- Allyson Kramer, piano - Allyson is the founder of Vivace! Chamber Players. Allyson completed her undergraduate work at Western Washington University while studying with Ford Hill, and received her Master of Music degree in performance from the University of Minnesota. Allyson loves working with children and has been teaching piano in her private studio for over 20 years. She also homeschools her two daughters, Rachel and Carlin, who regularly perform solo and chamber music at their church and for community events. An active performer and accompanist, Allyson will serve as Music Director for Vivace! Chamber Players.

- Michael McLean, conductor - Michael received his B.M. in Violin Performance from Northwestern University where he studied violin, composition, counterpoint, and orchestration extensively. He has taught at the Music Center of the North Shore in the Chicago area and was Adjunct Professor of Violin at Texas Christian University from 1994-1997. Mr. McLean has taught throughout the country as a guest clinician at workshops and institutes. He is founder and president of Oak Cliff Publishing, which features 70 of his compositions and arrangements for strings and piano. His CD "Care to Tango?" was released in July of 1997 and was an instant success. The recording has been heard on National Public Radio as well as WFMT of Chicago. He has composed for numerous ensembles throughout the world, including a special commission for a performance at the Vatican for Pope John Paul II. Mr. McLean's work is also featured on his recent CD's, "New World", "Pieces", and "Kokoro". His Violin Concerto, "Elements", for violin and string orchestra, was recently recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. Brian Lewis is the featured soloist with Hugh Wolff as conductor. The Delos label will release the work in early 2006. Mr. Mclean lives in Los Angeles, where he has joined the violin faculty of the Colburn School. He has also recently completed the prestigious program at the University of Southern California, "Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television". He is currently working on his second Violin Concerto to be recorded with Brian Lewis and the London Symphony Orchestra. Other current commissions include a Violin Sonata, a Concerto for 4 Solo Violins, a Viola Concerto, an Opera, and a large-scale choral work, "The St. Thomas Passion".

- Anna Edwards, conductor - Anna is director of Seattle’s Roosevelt High School Orchestra program, overseeing some 150 students enrolled in the school’s Concert, Symphony, and Chamber Orchestras as well as two piano classes. Under her direction, Roosevelt has become one of the flagship orchestra programs of the Seattle Public School District, frequently earning top honors at local, state and regional festivals and producing graduates who regularly gain admission to the nation’s elite music conservatories.

In addition to her responsibilities at RHS, where she has directed the orchestra program for the past eight years, Anna is a freelance violinist in the Seattle metropolitan area and performs regularly with the Auburn Symphony Orchestra.

- Jennifer Hammill, piano - Jennifer began the piano first with her mother, and then with Ford Hill at Western Washington University. She received a Master's degree in piano performance at Arizona State University. In 1991 she completed a doctorate with Bela Siki at the University of Washington. She has been the recipient of several awards and graduate scholarships. Jennifer is active as a chamber musician and accompanist. She adjudicates throughout the state, presents many pedagogical workshops for the Washington State Music Teachers Association, and teaches privately in Seattle. In her spare time, she likes to garden, cook, work in wood, and play with her cats.

- Mark Salman, piano - Mark Salman's performances have been described as "powerful", "dramatic", "wildly imaginative", and "touchingly lyrical"; of his performance of Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata one authority stated, "there are probably only five or six pianists in the world who can play [it] as perfectly". Mr. Salman is perhaps best known for his expertise on Beethoven, having performed the complete cycle of thirty-two piano sonatas on both coasts. With his New York performances of the sonatas in 1990-91, Mr. Salman joined the ranks of the handful of master pianists to perform the complete cycle - and at the age of twenty-eight, he was one of the youngest. During the 1996-97 season he repeated the Beethoven Cycle in Seattle, co-sponsored by Orchestra Seattle, Sherman Clay Pianos and KING-FM. The performances were repeated in a series of eighteen live broadcasts on KING, the first broadcast performance of the cycle in the northwest, heard by a listening audience of 125,000. An upcoming project is to record the Beethoven sonatas on CD, and his book of commentary and analysis on the Beethoven Sonatas is also forthcoming.

Mr. Salman's artistry can be heard on a critically praised Titanic Records CD featuring works by Alkan, Beethoven and Liszt. Upcoming recording projects include CDs of Beethoven Sonatas and a concerto recording with the Northwest Sinfonietta under Maestro Christophe Chagnard. His account of his meetings with and playing for Vladimir Horowitz appears in David Dubal's book, Evenings with Horowitz.

