Irving Weinstein, violinist, received his MA Degree from DePauw University and an Artist Diploma from the Los Angeles Conservatory, where he studied with Toscha Seidel. Violinist with the Oceano Chamber Players and violist in the Roth String Quartet, resident quartet at UCLA for 11 years, he taught violin and viola in the Los Angeles Public School System. Irving has been Administrator in the LA Community College District, Academic Vice President at two of its colleges, and retired as the Vice Chancellor of the college district. He currently performs in several local orchestras and chamber music ensembles.
Member Type: String Player
Matthew Maler
Matthew Maler, violinist, is currently a junior at Westmont College, studying philosophy and performing with the Westmont Orchestra. He has performed in several Westmont theater productions in both acting and musical roles, and is engaging in research in preparation for graduate study in philosophy.
SBMC Concert Performances
Isaac Kay
Isaac Kay, violinist, is a senior at Westmont College, majoring in Music Performance and studying with Dr. Han Soo Kim. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music during his high school years, and was a principle player in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Isaac has performed in the Brevard and Credo Chamber Music Festivals and the Stringendo School for Strings.
Wynston Hamann , Cellist
Wynston Hamann, cellist, is a freshman at Westmont College, studying with Trevor Handy and performing in the Westmont College Orchestra and chamber music groups. Wynston has been a pupil of Jamie Kellog in Phoenix, AZ, and spent four summers at Interlochen Summer for the Arts, studying with Jeffrey Lestrapes and performing with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra.
SBMC Concert Performances
Thomas Heck , Guitar
Thomas Heck, classical guitarist, is a graduate of the doctoral program in musicology at Yale University (1970). After a career in the histories of both music and theatre, he enjoys ‘emeritus’ opportunities like this to perform for the pure pleasure of it. He especially likes to accompany the human voice with his classical guitar. Currently he is an adjunct faculty member at Santa Barbara City College’s Center for Lifelong Learning and a frequent musical animateur at continuing care facilities for the frail elderly in Santa Barbara.
SBMC Concert Performances
Hal Onserud , Bass
Hal Onserud, bass, is Principal Bassist of the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra and has been substitute bassist with the SB Symphony. He was a member of the American Symphony, Canada Symphony (Montreal). New Jersey Symphony, Orchestra/Chamber Orchestra of St. Luke’s (New York City), and Maracaibo Symphony (Venezuela). A frequent performer in improvised/new music groups in Amsterdam and NYC, he continues those activities in California. His album, Hal 2008, is available at www.amazon.com/Hal-2008-Onserud/dp/B0045H8MIQ.
SBMC Concert Performances
Joey Malvinni
Joseph Malvinni, from Santa Barbara, began classical guitar studies at age four with his father. Already a virtuoso player, he has honed his performance level in masterclasses and recitals throughout the US and Europe, including the Chigiana (Siena, Italy), Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria), Eliot Fisk International Seminar (Granada, Spain), Boston GuitarFest, Cleveland Guitar Festival, Baltimore Classical Guitar Society and Pepperdine University. He has played for some of the world’s greatest living maestros of the instrument, including Eliot Fisk, Oscar Ghiglia, Rene Izquierdo, Leo Brouwer, Manuel Barrueco, Meng Su, Benjamin Verdery, Jason Vieux, Phillip de Fremery, David Tanenbaum and Joaquín Clerch. Joseph was the winner for the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony Concerto Competition which led him to solo with the Santa Barbara Symphony at the Granada Theater. He won first prize at the Latin American Guitar Festival, second prize at the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, and second prize at the URI Guitar Festival; he was also a finalist at the Stroud Competition.At the young age of 10, Joey was a finalist at Boston GuitarFest and the Christopher Parkening Junior Competition. Joey is a graduate of Dos Pueblos High and was a member of the Engineering Academy. In his school, Joey was a founding member of the Coding club and led his coding team to win first place in an International Hack-a-thon.
Joey, currently a college freshman, is a proud recipient of the Parkening and Regents scholarship at Pepperdine University and studies classical guitar with Christopher Parkening. Joseph is honored to play for the Santa Barbara Music Club, whose scholarship has been a major supporter of his playing since he was seven years old.
