Meet the 2026
Basically Beethoven Festival
Featured Performers

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 12, 2026
Sara Daneshpour, piano
“She created transfixing poetry.” (The Washington Post): Pianist Sara Daneshpour has worldwide audiences and critics spellbound with her “blazing technique, power, expressivity, imagination and stage presence” (The New York Concert Review), establishing herself as one of the most refined artists of her generation.
Highlights of recent and coming seasons for Sara include performances with the Israel Camerata and Israel Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Tours, Catskill Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and Britt Festival Orchestra.
Sara Daneshpour has appeared in solo recitals at the Southbank Centre in London, the Musée d'Orsay, Salle Cortot, Mazzoleni Concert Hall in Toronto, the Copenhagen Summer Festival, the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, San Francisco Chamber Music, Mariinsky International Piano Festival in St. Petersburg, and the International Keyboard Festival in New York.
In orchestra concerts and solo recitals, Sara Daneshpour stuns audiences with an unusually wide repertoire ranging from Bach to Boulez, with her dazzling technique and an exceptional level of artistic depth and sincerity. Her performances, described as “a powerhouse account, producing enough tone for two pianists in the process” (Baltimore Sun), are critically acclaimed as lavishing “colour on oft-neglected lines, illuminating subtle beauties” (The New York Concert Review). Her current solo programme of Études by Chopin and Ligeti combines two of the most intriguing and most demanding works ever written for the piano.
Ms. Daneshpour has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Germany, Russia, Finland, France, Sweden, Spain, Israel, and Japan. She has been heard at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.
Sara Daneshpour is the third prize winner of the 2017 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, the 2014 prize winner at the Seoul International Music Competition in Seoul, and 2013 Laureate of the ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association. She won the first prize of the XII Concours International de Musique du Maroc, second prize of the 2007 William Kapell International Piano Competition, and first prize and gold medal of the 2007 International Russian Music Piano Competition.
Born in Washington, DC, into an Iranian-American family, Sara Daneshpour has studied under the direction of Leon Fleisher at the Curtis Institute of Music, with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Oleg Volkov at the Juilliard School, and with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Ms. Daneshpour previously was on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has joined the faculty of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, in 2025.
Ms. Daneshpour's website

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 19, 2026
Filip Fenrych, violin
Born in Poland, violinist Filip Fenrych joined the Dallas Symphony in 2008. Prior to joining the DSO, he served as an Assistant Concertmaster in the San Antonio Symphony. His concerto debut at age 14 took place in Germany and since then, he has performed all around the world. Mr. Fenrych received his degrees at the Oberlin Conservatory, University of North Texas and Cleveland Institute of Music. His principal teachers were Julia Bushkova, Almita and Roland Vamos, and William Preucil. In addition to receiving full scholarships, he supported his education by winning numerous competitions, including Virtu Foundation Award, Gold Medals in Entergyand Crescendo Music Awards. An avid chamber musician and the founder of the Klimt Trio, Mr. Fenrych won the Grand Prix in The Coleman Competition and a silver medal in The Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. He appeared in prestigious music festivals such as Taos, Music Academy of the West and Verbier Festival. He recorded for CBS Radio in Canada and Voice of America, Polish Art Division. His most recent concerto appearance was with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the DSO, Mr. Fenrych is currently a member of the Verbier Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland.
W. Paul Radman, DDS & Jane Vandecar Chair at Dallas Symphony Orchestra
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Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Stacie Mickens, horn
Dr. Stacie Mickens is Professor of Horn at the University of North Texas College of Music. She was previously Associate Professor at the Dana School of Music, Youngstown State University and adjunct faculty at Luther College and Winona State University. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Luther College.
Mickens is a member of The Dallas Opera and has performed with Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Plano Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds, Blossom Music Festival, Monarch Brass, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. She previously held positions in orchestras in Richardson, Akron, Wheeling, Youngstown, Lansing, Dearborn, Southwest Michigan, La Crosse, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, and Dubuque.
She is a founding member of the Lantana Trio and a member of Stiletto Brass Quintet. Lantana Trio’s 2022 album, Crossing Barriers, features commissioned works by Jeff Scott, Ivette Herryman Rodriguez, Shanyse Strickland, Dorothy Gates, and Erik Morales. The group co-hosted the International Women’s Brass Conference at UNT in 2022.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 19, 2026
Gina Ford, oboe
Gina Ford is Principal Oboe of The Dallas Opera. She regularly performs with ensembles including the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Dallas Chamber Symphony. She is a member of the Sun Valley Music Festival and has also performed at, Bravo!Vail, Spoleto USA, Music Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, Banff Centre, National Orchestral Institute, and the Round Top Festival Institute.
