Santa Barbara Music Club

Member Type: Musician

Claude-Lise Lafranque , Violinist

Claude-Lise Lafranque, violinist, grew up in Bordeaux. France. She graduated from Bordeaux’s National Conservatory with a first prize in performance. She studied in Paris with Maestro Nerini and has worked with Irina Boshkova from Moscow Conservatory. She relocated to Santa Barbara after an invitation to play in the Music Academy of the West. She has been performing with the Santa Barbara Symphony for 25 years. A very active member of the Santa Barbara music community, she plays in the Santa Barbara Opera and Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra as well as many other ensembles. Claude-Lise Lafranque is a very dedicated teacher with over 25 years of experience.

SBMC Concert Performances

Tom Turner , Violist

Tom Turner, violist, is a former President of the SB Music Club (2006-2008). Tom has been a violist for over 40 years, having performed with Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony and Lompoc Pops. He has been Priincipal Violist and soloist with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra and Moorpark Symphony Orchestra. Tom has performed with the Santa Maria Philharmonic for over 30 years, and served as Principal Violist. Lately, he co-founded the Santa Barbara Chamber players. Now retired, he can play as much chamber music as possible and is thrilled to perform with Jane, Nancy,
and Mi-Young Kim.

SBMC Concert Performances

Carol Pool , Violinist

Carol Pool, violinist, began playing violin in the Houston Public School System, and received her BM and MM Degrees at the University of Houston and The Juilliard School. As an in-demand player in New York, she performed in Evita, Hairspray, and Phantom of the Opera, and with many symphony and ballet orchestras in New York and Los Angeles. In addition, she has recorded with such artists as Tony Bennett, Philip Glass, and Barbara Streisand, and has played on numerous movie sound tracks, such as Star Wars, Rio, Coco, and The Grinch.

SBMC Concert Performances

Elizabeth Olson , Cellist

Elizabeth Olson, cellist, began music studies through public school music programs; continuing with private lessons, she currently studies with Geoffrey Rutkowski. She earned her BS Degree in Chemistry from Loma Linda University and her MS Degree in Accountancy from CSU San Bernardino. For the past ten years her passion has been chamber music, with performances including concerts at Loma Linda University and the Santa Barbara Music Club. Elizabeth is currently a CPA at Nasif, Hicks, Harris & Co. in Santa Barbara.

SBMC Concert Performances

Robert Hale , Pianist

Robert Hale, pianist, holds a degree in piano performance from Southern Illinois University. After working in arts administration, including Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Syracuse Symphony, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, he changed careers to software development. Robert studies piano with Zeynep Ucbasaran and plays chamber music with friends and colleagues in the Santa Barbara area.

SBMC Concert Performances

Chavdar Parashkevov , Violinist

Chavdar Parashkevov, violinist, was born in Bulgaria and has concertized to lavish critical acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Winner of prizes from national and international competitions, his diverse career has included appearances as concerto soloist, solo recitalist, and chamber musician in Denmark, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the U.S. A graduate of the School for the Arts in Varna, Bulgaria, he came to the U.S. in 1997 to continue his education with Edward Schmieder at Southern Methodist University and Andjei Grabiec at the University of Houston. In 2005 Chavdar and pianist Vessela Gintcheva released the CD Moto Perpetuo, which features Bulgarian violin music, and in 2009 the CD was played for the Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS 125 to the Hubble Space Telescope. Mr. Parashkevov currently combines performing and teaching careers, and performs in the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet Orchestras.

SBMC Concert Performances

Ray Tischer , Violist

Ray Tischer, violist, has performed internationally and has recorded over 1500 soundtracks, TV series, commercials, and albums with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and other notables. Dr. Tischer earned his DMA Degree from USC in viola and musicology, and is an avid practitioner of early music performance practice and jazz, in addition to being an Integrative and Music Therapist at Cottage Hospital. He performs on a Pietro Pallotta viola, made in Perugia, Italy in 1809, which he inherited from his mother, the esteemed violist Ann Tischer.

SBMC Concert Performances

Andrew Saunders , Viola da gambist

Andrew Saunders, viola da gambist, received his early training from Bill Darst, Professor of Baroque Violin at Oberlin Conservatory, with continued study at Viola da Gamba Society of America workshops. As cellist and double bassist, he has performed with the SBCC Symphony and the West Coast Symphony, and with chamber ensembles including Ensemble Aquila, the Paradox Trio, and the band, Waters Rising. Andrew performs on a viola da gamba left to him by Bill Darst when he passed away, and it is his inspiration that keeps his music alive.

SBMC Concert Performances

Ken Ryals , Baritone

Ken Ryals, baritone, holds an MM Degree from the University of Arizona and is an alumnus of SBCC, where he is now a faculty member. He performs in many different vocal milieux, ranging from opera to musical theater to jazz ensembles to cabaret entertainment, and his activities include serving as choreographer, composer/arranger, and director. He has toured with the vocal jazz group Cloudburst, and has produced a CD, Elements of Sunday Jazz, with guitarist Anthony Ybarra, with whom he performs regularly in Southern California.

SBMC Concert Performances

Ellie Cornfeld Melton , Harpsichordist

Ellie Cornfeld Melton, harpsichordist, received her BA Degree in Music from the School of Music at the University of Oregon and her MA Degree in Early Music Performance Practice from Stanford University. She has performed at the Peter Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon) Old First Church in San Francisco, and with the University of Pennsylvania Baroque Ensemble.

SBMC Concert Performances