Santa Barbara Music Club

Member Type: String Player

Kathryn Mendenhall , Cellist

A Santa Barbara native, Kathryn Mendenhall has given solo and chamber music performances across Eastern Europe, Italy, Korea, and Indonesia. An avid supporter of new music, she was a long-time member of the Illustrious Theatre Orchestra, a composer-performer ensemble dedicated solely to the performance of modern and new works. Over the years, she has performed for both Lynn Harrell and Yo Yo Ma and studied primarily under Ben Hong, Bongshin Ko and Geoffrey Rutkowski. Ms. Mendenhall currently teaches mathematics at Dos Pueblos High School. She holds bachelor’s degrees in both music performance and physics from California State University, Fullerton, and a master’s degree in music performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

SBMC Concert Performances

Kristine Pacheco-Bernt , Violinist

Kristine Pacheco-Bernt is a professional violinist, arts administrator, and music educator motivated to make instrumental music relevant within the community. Raised at the intersection of mariachi and minuets, she draws upon over a decade of performing and teaching experience. Kristine strongly believes in the power of creative youth development through music and is proud to bring her perspective and skills to all kinds of projects. Prior to her work at the Music Academy of the West, Kristine served as a Teaching Artist at the Incredible Children’s Art Network (iCAN) music program, an El Sistema-inspired initiative in Santa Barbara providing free after-school music classes and academic enrichment to 120 elementary school children from an under resourced community. More recently Kristine served as the Director of Education at the Santa Barbara Symphony where she managed a continuum of music programs serving over 8,000 children throughout Santa Barbara County. She currently maintains a private violin studio designed to support students at all levels of musical development. She enjoys bringing together school administrators, families, and music professionals to create dynamic music education programs. Ms. Pacheco-Bernt holds a master’s degree in violin performance from San Francisco State University and dual bachelor’s degrees in music and premedical studies from University of California, Berkeley. She performs regularly throughout the central coast with the Santa Barbara Symphony, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and the Santa Maria Philharmonic.

SBMC Concert Performances

Myroslava Khomik , Violinist

Ukranian-American violinist and arts entrepreneur Myroslava Khomik brings her passion for music making not only to the most prestigious concert halls and festivals around the world, but also to notable film and television projects while based in Los Angeles. Known for her musical depth and sensitive approach, Ms. Khomik is dedicated to innovative programming, mixing different art forms, new works and commissions, and rediscovering the forgotten music gems. After her last tour in South America, Ms. Khomik was awarded a New Artist of the Year award in Argentina, and was featured on many TV and radio broadcasts worldwide. Most recent highlights include her commissions for solo violin and the release of her debut album “Protest”; performances with Orquestra Sinfônica do Theatro da Paz (Belém, Brazil), Orchestra del Teatro Goldoni di Livorno (Italy), Orquesta Filarmónica del Desierto Coahuilla (Mexico), Orquestra Sinfonica EAFIT (Medellin, Colombia), Orquesta Filarmónica de Zacatecas (Mexico), Orquestra de la Societat de Concerts de Barcelona, Kyiv Kamerata, as well as residencies in Brazil and Argentina with music programs for underprivileged children. A devoted chamber music advocate, Ms. Khomik frequently appears in chamber series in the US and Europe, and had the privilege of collaborating and performing alongside distinguished artists, such as members of the Borromeo, Jerusalem, Ysaye and Tokyo String Quartets, Midori Goto, Oleh Krysa, Carol Wincec, Fred Sherry, Ronald Leonard, to name a few. As an active educator and entrepreneur, Ms. Khomik received her Doctorate in Musical Arts degree in 2015 and has served on the faculty at several universities, given master classes, and lectures throughout the US, Mexico, and in Malaysia, co-founded one of the largest online international festivals during the pandemic, the Nextus Festival. Her international recital series Muse Ukraine had four editions of collaborative presentations and partnering with prestigious institutions in the UK, Germany and the US. It is a part of her Beyond the Muse foundation that focuses on music with meaning in today’s challenging world, and young arts mentorship. As her cultural diplomacy work, Dr. Khomik was invited as a keynote speaker and performer at the Belin’s conference on peace and diplomacy in 2023, and has appeared as a featured artist at the Finnish Embassy in London and most recently, at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington DC. www.myroslavakhomik.com

SBMC Concert Performances

Susannah Hoffman , Violist

Susannah Hoffman, violist, is the assistant music director at Goleta Valley Junior High. She teaches strings in the Goleta, Santa Barbara, and Hope School Districts and with the Santa Barbara Youth Ensembles. She plays viola in the Santa Barbara City College Symphony.