Ms. Ford received her Masters degree from Rice University as a student of Robert Atherholt, and her BM Oboe Performance and BA Psychology at Southern Methodist University as a student of Erin Hannigan.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Ben Mitchell, bass
Ben Mitchell is a freelance double bassist and private teacher based in North Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, where he studied with Carlos Gaviria. Additional teachers and mentors include Gudrun Raschen, Jack Unzicker, Jeff Bradetich, and Dr. Gene Moon.
As a performer, Ben serves as Assistant Principal Bass of the Allen Philharmonic Orchestra and McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra and is a regular substitute with the Dallas Winds and Dallas Chamber Symphony. Previous orchestral appointments include Principal Bass of the Longview Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Pines.
Ben maintains a private double bass studio in Plano where he lives with his wife Angie, their daughter Isabel, and their dachshund Cooper.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 19, 2026
Sarah Sung, viola
Australian-Korean violist Sarah Sung joined the DSO as Associate Principal Viola in September of 2023.
Sarah takes music beyond the stages of Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House, traveling globally to diverse and marginalized communities since the age of eight. Together with Timothy Chooi and Drake Driscoll, Sarah is a cofounder of VISION Collective — an initiative that builds meaningful relationships with and among refugees by sharing and exchanging music between diverse communities. In recognition of their work, the VISION Collective was the recipient of the $20,000 McGraw Family Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach in 2020.
Sarah’s passion for chamber music led her to attend prestigious festivals including Music@Menlo, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Yellow Barn, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop and Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music. She has performed alongside distinguished artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Roger Tapping and Vivian Weilerstein. Sarah has been a guest violist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Jupiter Chamber Players, Minnesota Orchestra and Delirium Chamber Orchestra, and has served as Principal Violist of the Juilliard Orchestra in venues such as Alice Tully Hall and David Geffen Hall.
Sarah is the First Prize winner of the 2023 Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago, and winner of the Australian NSW Concerto Competition making her double concerto debut at age 12, with her violist sister, Lisa.
Sarah received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Paul Neubauer, Cynthia Phelps and Misha Amory. Prior to joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, she had completed her first year of Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University. Before moving to the States, Sarah studied with the Principal Viola of Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tobias Breider.
Sarah performs on a 2005 Douglas C. Cox viola generously on loan from the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Heather Test, horn
Heather Test is Instructor II of Horn at Texas Christian University. Heather has a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of North Texas (2001) and a Master of Music in Performance from Southern Methodist University (2003). Professor Test is 4th horn in
the Plano Symphony Orchestra and recently completed a one-year position with the Dallas Opera Orchestra 2025-26 season as 2nd horn. She is also one of many members of the Dallas based rock-symphonic-choral-pop group The Polyphonic Spree whose eighth studio album, Salvage Enterprise, is the soundtrack to the film Resolution: A Symphonic Rhapsody of the Soul. Heather is married to fellow musician/drummer/percussionist and Certified Arborist, Kelly Test, and they reside in East Dallas with their son Benji, two dogs, OB and Rob and their common red-eared slider named Lettuce aka Leti.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Abigail Hawthorne, oboe
Abigail Hawthorne is a freelance oboist and private teacher in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She holds the second oboe / English horn position with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, and the Allen Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as a section oboe position with the Dallas Winds, and has performed orchestrally on oboe, English horn, oboe d'amore, bass oboe, Baroque oboe, and oboe da caccia across the country (TX, TN, NY, KS, CO, FL, LA, NC) and abroad (England, Wales, Scotland, Canada, Austria).
Abby enjoys sharing the joy of music with students and maintains a studio of middle to high school oboists.
She is an adjunct faculty member in oboe at Dallas College and teaches privately in Richardson ISD.
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Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Ting-Wei Chang, clarinet
Dr. Ting-Wei Chang is a Taiwanese clarinetist based in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Asia, including at Taiwan's National Concert Hall in Taipei and major performing arts venues across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
Ting-Wei began studying the clarinet at age ten and won first prize in the Taiwan Cultural Cup Music Competition at fourteen. As a soloist, she has performed Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with the University of Akron Symphony Orchestra and Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 2 with the Ankeng Alumni Wind Ensemble in Taiwan. Her honors include first prize in the Tuesday Musical Competition and the James Tannenbaum Memorial Mozart Competition, as well as semifinalist recognition in both the International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition and the Young Texas Artist Music Competition. Her performances can be heard on recordings released through GIA Publications under the direction of Eugene Migliaro Corporon.
A passionate chamber musician, Ting-Wei is the founder and artistic director of Lumos Ensemble, a clarinet–violin–piano trio dedicated to imaginative and cross-cultural programming. Through Lumos Ensemble, she creates programs that connect classical repertoire with folk traditions, film music, and diverse cultural influences while engaging audiences throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
Ting-Wei has performed with numerous ensembles in Taiwan and the United States, including the Taiwan Pro Arte Orchestra, Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra, UNT Wind Symphony, Lone Star Wind Orchestra, and Dallas Asian Wind Ensemble. Her chamber music collaborations have included the Lunars Woodwind Quintet, Prokofiev Quintet, and Soochow Clarinet Quartet.