- Marissa Rebadulla-Ramos, piano - Marissa, a native of the Philippines, holds a Masters of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Washington where she studied under Patricia Michaelian. She has also studied voice under Tom Harper for her post baccalaureate degree in vocal performance. Among her major achievements include winning in the 1995 National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) in the Philippines and being chosen the official pianist for the US, Canadian and Australian tour of the internationally-acclaimed University of the Philippines Concert Chorus in 1996. Ms. Rebadulla-Ramos is the owner of the Allegro Suzuki Piano Studio where she has numerous award-wining students. She is also the music specialist at the St. George School in Seattle where she teaches the Dalcroze and Kodaly method. Among her affiliations include the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle and the Honor Society of the University of the Philippines. Seattle has been home to Ms. Rebadulla-Ramos since 1997 where she lives happily with her loving husband, Mario and their two giant dogs.

- Tracy Helming, violin - Tracy received a master's of music from the Yale School of Music in 1994. She completed two years of Suzuki training at the Hartt School of Music with Teri Einfeldt and has been a devoted Suzuki violin teacher ever since. She teaches at the Oregon Suzuki Institute, the Anchorage Suzuki Institute, and is delighted to teach at Vivace! Chamber Players for a fourth year! She has a violin studio in Seattle, Washington. She freelances with orchestras around the Northwest, including the Boise Philharmonic, the Northwest Sinfonietta, is a member of the Cameo String Quartet, and frequently gives recitals.

- Gaye Detzer, violin, has been a Suzuki teacher for 30 years, currently maintaining a studio on Vashon Island with more than 50 students. She has taught violin classes and chamber music at Suzuki institutes in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, as well as at Vivace! Chamber Players. Her family has four "Suzuki" children, one of whom graduated from Cleveland Institute of Music and is now making a career as a cellist. The others find music to be an important part of their non-professional lives. She plays violin and viola with the Arioso Ensemble and loves to ride horses.

- Heather Bentley, viola - Heather is Director of Seattle Conservatory of Music’s Chamber Music Program; BM and MM in Viola Performance and Chamber Music, (San Francisco Conservatory of Music). Indiana University chamber music with Rostislav Dubinsky, Joseph Gingold and Menachem Pressler. Fellow and Principal Viola, Tanglewood Music Festival; Associate Principal Viola, the New York String Orchestra with Alexander Schneider. Soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, Northwest Sinfonietta, the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra. Guest appearances with Seattle Chamber Players, Olympic Music Festival, Second City Chamber Music Series, Bell’ Arte Series, The New Performance Group at Cornish College of the Arts. Currently Ms. Bentley serves on the Music Faculty of the Northwest School, is violist with the Odeon Quartet and teaches violin.

- Rajan Krishnaswami, cello - After sampling just about all there is to sample in the world of classical music, from touring as soloist with orchestra to playing pick-up gigs at parties where you can’t even hear yourself, I’ve come to realize that Chamber Music is, for me, the pinnacle. Ah, Chamber Music! Learning to communicate with others who share your joy at music making… finding the satisfaction of getting that passage exactly together for the first time… sharing what you have learned with others who appreciate what it takes to do what you do… there is little in this world that satisfies and feeds the soul in the way that Chamber Music can. That’s why I’ve started Simple Measures, an intimate, neighborhood based Chamber Music series in the Seattle area. www.simplemeasures.org. It is special, and crucially important to pass on what we know to young people, to help foster a love of classical music as broadly as possible. I am very happy to be participating in this summer camp so that I can help spread the appreciation of this great music.

- Janet Neumann, cello - Janet received her early musical training in Seattle with Claire Sokol, Nina de Veritch Smith and the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras. She graduated from the University of Southern California with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Cello Performance. While there, she studied with Eleonore Schoenfeld and Gabor Rejto. Janet has played in the Sinfonica de Venezuela, Sinfonietta de Caracas, Bellevue Philharmonic, Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and the Salieri String Quartet. She has been teaching private cello lessons in the Seattle area since 1990, and is currently teaching Suzuki cello at the Pacific Northwest School of Music in Bellevue, Washington.

