Faculty

For over three decades, cellist Christopher Costanza has enjoyed a varied and exciting career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. Costanza is currently the cellist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, and with the quartet, he is an Artist in Residence at Stanford University, where he teaches cello and chamber music and performs a wide variety of concerts each season.

Rainer Eudeikis is the Principal Cellist of the San Francisco Symphony, holding the Philip S. Boone Chair. Prior to his appointment in 2022, he was Principal Cellist of the Atlanta Symphony and the Utah Symphony. He made an acclaimed solo debut with the SFS in 2024, performing Esa-Pekka Salonen's Cello Concerto under the composer's baton.

Violinist Katherine Fong has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2000. A native of Amarillo, Texas, she began playing at age four. Katherine leads a multifaceted existence as an orchestral musician, chamber musician, soloist, entrepreneur, studio musician, and mother. 

Laura Hamilton was Principal Associate Concertmaster for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, where she led hundreds of performances over 33 years. She was previously a member of the Chicago Symphony and served as concertmaster at the Sydney Opera House. She currently teaches violin and chamber music at New York University.

 Frost School of Music, University of Miami
Ross Harbaugh is Professor of Cello at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. His distinguished teachers include Janos Starker and Leonard Rose in the United States and Andre Navarra at the Paris Conservatory, and chamber music study with the Juilliard Quartet. As a founding member of the New World String Quartet he won the Naumburg Prize, a Prix du Disque, and recorded 20 records and CD’s for Vox, MCI Classic and IMP Masters, and many more.

Yumi Hwang-Williams, Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony since 2000, is an American violinist of exceptional musicianship who is recognized for both her stylish performances of the classics and her commitment to the works of present-day composers. Yumi’s interpretations of concertos by Thomas Adés, Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael Daugherty, Christopher Rouse have earned her critical acclaim.

Aside from being a section bass member at the Metropolitan Opera, Daniel also has had several endeavors in chamber music which include performances with the Tokyo String Quartet, Live From Here on NPR, The Knights and several performances of Mozart’s “Per Questa Bella Mano.”

Priscilla Lee joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as Associate Principal Cello at the start of the 2016-2017 season. A 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, she began studying at age five and made her solo debut in 1998 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Joseph Lescher has been the Principal Bass of the San Francisco Opera for 31 years, since 1992. He was a past member of the Seattle Symphony and the Oregon Symphony, and has worked with the Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, San Francisco Ballet and has spent summers with the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson, Wyoming for the past 17 years.

  Frost School of Music, University of Miami
A recipient of the Sarlo Family Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, Jodi Levitz serves as professor of viola at the Frost School of Music, Artistic Coordinator of Stamps Ensembles, and Co-Artistic Director of the Zephyr Chamber Music Festival. She was previously the principal viola soloist with the Italian chamber orchestra "I Solisti Veneti" and violist of the Ives Quartet and Chicago String Trio. 

  Frost School of Music, University of Miami
Violin soloist, pedagogue, and clinician Bettina Mussumeli enjoys a storied and varied career as a concert artist on the great stages of the world. She was co-concertmaster and soloist of the Italian chamber orchestra "I Solisti Veneti" and the first violinist of the Ives Quartet. She currently serves on the faculty of the Frost School of Music and the Zephyr Chamber Music Festival.

  Frost School of Music, University of Miami
Margaret Donaghue is an associate professor of clarinet and director of the woodwind program at the Frost School of Music, as well as co-founder and Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Chamber Music Festival. She has performed as a chamber musician and soloist in more than a dozen countries across three continents and at major venues around the world.

Blair Francis Paponiu joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Flute, holding the Catherine & Russell Clark Chair, at the beginning of the 2023–24 season. She previously held the Susan and Tom Brown Chair as Assistant Principal/Second Flute with the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, and performed with the New York Philharmonic as acting section flute for two consecutive seasons.

  Frost School of Music, University of Miami
Hailed as "a deft, smooth flute soloist" by the New York Times, Jennifer Grim's remarkable depth and breadth as a performer of solo and chamber repertoire has gained broad national acclaim. Grim is currently an associate professor at The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, and she serves on the Board of Directors of Chamber Music America.

Kevin Pearl is the assistant principal oboe of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, a position he began in the fall of 2015. Prior to his appointment in Milwaukee, Kevin was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, and toured with the orchestra to the Harris Theater, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall.

Jessica Phillips won her position in the clarinet section of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2001. She graduated cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University, where she was also enrolled in the joint lesson program with Manhattan School of Music. She has performed as Acting Principal Clarinet of the MET Orchestra during 2003-2004, 2011-2013, 2014-2016 and the 2021-2022 seasons.

  Frost School of Music, University of Miami
Timothy Conner, Associate Professor of Practice, Instrumental Performance, joined the faculty of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in 1995.  In addition to teaching individual studio lessons, he conducts the Frost Trombone Choir, coaches chamber music, teaches courses in trombone pedagogy and literature, and serves as a faculty mentor on multiple doctoral committees.

David Garcia has been Solo Trombonist of the Philharmonia Zürich, Orchester der Opera since 2007. Previously he was Principal Trombonist of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence, Italy) and the Hartford Symphony. He has performed worldwide with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Orchestra of St. Lukes, San Antonio Symphony, and US Coast Guard Band.

Originally from Springfield, Missouri, Julia Pilant is the Assistant Principal Horn. Before joining the Met, Ms. Pilant was principal horn with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for 10 years. She then returned to New York City where she performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York City Opera, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Symphony Orchestra, and various Broadway shows.

Pablo Rieppi, originally from Uruguay, is a distinguished presence in New York’s music scene, where he is revered for his artistry across multiple musical genres. A tenured member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra, he also serves as Percussion Department Coordinator and Faculty at The Juilliard School's Pre-College Division and Music Advancement Program, and recently joined the faculty at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.