She received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music degree from the University of Akron, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Soochow University in Taiwan.
Ms. Chang's website

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Arianna Kalian, oboe
Originally from NYC, Arianna Kalian, oboe, is an avid chamber musician, performing with varied combinations of instruments including strings, harp and organ. She is also oboist with the New York City-based orchestra Higher Word. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Basically Beethoven, a chamber music organization based in Dallas. Arianna was previously a member of the L’Amore della Musica woodwind quintet and the Chatham Chamber Ensemble reed trio in NYC, both ensembles of which were noted for their community outreach. During her prior residence in Michigan, she served as Principal Oboe with the Southern Great Lakes Symphony, and performed in numerous chamber orchestras in the Detroit metropolitan area focused on the choral repertoire of J.S. Bach. Ms. Kalian also appeared as solo recitalist at the Villa Clementine in Wiesbaden, Germany and at the Merton College Chapel at Oxford University, England.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Amy Woody, clarinet
Amy Woody is Assistant Professor of Wind Studies. Her previous UNT position was Lecturer in Wind Studies and Director of Athletic Bands with prior service as a Teaching Fellow in the Wind Studies Area where duties included teaching the Concert Band, University Bands, Fundamentals of Conducting and assisting with all aspects of concert and athletic ensembles. She was named one of four UNT Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award recipients for the 2022–2023 school year. Her teachers include Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Andrew Trachsel and Daniel Cook. Prior to UNT, Dr. Woody served as the Director of Bands (2014–2021) and Associate Director of Bands (2007–2014) at John H. Guyer High School in Denton, TX. The Guyer Wind Ensemble was named a Commended Winner in the 2021 Mark of Excellence New Music Category, a 2018 Mark of Excellence National Winner, and a 2018 Western International Band Conference Invited Ensemble in Seattle, Washington.
Dr. Woody has collaborated and conducted on a multitude of projects and events that include College Band Directors National Association national and regional conferences, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Texas Music Educators Association Conference, and several honor groups both regionally and nationally. She has collaborated with a variety of artists and composers including Manuel Martinez Miguez, Jung Choi, Brian Walker, Lotus Saxophone Quartet, Jermaine Stegall, Jack Stamp, Haley Woodrow, Gala Flagello, and Elena Specht.
Recently, she served as the Chief Programs Officer for the Lone Star Wind Orchestra (LSWO), a professional wind band based in the DFW metroplex. She has performed in the clarinet section of the Lone Star Wind Orchestra since the fall of 2008. In her time with the ensemble she performed at the International Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference, International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC), World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensemble (WASBE), Texas Bandmaster’s Association (TBA), Clarinetfest, the OU Clarinet Symposium as well as other professional engagements in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Her past performance engagements include the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra, and the Oswego Opera Orchestra.
Dr. Woody is a graduate of the University of North Texas (DMA Wind Conducting), Eastman School of Music (Master of Music in Clarinet Performance), and Baylor University (Bachelor of Music Education). As an advocate for her students to continue to cultivate their own musicianship and training and works to focus her energies toward helping students establish their own teaching skills. Dr. Woody serves as an active clinician and adjudicator in the greater Dallas/FortWorth metroplex and across the United States.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 19, 2026
Marci Gurnow, clarinet
Marci Gurnow was appointed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 2024 as Bass Clarinet/ Clarinet. Prior to joining the DSO, she served as the second clarinetist of the Atlanta Symphony beginning in 2016, and was named acting associate principal for the 2023-24 Season. Marci began her career as second and bass clarinet in the Jacksonville Symphony, and later served as acting second clarinet with the Detroit Symphony. She has also performed with the National and Chicago Symphony, and the New York and Seoul Philharmonic.
An avid lover of chamber music, Marci is a founding member of The Merian Ensemble, an ensemble dedicated to performing and commissioning chamber works by women. Their debut album, The Book of Spells, features eight of their newly commissioned works and was released on Navona Records. Marci was also a featured soloist with the Atlanta Philharmonic and the DeKalb Symphony, giving the U.S. premiere of Ruth Gipps’ Clarinet Concerto.
Marci enjoys spending her summers in the mountains performing with the Grand Teton Music Festival. Other festival appearances have included Bellingham, Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music, Pacific Music Festival, Aspen, Serafin Summer Music, and Sun Valley. Marci earned her Bachelor of Music from Southern Methodist University and her Master of Music from Northwestern University. Her major musical influences include Laura Ardan, J. Lawrie Bloom, Yehuda Gilad, Burt Hara, and Kal Opperman. She has served on faculty at Emory University and the Atlanta Symphony's Talent Development Program.