SBMC Concert Performances

Malvinni Valerie , Violinist, Violist

Valerie Malvinni, an avid performer and teacher on the violin and viola, is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Viola at University of Missouri, Columbia where she also serves as Executive Director of the Missouri String Project. She has taught violin, viola and chamber music at many schools and colleges including Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, and the Suzuki Violin School of Santa Barbara.

As an orchestral player, Valerie held principal positions with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, SB Symphony and was principal viola of the Haddonfield Symphony (now called Symphony in C) under Alan Gilbert. She was a regular substitute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for many years, performing under the direction of both Esa-Peka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel. A passionate chamber musician, she was mentored by Isaac Stern, Guarneri Quartet, Emerson Quartet, Juilliard Quartet,Takács Quartet, American Quartet, and Robert McDonald. She is currently the violist in the Esterházy string quartet in residence at Missouri, which has been in existence for over 50 years.

Valerie has performed in some notable halls such as Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Library of Congress, and with members of the NY Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic and internationally at Réncontres Musicales d’Evian. She is a graduate of Curtis Institute of Music where her teachers included Karen Tuttle, Felix Galimir, and Joseph dePasquale, and with Heiichiro Ohyama for her Master of Music degree from University of California Santa Barbara, and finally did doctoral studies at UCLA with Ralph Fielding and Paul Coletti.

This summer, Valerie is looking forward to teaching and performing at the Chigiana Global Academy Program in Siena, Italy.

SBMC Concert Performances

Gulia Gurevich , Violinist

Gulia Gurevich, is violinst and violist of the Prima Trio and winner of the Grand Prix and Gold Medals at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Co-founder of the Nelli Shkolnikova Academy (Château de La Flocellière, France) and Artistic Director of the “Classical Concerts on the Hill” in Los Angeles, she has taught masterclasses at Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatories and is a member of the jury of the International Violin Competition in Braga, Portugal. She is a graduate of Indiana University, and also holds a degree from Oberlin Conservatory. Gulia is currently pursuing a DMA Degree at UCSB.

SBMC Concert Performances

Alexander Gurevich , Violist

Alexander Gurevich, violist, completed his studies at the Manhattan School of Music, then studied at UCSB and USC. He has performed in the LA Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, New World Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and San Diego Symphony, and at Umbria
Segreta Concerts, French-American Quartet Festival, and the Paris Conservatory at Château de la Bretesche (France). Alexander has performed at Kneisel Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals, and is currently General Manager of the New West Symphony.

SBMC Concert Performances

Ervin Klinkon , Cellist

Ervin Klinkon, cellist, received his musical training in Germany and New York. He has performed as soloist and with chamber music ensembles in Europe and the U.S., and with orchestras in Houston and in Washington, D.C. (Kennedy Center Opera House, National Gallery, and National Symphony). Ervin served as Chairman of the Music Department at Montgomery College (MD) and conducted the Montgomery College Symphony Orchestra for twenty years. He now lives in Santa Barbara where he continues to lead an active musical life, playing with various ensembles, teaching cello, and coaching chamber music groups.

SBMC Concert Performances

Diana Ray-Goodman , Violist

Diana Ray-Goodman, violist, received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in music from California State University Northridge and worked on her Master’s Degree at Arizona State University. She has performed with several orchestras, including the Phoenix, Santa Barbara and Conejo Valley Orchestras and the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic. A member of the music faculty at both California State University Channel Islands and Moorpark College, she is an adjudicator and registered teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and also maintains a studio for violin and viola students in Thousand Oaks.

SBMC Concert Performances

Gary Chandler , Violinist

Gary Chandler, violinist, received his Bachelor’s Degree from UCLA with a major in motion pictures and a minor in music, and worked in the motion picture post-production industry at Paramount, Lorimar and Disney Studios for 40 years. He has played in a number of orchestras, including the Santa Monica Symphony, the Valley and New Valley Symphonies, and the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra. An avid collector of fine violins, he is active in presenting lectures and demonstrations, discussing the beauty and history of extraordinary violins, sharing both his insight and his collection of violins and bows.

SBMC Concert Performances