Larissa Fedoryka , Cellist
Larissa Fedoryka, cellist, began her cello studies at the age of three. As a child she joined her nine siblings who toured as the Classical chamber ensemble, The Fedoryka Family Players. The group performed in venues nationally, their tours culminating in multiple performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as well as a performance at The Wolf Trap International Children’s Festival. More recently Larissa has made the transition to world music, touring with artists such as Marco Antonio Solis, Croatia’s pop artist Tajci, the Celtic/Americana band Scythian, and Mexico’s pop diva Gloria Trevi. In 1910 she was hired to arrange pop songs for orchestra by “The Harmony Project” – the LA Symphony’s program to enrich inner city youth through music. She studied at the Boston Conservatory with Andrew Mark and at Ohio University with Dr. Michael Carrera, and is currently completing her DMA in Performance at UCSB, where she studies with Jennifer Kloetzel.
SBMC Concert Performances
Sofia Malvinni , Violinist
Sofia Malvinni, violin, stems from a musical family. She started violin lessons at age three with her mother, a Curtis Institute of Music and UCSB alumna. A Santa Barbara Music Club scholarship awardee, Sofia has won numerous prizes and awards, including First Prize in the 2019 Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Junior Competition. She is a three-time winner in the Santa Barbara Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, where she has served as concertmaster for the last four years. At age 11, she performed the Bach Double Concerto with the Santa Barbara Symphony under the direction of Nir Kabaretti at the Granada Theater. In May of 2022, she was invited by Maestro Kabaretti to play in the first violin section of the Santa Barbara Symphony.
She has performed in numerous masterclasses and received lessons with renowned violinists, including Benjamin Beilman, Martin Beaver, Nathan Cole, Jennifer Koh, and Kirill Troussov, and artists such as Eliot Fisk from top conservatories (Hans Eisler Hochschule für Musik-Berlin, Colburn Music School, Curtis Institute, New England Conservatory of Music, Royal College of Music) in the US and Europe. She has spent three summers at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and was also chosen for a masterclass at the Steinway House in Munich in May 2022.
Sofia graduated a year early from Dos Pueblos High School, having fulfilled her degree requirements as a dual enrollment student at SBCC. Always challenging herself, she excels at academics and sports. While in high school Sofia thrived as a member of the Engineering Academy and was also on the Varsity Girls Soccer team while continuing to play on the Central Coast Academy soccer team.
As a community service, Malvinni has given numerous performances to help bring aid to the people affected by the crisis in Ukraine. She has become an ambassador for Direct Relief and was honored in May of 2022 for her “extraordinary commitment to the health and lives of people affected by the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in the Ukraine.” Since the crisis in the Ukraine is still ongoing, you may contribute to her fundraiser online here.
Sofia is currently attending the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as an undergraduate violin major in the studio of Professor Simon James. She plays on a 1741 Guarneri copy by renowned German maker Bernd Dimbauth and is striving to win a competition where she can receive the loan of an old Italian instrument to further her career ambition to be a soloist.
In addition to all things musical, Sofia is a lover of nature, animals, soccer and sunsets. When not practicing she enjoys her time with friends and the outdoors. She thanks the Santa Barbara Music Club for the many scholarships she has received over the years and for the opportunity of this solo recital. She is grateful for the support from the Santa Barbara community.
Virginia Kron , Cellist
Virginia Kron, cellist, was hailed in the Los Angeles Times: “Accomplished cellist … has done her best to keep alive the music of our time” and by the Ventura County Reporter: “Virginia evoked a rich, dark tone from her 300 year-old instrument.” From her extensive career, of special note is her premiere of John Biggs’ Cello Concerto with the New West Symphony and subsequent recording with the Czech National Symphony, and most recently, her premiere of Jimmy Calire’s Jazzical Cello Sonata. Her original album, “The Crystal Harp,” evoked this tribute from the American Library Association Booklist Review: “This original humorous fantasy, written and performed by Virginia Kron, features clear, well-paced narration and delightful music.” She has a B.M. Degree from the University of Wisconsin and a M.M. Degree from USC, and has long been a pillar on cello at California’s Cabrillo Festival. A frequent collaborator with UCSB’s Ensemble for Contemporary Music with featured festival performances and recordings, her mastery of the music of our time is matched by recordings and concerts with noted Celtic harpist Kim Robertson.