Marci is a proud Buffet Crampon Performing Artist.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 19, 2026
Alexander Heather, bass
Alexander Heather, Associate Principal Bass of the Dallas Symphony, was born in Mount Kisco, New York in 2001. He began playing the double bass at age nine and studied at the Westchester Music Conservatory and the Juilliard School in New York City. In 2014, Alexander moved with his family to the UK and attended Wells Cathedral School as a Specialist Musician studying under David Heyes. During his time at Wells, he was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. In his undergraduate degree he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and transferred after a year to the Royal College of Music in London, under Caroline Emery, where he graduated in 2023. Afterwards he attended Curtis Institute of Music for his masters degree, studying under Hal Robinson and Edgar Meyer, graduating in 2025. Alexander then won a section position in the Dallas Symphony in May 2025 and later won Associate Principal in September the same year.
Alexander is also member LGT Young Soloists, a prestigious ensemble of soloists who regularly tour around the world, appearing in venues such as Musikverein Vienna, the Kennedy Center, Victoria Hall Singapore, and Tonhalle Zürich.
Alexander plays on a Hawkes and Son double bass, circa 1902.

Featured Performer - Basically Beethoven Festival - July 26, 2026
Phillip O. Paglialonga, clarinet
Phillip O. Paglialonga is Professor of Clarinet at the University of North Texas. His book, Squeak Big: Practical Fundamentals for the Successful Clarinetist, has received acclaim from leading clarinetists, including members of the Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle symphony orchestras, as well as praise in several major publications.
From 2010–2019, he toured extensively as a member of the PEN Trio, performing throughout the United States and in more than a dozen countries. An active orchestral musician, he performs regularly with the Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Nashville symphonies, and served as bass clarinetist with the Dallas Opera Orchestra from 2023–2026.
Dr. Paglialonga is a Buffet Crampon and D’Addario Artist and performs exclusively on their instruments and reeds. More information is available at SqueakBig.com.
Meet the
2026 Basically Beethoven Festival
Rising Stars

Rising Star - July 12, 2026
Kathryn Piña, soprano
Soprano Kathryn Piña’s recent performance highlights include debuting with the Dallas Opera as Despina in The Three Little Pigs and singing the role of Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte with Meadows Opera Theatre. This past season, she performed as a featured soloist in several recitals across the metroplex including an all-Spanish language recital at the Meadows Museum and a guest artist recital at Grayson College. Notable roles in her repertoire include Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro, Red River Lyric Opera), The Governess (The Turn of the Screw, TCU Opera), Pemphredo (We’ve Got Our Eye on You, Eastman School of Music), and premiering the title role of Gloria the Pop Singer in Nathan Felix’s opera Glory Gone. Piña has also performed the soprano solos in Poulenc’s Gloria, Brahms’ Ein deutsches requiem; Handel’s Messiah; and Purcell’s semi-operas King Arthur and The Fairy Queen in concert.
Ms Piña's website

Rising Star - July 12, 2026
Bradley Ritschel, baritone
Baritone Bradley Ritschel (New Jersey) recently debuted with The Dallas Symphony Orchestra as the featured soloist for their Memorial Day park concert. He graduated from UT Dallas as a McDermott Scholar in 2020 with a degree in electrical engineering, but did not find the cubicle as rewarding as the stage. He is now pursuing a performer’s diploma at Southern Methodist University.

Rising Star - July 12, 2026
Hannah St. Romain, collaborative piano
Hannah St. Romain is a performer and teacher based in Dallas, Texas. She currently serves as an adjunct collaborative pianist at Southern Methodist University where she plays for voice and instrumental students each semester.
Hannah holds both a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from SMU, where she studied with Alfred Mouledous, Catharine Lysinger, and Samuel Holland. She can be seen performing each Sunday at Lake Highlands United Methodist Church as the staff pianist. Hannah is a frequent collaborator with Verdigris Ensemble and also operates a full piano studio out of her home in Lake Highlands, where she lives with her husband, Darnell, and two young daughters.

Rising Star - July 26, 2026
Lucas Pei, piano
Lucas Pei is a rising junior at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas and an emerging young artist recognized for his exceptional musical maturity, technical command, and versatility as a performer. He began studying piano at the age of four and made his competitive debut just one year later, earning Fourth Place at the Dallas Solo Piano Competition while competing against contestants up to eight years old. Lucas currently studies under Mrs. Marcy McDonald and Dr. Alex McDonald.
At the age of eight, Lucas was selected for the Van Cliburn Education Program, The American Hero, through which he performed at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth for student audiences across the region. Since then, he has continued to distinguish himself on both national and international stages.
