Andrea Lárez, violinist, graduated from Westmont College in 2017. She is currently a member of the Camerata Internacional de Barcelona.

Mirah Ray, violinist, is a recent music performance graduate of Westmont College. She is currently pursuing graduate level education and an orchestral career. She is an instructor of violin at San Ramon Music and Fine Art School, Vallejo, California.

Philip Ficsor, violinist, is a highly acclaimed recording artist and enthusiastic advocate for contemporary American composers. As member of the duo American Double, with pianist Constantine Finehouse, he has toured across the U.S. and Europe, and the duo remains the only ensemble to have recorded the Complete Works for Violin and Piano of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
William Bolcom (Albany Records). Dr. Ficsor has also released two recordings featuring the works of Emma Lou Diemer: Summer Day and Going Away, with the composer at the keyboard, and in 2012 he collaborated with the Westmont College Orchestra to premiere Diemer’s Violin Concerto. Editorial advisor for publication through E.B. Marks/Hal Leonard Corporation for Bolcom’s violin and
piano works, he was tenured Associate Professor of Music at Westmont College from 2006-2013, and is currently a performing artist based in the Denver area.

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.

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.

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.

Marie Hébert, violin, is active as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. A former SB Music Club Scholarship awardee, she earned her BM and MM Degrees at UCSB, has performed with the Montecito International Music Festival, and toured in China with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. Marie is currently Teaching Artist and Youth Ensembles Personnel Manager with the SB Symphony, Teaching Artist for SB Strings, violinist with the Folk Orchestra of SB, and maintains a private violin/viola teaching studio.

Han Soo Kim, violinist, is an award-winning and internationally accomplished artist who has performed to critical acclaim in numerous countries on four continents. Dr. Kim has concertized extensively as solo performer, duo-recitalist and chamber musician. In the United States, he has performed in some of the nation’s most prominent venues including Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Weill Recital Hall and Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, Cutler Majestic Theater, Jordan Hall, Kaufmann Concert Hall, and The Kennedy Center. Performances have also led him to institutions and festivals including Académie Internationale de Courchevel, Boston Conservatory, Columbia University, Le Domaine Forget International Music Festival, The Juilliard School, Longy School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, Meadowmount School of Music, Morningside Music Bridge, Musicorda, New England Conservatory, and Stony Brook University. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras in the US and abroad performing standard concertos to contemporary world premieres. As a Promessa Records Artist he has released Encore Favori, a solo CD featuring a dozen encores and virtuosic showpieces, and will be recording the next album in 2021. He is Founder and the violinist of The Finehouse-Kim-Yhee Trio.
Dr. Kim has earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance under a fellowship grant. His Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in violin performance are from The Juilliard School where he was a merit scholarship recipient. His influential teachers and mentors include Roman Totenberg, Sally Thomas, and Pamela Frank. He has worked with distinguished chamber music artists including Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, and Orion String Quartets. He is a Bella Rosins Artist and performs on a Carlo Antonio Testore of 1721. His CDs can be purchased at the Westmont College bookstore and hanjoannekim.com. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son Kian and dog Dolce, exploring restaurants in Santa Barbara, playing pool, and gardening.

Nicole McKenzie, violinist, has performed widely as soloist and chamber musician. The Santa Barbara Independent declared, “McKenzie made a splash… she performed with gorgeous musicality.” Winner of the Sutton Chamber Music Award, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, earned a BM degree from Oberlin Conservatory, an MM degree from Florida State University, and studied with Gary Kosloski at the Music Academy of the West. She has studied improvisation with Christian Howes. Ms. McKenzie is concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Folk Orchestra, and performs in the accordion/violin duo Continental Cafe. She played electric violin in M.O.B. Jazz Ensemble, and regularly concertized with renowned pianist, Betty Oberacker. She has taught music to students of all ages, and is currently the elementary music teacher for the Carpinteria School District. She has worked at UC Santa Barbara as a lecturer and as a music director and music performer in the Theater and Dance Department. She has created a collaborative dance and music improvisation group and has performed in various music styles including classical, jazz, folk, klezmer, and musical theater. She performs on a violin created for her by Michel Eggimann of Rome, Italy.