- Mary Walters, cello - Mary earned her master’s degree in cello performance and pedagogy from Northern Illinois University and her bachelor’s degree in music cum laude from the University of Oregon Honors College. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Northwest Indiana Symphony, and a substitute cellist with the Milwaukee Symphony and Oregon Mozart Players. Ms. Walters has participated in the Spoleto USA, Kent/Blossom and Bowdoin summer music festivals, and has performed in master classes for Yo-Yo Ma, Tim Eddy, Ron Leonard, Sharon Robinson, and the Tokyo String Quartet. Ms. Walters has served on the cello faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago, and was teaching assistant to Marc Johnson at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival. Currently she maintains an active private cello studio in Capitol Hill and directs the string ensemble at the University Child Development School in Seattle.

- Jennifer Nelson, clarinet - Jennifer is currently Principal Clarinet with the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Auburn Symphony Orchestras. She also has a very active freelance career, including playing Broadway-style shows at the Fifth Avenue and Paramount Theaters, occasional extra with the Seattle Symphony and Opera Orchestras, and records for various television and motion picture scores; she is also Affiliate Artist Faculty in Clarinet at the University of Puget Sound. Nelson has also traveled throughout the United States with the national touring companies of Phantom of the Opera and New York City Opera. In addition to her stateside concerts, Jennifer’s orchestral and recital performances have also taken her to Mexico, Japan, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Honduras, and most recently, India.

- Bonnie Blanchard, flute - Bonnie has long been respected in the Seattle area as a versatile freelance musician and a dynamic instructor of award winning students. She holds music and teaching degrees from the University of Washington. She began playing flute when she was 19, and later engaged in a series of private instruction on piano, violin, viola, voice, and flute. Her creative ideas and unbridled enthusiasm for teaching have consistently produced students who win top awards in contests and earn college and conservatory scholarships. The rapport Bonnie cultivates with her students, and her unique teaching techniques, create musicians who develop their skills and enjoy a lifelong love of music.

- Darlene Franz, oboe - Darlene enjoys an active freelance career, appearing as oboe soloist, chamber music collaborator, and orchestral musician throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is a highly sought-after performer on both modern and historical oboes. Recent and upcoming highlights include solo oboe appearances in services at Temple de Hirsch Sinai, Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Seattle First Baptist Church, and St. Bridget's Catholic Church, and solo recorder at Bellevue Presbyterian church, as well as playing oboe and English Horn for Village Theatre's upcoming production of Aida. She's also delighted to be playing Baroque oboe this season with Seattle Baroque in Handel's Messiah, and in Bach's St. John Passion with Choral Arts Northwest. Darlene is a member of Philharmonia Northwest, and has been engaged by numerous local and regional ensembles, including Seattle Pro Musica, the Northwest Sinfonietta, Seattle New Music Ensemble, Vancouver (B.C.) Cantata Singers, Village Theatre, and Baroque Northwest. She has performed at the Oregon Coast Music Festival, Seattle's Folklife and Bumbershoot Festivals, and the Lopez Island Performance Seminar. Recent chamber music collaborations include appearances with the Bella Music Quartet and the Convergence Chamber Players. She is also a frequent soloist at churches through the greater Puget Sound region. Darlene's performance of Baroque music on modern oboes has been noted for its nuanced expressiveness, and in recital she has received acclaim for for her unique presence and ability to connect with audiences. Darlene is also in demand as a music educator throughout the greater Seattle area. As a member of the Philharmonic Wind Quintet, she has introduced the oboe to over 100,000 Western Washington schoolchildren, and each Spring she serves as Artist in Residence to the West Woodland Elementary School Recorder Program. She is a faculty member at Music Works Northwest, where she teaches oboe and recorder, in addition to maintaining an independent private studio. She has taught at the University of Washington. Darlene holds degrees in music and chemistry from the University of California, Davis, and in oboe performance from the University of Washington, where her teachers included Alex Klein and Rebecca Henderson.

- Robert Vierschilling, guitar - Robert earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in classical guitar at the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Ray Chester, Julian Gray, and Manuel Barrueco, and has performed in Master Classes for artists such as David Leisner, David Starobin, and Dennis Koster. He completed Suzuki guitar teacher training through unit 6, and is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He currently teaches private lessons and group classes at Rosewood Guitar in Seattle and at Pacific Northwest School of Music in Bellevue.