Lucas is the 2025 MTNA Junior Piano Competition South-Central Division Winner and a National Finalist (Top 7 in the U.S.). He is also a finalist in the 2025 Arthur Fraser Piano Competition (Top 12 nationally) and the 2025 Chicago International Music Competition. In duet performance, Lucas and his partner were the National Winners of the 2026 MTNA Senior Piano Duet Competition. In November 2025, Lucas and his duet partner also presented a highly acclaimed recital sponsored by TASO at the University of Texas at Tyler, earning recognition for their musical artistry and collaborative performance.
His additional honors include First Prize at the 2024 Baylor/Waco Concerto Piano Competition, Honorable Mention at the 2021 Texas MTNA Junior Piano Competition, six First Prizes at the DMTA Symphonic Festival Piano Competitions, and Second Prize in both the 2025 and 2026 Collin County Young Artist Competitions.
In addition to piano, Lucas is a passionate violinist and served as Concertmaster of the Sinfonietta Ensemble in the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. He actively performs at senior living communities and serves as a collaborative pianist with the North Texas School of Talent Education. Lucas also contributes as a journalist and editor for The ReMarker, his school newspaper, and is a member of his school varsity swimming team.
Meet the 2025-2026
Basically Beethoven Hallam Concerts
Featured Performers

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts 2026-2027 Season - October 24, 2026
Catharine Lysinger is professor of practice at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, where she teaches applied piano and is head of the piano pedagogy area.
She is a prizewinner in national and international piano competitions, including First Prize in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Young Artist Competition and First Prize in the Wideman International Piano Competition. Lysinger is a frequent guest of festivals nationally and internationally. Recent invitations to perform, give master classes and present lectures have come from the Brancaleoni Festival (Italy), the Vienna International Piano Academy (Austria), the May Festival at the Tianjin Conservatory and East China Normal University in Shanghai (China), and the National Conservatory in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), co-hosted by Estudio Diná and Stephen F. Austin University.
Lysinger has performed with orchestras including the Filarmónica de Jalisco (Guadalajara, Mexico), the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Civic Symphony and the Clear Lake Orchestra, and frequently collaborates as soloist with the Meadows Symphony Orchestra and the Meadows Wind Ensemble. Performances include the Prokofiev Concerto No. 1, Stravinsky Concerto for Piano and Winds, Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos, Mozart Concerto in D minor, Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exotiques and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Lysinger is also an active soloist and collaborator in chamber music concerts with SMU colleagues. With duo-piano partner Dr. Alex McDonald she has performed the Bartók Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with percussionists of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and numerous other works for two pianos.
Lysinger was nominated for the SMU Provost’s Teaching Recognition Award, which honors faculty who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and a consummate dedication to teaching. She was also named Pre-Collegiate Teacher of the Year by her colleagues in the Texas Music Teachers Association. Many of her university and pre-college students have been awarded first prize in numerous competitions, including the MTNA-Texas Junior, Senior and Young Artist Piano Competitions, the Plano Symphony Young Artist Competition and the Lewisville Lake Competition. Graduates of her studio have been accepted to major universities and conservatories nationwide including The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory and Indiana University, to name a few.
Lysinger is a frequent adjudicator, recently serving on the screening jury for the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and sitting on the jury for the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition. As a lecturer, she has frequently presented on various topics related to teaching to national and state MTAs. Lysinger is the founding director of the SMU Institute for Young Pianists (SMU IYP), a summer festival that attracts the best and brightest young pianists in the region and from across the U.S. and abroad.
She earned a D.M.A. in piano performance at the University of Houston with Professor Nancy Weems and undertook additional studies with Horacio Gutiérrez, Gabriel Chodos (Aspen Music Festival) and Evelyne Brancart (Aspen Music Festival).

Featured Performer - Charles Barr Memorial Concert Recitalist - May 9, 2026
Elim Wong is a ninth grader at Jasper High School in Plano. She is currently under the tutelage of renowned violinist Shannon Lee. Elim made her first appearance as a soloist at the age of 12 and has performed with the Plano Symphony Orchestra and the Lewisville Lake Symphony. Her list of accolades includes National First Prize of the 2024-2025 Music Teachers National Association Competition, Grand Prize in the 2024 Vernell Gregg Young Artists Competition, and Grand Prize of the 2023 Collin County Young Artist Competition. In the upcoming summer, Elim will use her Young Masters grant to study at the Heifetz Institute Summer Program in Staunton, Virginia.

Guest Composer/Performer - Hallam Concerts - April 11, 2026
Heather Sorenson is an internationally known composer, arranger, and orchestrator whose works are performed in churches, schools, universities, concerts, and competitions worldwide. Initially recognized for her skill as a pianist, she is now widely known for her choral and instrumental works, with hundreds of compositions in print through various publishing houses including Hal Leonard, Shawnee Press, Alfred Music, the Lorenz Corporation, Hope Publishing, Lillenas, Fred Bock Music, and others.
