category: Strings

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 […]

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 […]

Violist Hillary Herndon has earned a national reputation for her brilliant playing, “sweetly soaring tone” (Time Out New York), creative programming and insightful teaching. She has been heard on NPR and PBS and has collaborated with some of the world’s foremost artists, including Carol Wincenc, James VanDermark and Itzhak Perlman, who described Hillary as “having […]

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 […]

Cellist Andy Bryenton has been a member of the core ensemble of the Knoxville Symphony since 1986, and Principal Cellist since 2000. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music, where he studied with David Wells, Leslie Parnas, and Raya Garbusova. His Master in Music is from the University of […]

Stacy Nickell, cellist, has performed with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra since 1998. She has been a full time member since 2001. Helping to create (and perform)educational and interactive programs for the KSO’s award-winning outreach program at schools, libraries, hospitals, and nursing homes has been a  large part of her work with the Knoxville Symphony. The […]

Adam Ayers is a Wisconsin native. He began his study of the cello at a very young age and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree studying with Uri Vardi. He also completed a Master’s Degree at Indiana University studying with Peter Stumpf. He has attended […]