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…

Clay Rodgers hails from Kennesaw, GA and is currently based out of Acworth. Primarily a double bass player, Clay also has proficiency in the other string instruments including the viola, violin, and cello. Clay started his musical journey in middle school when he and a friend and wanted to duet The Final Cou…

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…

Emily Rosas, a native of Denver, Colorado, is an avid instructor and performer of violin and viola and discovered her passion for music at the age of 10, setting her on a musical journey that has spanned over a decade. Under the guidance of Liesl Ann Devillier, principle violist of The Dallas Opera, Emily hon…

Ellie Ross, a violinist, earned her Bachelor’s degree in music from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Majoring in Music Industry, she not only studied violin performance, but she also studied audio engineering, business, and other aspects of music such as theory and history. Picking up the violin …

Born and raised in South Dakota, Megan Sanchez graduated with her Bachelor’s in Music specializing in Vocal Performance from California State University Northridge. Since graduating, she has dedicated herself completely to voice, piano, and strings instruction. As a multi-instrumentalist, she is able to s…

Born and raised in Indianapolis, Brian Scott began his study of music on the violin and piano at the age of four. He played chamber music and solo repertoire throughout elementary and high school, when he began composing as well. He was awarded the Thomas L. Read Award in Composition upon graduating from the …

Xiomara Sepúlveda, originally from Bucaramanga, Colombia, initiated her musical studies at the “Conservatorio de Música de Santander” at age nine. She continued her studies by being accepted into the national system of orchestras, “BATUTA” with performances throughout Colombia, as well as presentations in C…

Daniel Severance is a singer, violinist, and songwriter that thoroughly enjoys helping students get closer to music and find their sound. He started playing violin at age 5 and was classically trained through primary school. He started writing soul songs, singing, and creating and exploring new styles on the …