Eclectic in her musicianship, Heather easily maneuvers the contemporary, traditional, and classical genres of music. Her ability to navigate such a wide diversity of style and venue earns her the ualification of being one of the most versatile musicians in the industry. Her recent commissions include works for Texas A&M University and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation, in addition to many privately-funded commissions. Her latest extended commissions are Requiem and These Ancient Words, large works that live in both the concert hall and the sanctuary.
Teaching has been a large part of Heather's career. She taught all elementary levels of music at Grace Academy of Dallas for 4 years, served as an adjunct music professor at Baylor University, and has served on many master class panels in piano and songwriting. She is a sought-after guest speaker and conductor at churches across America and leads scores of sessions each year at various worship conferences, schools, and universities.
Over the past several years, Heather has appeared multiple times at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Constitution Hall in the roles of pianist, composer, and conductor. Although her career is sometimes on a big stage, Heather's heart is leading the Church in worship, and she feels that her greatest calling is using her music to connect people with God. Currently Heather spends her time juggling a full writing load as well as traveling as a guest artist and lecturer. In her free time, she is usually planning and performing benefit concerts for her favorite non-profit organizations. She makes her home in the Dallas, TX area with her dog, Darla.

Featured Ensemble - Hallam Concerts - April 11, 2026
Inspirata is a chamber ensemble dedicated to promoting a heightened awareness and appreciation for choral music that elevates the human spirit and brings communities together. Guided by the principles of Ministry (Caritas), Education (Collegium), and Community (Concordia), Inspirata programs include informed performances of early music through modern compositions, workshops, young artist sponsorships, collaborations with local organizations, partnerships with local composers and fundraising.
Whether you have an interest in joining us or simply want to find out more about our group and events, please reach out to us at:
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Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - March 14, 2026
Jonathan Valenzuela is a guitarist, arranger, and educator in Dallas, Texas. His academic career consists of a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Performer’s Diploma in Guitar Performance from Southern Methodist University, having studied under the tutelage of renowned musician Robert Guthrie.
In 2019, he received the Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Music from Meadows School of the Arts. Jonathan has performed in masterclasses for world class artists including Meng Su, Sergio Asaad, Gohar Vardanyan and David Russell. In 2024, the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology invited him to perform a solo concert at the Texas Guitar Competition and Festival. This international festival, hosted by The University of Texas at Dallas, is widely recognized in the classical guitar community and attracts world-class players, judges and competitors.
In addition to his performing, Jonathan is a former adjunct lecturer at Southern Methodist University and has taught at a variety of music schools in the metroplex. He is currently the director and general manager at Yamaha Music School Plano, serving a large community of students and aspiring young musicians.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - March 14, 2026
James Tarbutton began his formal study of classical guitar under the direction of Mr. Frank Kimlicko at Tyler Junior College and later at the University of Texas at Tyler where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in guitar performance. He went on to study with Mr. Robert Guthrie at Southern Methodist University where he earned a Master’s degree in guitar performance. He also has had additional instruction from flamenco master Miguel Antonio.
Mr. Tarbutton is a member of Alpha Chi and Pi Kappa Lambda honor societies. He has participated in masterclasses with guitar masters such as Pepe Romero, Angel Romero, David Russell, William Kanengiser, Carlos Barbosa Lima, Sharon Isbin and Enric Madriguera. In 2004, Mr. Tarbutton was invited to be a participant in the "Celebration of Pepe Romero Guitar Festival" at the University of Southern California – Thorton School of Music. Mr. Tarbutton performs regularly throughout the North and East Texas areas both as a soloist and in various ensembles.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - March 14, 2026
Aaron Todd began studying classical guitar at Tyler Jr. College with professor Frank Kimlicko. After 5 years of classical study on guitar, he expanded his studies to the flamenco guitar under the tutelage of Miguel Antonio of Dallas, Tx. Aaron continued with both classical and flamenco instruction, playing in ensemble and solo settings while simultaneously earning a Bachelor's of Fine Arts with honors in Spanish.
Aaron has studied and/or participated in master classes with world renowned musicians, including Pepe Romero, Paco Pena, Grammy-winners Bill Kanengiser, Scott Tennant, and David Russell, and composer Brian Head, among others. Aaron has begun composing works for guitar solo and duo in a mixture of traditional and modern flamenco, classical, and latin-american folkloric styles. As a soloist and with the Del Alma Guitar Duo and Trio, Aaron has performed at the "Celebration of Pepe Romero" at USC, L.A., the Texas Guitar Festival, UT Dallas International Guitar Festival and Competition, Eastfield Guitar Festival, as well as concerts and performances around the state of Texas.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - November 15, 2025
Lakeway Chamber Players & Friends
Ukrainian Violist Anna Kolotylina is a graduate of The Colburn School (Los Angeles), Lviv National Music Academy (Ukraine), and the International Menuhin Music Academy (Switzerland). Her otherworldly musicianship sent her performing throughout Europe and USA ultimately landing her in Fort Worth where she is currently Associate Principal Viola in the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Anna has collaborated and shared a stage with world-known musicians like Alberto Lysy, Maxim Vengerov, Jeremy Menuhin, Michaela Martin, Frans Helmerson, Liviu Prunaru, Ebene Quartet, Kodaly Quartet, Tokyo Quartet, and the Guarneri Quartet. Her previous positions include Bern Symphony Orchestra, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Camerata Menuhin, and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. Praised by LA Opus for having the most beautiful viola sound, Anna has made solo and chamber music performances at the South Bay Chamber Music Society, Music at the Main, Colburn Chamber Music Society, and the Verbier and Menuhin Festivals.
