Daniel Johnson’s musical journey began at age seven. Music has always been a very special part of Daniel’s life. Starting in Houston, Daniel performed in top positions of TMEA Region orchestras and Texas All-State. He also enjoyed playing in the Houston Youth Symphony and the Virtuosi of Houston in additi…

A graduate of Education University of Hong Kong in 2014, Calvin Lee is an educator, musician, violin teacher, and orchestra conductor. Hong Kong-born Dr. Lee was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Violin Performing and Music Theory, Music History, Orchestral Conductor, and Music Education. His first Master’s degree an…

Leah Gastler is an enthusiastic musician with a love of collaboration and communication. Having begun her musical studies on the violin, she took on the viola as her voice of preference during high school. While maintaining both instruments, she studied viola at Bard College Conservatory with Steven Tenenbom …

Luanda Plasencia is a violin, viola, cello and piano teacher born in Havana, Cuba. She began her musical studies at the age of 7, and continued her music education all the way up until her graduation from the Higher Institute of Art in Havana in 2009 with a degree in teaching violin and chamber music. Perform…

An avid educator Adrian Ponce has taught both privately and in public schools. He has participated as a Solo and Ensemble judge for several school districts in the Rio Grande Valley. During his time in the Houston metro area, Adrian has taught with the Houston Youth Symphony’s “El Sistema” based Coda …

Houston violinist Melanie Riordan began playing the violin at the age of ten in her hometown of New Rochelle, NY. After graduating from the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College, Melanie received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University where she studied with esteemed pedagogue Cyrus Forough. While at CMU, Mel…

Kristen Roberts is an active performer and music teacher in the Houston area. Introduced to classical music through an after-school strings program in her hometown, Kristen’s music education began on the violin. She took private lessons with Craig Sorgi (San Antonio Symphony, Assistant Concertmaster) and su…

Originally from Los Angeles, Emely moved to Houston when she was 10 years old. It was around this time that she became deeply interested in playing an instrument. Even though she came from a home that could not afford private lessons and rented instruments, she continued on and with the help of a her school t…

American violinist Valeri Speights helps her students cultivate a life-long love of playing the violin through the use of historically informed techniques and practice strategies.

As a chamber musician and orchestral performer, she has travelled and trained extensively as a professional violinist. Valeri s…

Dr. Shih-Ting Wu is an accomplished pianist, performer, educator, and musical artist who is initially from Taiwan.

Dr. Wu possesses an extensive education in the realm of music, recently earning her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from University of Texas at Austin in the Spring of 2018 …