of Music in 2012 from National Taiwan Normal University where she studied with Nanette Chin-Horng Chen. After graduation, she moved to the United States to study with Alexander Kerr at Indiana […]

From Nagoya, Japan, Ikuko Koizumi has been with the KSO since 1995. She plays the violin, and has also performed with the Nagoya Symphony Orchestra. She has played the violin since she was three years old. Ikuko attended Aichi University of the Fine Arts, where she obtained both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees of music […]

The founder of Farr Horizons, Elizabeth Farr, is well known throughout East Tennessee as a violinist, harpist and teacher.  She serves as Music Director at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Farragut, where she has conducted such works as John Rutter’s “Mass of the Children,” and “Requiem” as well as Respighi’s “Laud to the Nativity”. She […]

Anna Zellers is a violinist and teacher. She is passionate about communicating via the language of music and sharing that passion with others. Mrs. Zellers is a native of the Charlotte, North Carolina area and a product of the rich musical culture in her hometown. She began violin lessons at age four and immediately fell […]

Julie Swenson received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Iowa. She also studied violin with David Cerone at the Meadowmount School of Music in New York, and Suzuki pedagogy with Doris Preucil at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City. Her Suzuki pedagogy training continued at the […]

Peter Aguilar became a member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 1997.  He has also performed with both the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra as well as the Symphony of the Mountains. He is a native of Knoxville and began learning the violin at age five as a student in the Suzuki Program of Knoxville.  He […]

Daniel Zellers is originally from Cosby, Tennessee, where he began studying music at the age of eight. He continued his violin studies under the direction of Edward Pulgar, attending Carson-Newman University. In 2017, Daniel graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theory. Daniel became a member of the Knoxville Symphony […]

Kathryn Gawne joined the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra as principal violist in 2001 at the age of 22. Prior to moving to Tennessee, Kathryn made her home in the Chicago area. Kathryn started playing the violin in 4th grade as part of a public school music program. Her first teachers, Art Montzka and Ann Montzka-Smelser, made […]

From Sebastopol, Calif., Jennifer Bloch joined the KSO in 1999 to play the viola. She had previously performed at several music festivals, including festivals in Aspen, Colo., Interlochen, Mich., and Round Top, Texas. She was also a faculty member of the Amherst Quartet at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. She attended Vanderbilt University for […]

Bill Pierce is originally from Setauket, N.Y., and first came to Knoxville to play viola in the pit band for the “Sing Tennessee” show at the 1982 World’s Fair. He performed several concerts with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra during the summer of 1982, but he assumed his current full-time core position in the fall of […]

Violinist and violist Joshua Ulrich has performed internationally as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His growing artistic reputation is supported by having collaborated with such esteemed artists as James Tocco, Awadagin Pratt, and Anton Nel. He was educated at the Juilliard School and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Joshua’s teachers […]

Alicia Keener is a member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and enjoys teaching a lively studio of young musicians. She began playing violin at age five as a Suzuki student and picked up the viola in high school. Alicia went on to earn degrees in viola performance from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (B.M.) and the University of Colorado […]