She extends her gratitude to her Viola mentors, Ettore Causa, Nobuko Imai, and Paul Coletti.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - November 15, 2025
Lakeway Chamber Players & Friends
A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Swang Lin began the study of violin at the age of six. Later he studied with Zvi Zeitlin at the Eastman School of Music. His performances have taken him throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, England and Taiwan. He is currently the Associate Concertmaster of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Swang has also performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He held the concertmaster position with the West Virginia Symphony and the Bear Valley Music Festival, and guest concertmaster with Taipei City Symphony, Atlantic Classical Orchestra, and East Texas Symphony. Swang has performed at Tanglewood, Caramoor, Colorado and Killington Music Festival and Snowbird Institute in the US as well as Goslar music festival in Germany, Vietnam Connection Music Festival and Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra Summer festival in Asia.
Swang’s concerto appearances include Fort Worth Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Kaohsiung City Symphony (Taiwan), Shanghai Broadcast Symphony, Kunming Symphony (China) and Taipei City Symphony Orchestra, Lake Lewisville Symphony and other regional orchestras. His performances have been on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, and on WRR, KBYU, WVPR and have been televised on Good Morning America and on PBS.
Swang Lin performs on the "Eugenie, ex-Mackenzie" Antonio Stradivari violin (1685), generously on loan to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Association from an anonymous patron.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - November 15, 2025 and February 21, 2026
Lakeway Chamber Players & Friends
Andrew Pearce, cellist, and Lakeway Masterpiece Series/Lakeway Chamber Players Founder and Artistic Director, earned his degree at University of Southern California in the class of legendary cellist Lynn Harrell. He has performed solos with the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics, Boston Pops, Utah Symphony and Polish Chamber Orchestra, among many others. During his 20 years playing cello in orchestra, he performed in many of the great halls of Europe and Asia, and also played lots of trios with his group, the Boston Trio, as well as other groups performing across Canada and New England. At the ripe age of 44, Andrew traded a tenured job in one America’s top five orchestras, the Boston Symphony, for the risk and thrill of a future in real estate in Austin, TX. And though building and developing is an adventure all its own, he never lost his passion for chamber music. Nowadays, Andrew divides his time between family, real estate, and living life to the fullest while sharing his love for music as cellist and Artistic Director of the new Lakeway Masterpiece Concert Series.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - November 15, 2025
Lakeway Chamber Players & Friends
Sari Pearce, violinist, and Lakeway Masterpiece Series/Lakeway Chamber Players Founder, started her violin lessons at age 3, after given a choice of either start going to a preschool, where her 2 older sisters came home crying every day, or stay home and start taking violin lessons. It paid off and she has been playing ever since! After studying with a well-known pedagogue Gwen Thompson in Vancouver BC Canada, who populated the city with exceptional violinists, Sari went on to study with Eudice Shapiro at the University of Southern California, earning her BM in Performance, and where she met her husband/partner Andrew. She went on to play with the Boston Pops, Pasadena Chamber Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, and Vancouver Opera Orchestra.
Currently, she’s an award winning full-time broker associate at Christie’s International Real Estate as an inaugural agent to open its branch in Austin, TX. When she’s not selling homes and playing her violin with her husband of 34+ years, she enjoys doing handstands and other high intensity training at Elite Core Pilates Studio several times a week, taking care of her flock of hens for fresh eggs, and volunteering at several organizations. She’s excited to be back performing chamber music again.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - February 21, 2026
Lakeway Chamber Players & Friends
Born in Poland, violinist Filip Fenrych joined the Dallas Symphony in 2008. Prior to joining the DSO, he served as an Assistant Concertmaster in the San Antonio Symphony. His concerto debut at age 14 took place in Germany and since then, he has performed all around the world. Mr. Fenrych received his degrees at the Oberlin Conservatory, University of North Texas and Cleveland Institute of Music. His principal teachers were Julia Bushkova, Almita and Roland Vamos, and William Preucil. In addition to receiving full scholarships, he supported his education by winning numerous competitions, including Virtu Foundation Award, Gold Medals in Entergyand Crescendo Music Awards. An avid chamber musician and the founder of the Klimt Trio, Mr. Fenrych won the Grand Prix in The Coleman Competition and a silver medal in The Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. He appeared in prestigious music festivals such as Taos, Music Academy of the West and Verbier Festival. He recorded for CBS Radio in Canada and Voice of America, Polish Art Division. His most recent concerto appearance was with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the DSO, Mr. Fenrych is currently a member of the Verbier Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - February 21, 2026
Lakeway Chamber Players & Friends
Australian-Korean violist Sarah Sung joined the DSO as Associate Principal Viola in September of 2023.
