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.
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.
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.
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.
Erik Fauss is a freelance violist and singer/songwriter. He is currently finishing his Masters at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Juan-Miguel Hernandez and Helene Clement. Before moving to London, Fauss completed his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. In the Fall of 2016, he studied with Matthias Maurer and Thomas Selditz in Vienna and Yuta Nishiyama at the University of Arts in Berlin.
Rodney Wirtz, violist, is a Southern California native who is active as a freelance musician in the studio scene, performing with numerous orchestras, collaborating on recordings and film soundtracks with renowned popular artists, and touring with them in the United States and abroad. He holds a BM Degree in Viola Performance from California State University Long Beach, studying with John Hayhurst, and an MM Degree from the University of Southern California, studying with Donald McInnes. In the last few years, his most memorable projects have been with Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, Ron Isley, Michael Jackson, Barry Manilow, Arturo Sandoval, Silversun Pick-ups, Marco Antonio Solis, Barbra Streisand, Taylor Swift, John Williams, Yellowcard, and many other notables. In 2014 he toured internationally with recording artist John Legend for his “All of Me” tour, and continues to perform with a variety of artists and diverse ensembles, including the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Muse/ique Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. He currently teaches viola at East Los Angeles College.
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.
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.