Sarah takes music beyond the stages of Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House, traveling globally to diverse and marginalized communities since the age of eight. Together with Timothy Chooi and Drake Driscoll, Sarah is a cofounder of VISION Collective — an initiative that builds meaningful relationships with and among refugees by sharing and exchanging music between diverse communities. In recognition of their work, the VISION Collective was the recipient of the $20,000 McGraw Family Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach in 2020.
Sarah’s passion for chamber music led her to attend prestigious festivals including Music@Menlo, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Yellow Barn, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop and Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music. She has performed alongside distinguished artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Roger Tapping and Vivian Weilerstein. Sarah has been a guest violist with the Jupiter Chamber Players, Minnesota Orchestra and Delirium Chamber Orchestra, and has served as Principal Violist of the Juilliard Orchestra in venues such as Alice Tully Hall and David Geffen Hall.
Sarah is the First Prize winner of the 2023 Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago, and winner of the Australian NSW Concerto Competition making her double concerto debut at age 12, with her violist sister, Lisa.
Sarah received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Paul Neubauer, Cynthia Phelps and Misha Amory. Prior to joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, she had completed her first year of Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University. Before moving to the States, Sarah studied with the Principal Viola of Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tobias Breider.
Sarah performs on a 2005 Douglas C. Cox viola generously on loan from the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.

Featured Performer - Hallam Concerts - October 25, 2025
The Press Enterprise (Riverside, CA) hailed his “dazzling technique” and his “clean, tidy approach.” Music critic Laurence Vittes described him as an “illumination in music,” and said of his all-Beethoven recital: “Marshall presented a recital so full of musical thrills and beauties, and so in identification with the composer’s own persona, that, for a few hours, it was as if he were communing across the centuries to conjure up a rare and magical musical spectrum.” The Telegraf Online Constanta (Romania) reported that Marshall “captivated the audience” in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, which he conducted from the piano.
Eldred Marshall began studying the piano at age six and played in public by age seven. His prodigious and inquisitive mind allowed him to master large swaths of the piano repertoire quickly as well as consistently win top prizes at the competitions he entered as a child. By 16, he debuted with orchestra, playing Brahms’s Piano Concerto no. 2 in B-flat Major with the Victor Valley Symphony Orchestra. Before entering into Yale University, where he graduated with honors with a B.A. in Political Science, he had already performed all over the United States.
The critically-acclaimed pianist has performed in Spain, Italy, the Republic of San Marino, Belgium, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, the People’s Republic of China, and Canada. He has performed the entire cycle of 32 Piano Sonatas of Beethoven in public, from memory, as a concentrated series, twice. Other notable tour projects include all-Bach piano recital programs including the Goldberg Variations, the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, and the Second Book of the Clavierübung (French Overture and Italian Concerto). Recently, he has toured with Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Upcoming solo recital tours in the 2025-2026 season focuses on the major works of Debussy and Ravel.
In the 2025-2026 season, Marshall looks forward to performing piano concertos by Mozart and Chopin with orchestras throughout the United States and Canada. Further, Marshall premiered a new piano concerto called “Llano Estacado” written by Dallas-based composer Mike Capps with the Symphony Orchestras of Las Colinas, Arlington and Garland in January 2025.
As an orchestral conductor, Marshall has led the Ukrainian State Academic Orchestra (Kiev, Ukraine), the Kharkiv Youth Symphony (Kharkiv, Ukraine), the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra (Pleven, Bulgaria), the Vidin Philharmonic Orchestra (Vidin, Bulgaria), the Filharmonica Oltenia di Craiova (Craiova, Romania), and the Constanta “Black Sea” Philharmonic Orchestra (Constanta, Romania). Additionally, he has led several opera productions, such as Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, as well as Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.
Marshall earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance degree from the University of North Texas (UNT) in 2018. Additionally, he earned three Master of Music degrees from Southern Methodist University (SMU): piano (2011), organ (2012) and orchestral conducting (2013). Institutions at which he has taught include Grambling State University, Texas A&M Commerce, UNT, SMU, and North Texas Central College. His doctoral dissertation topic was on the art of conducting piano concerti from the piano – performance practice, discipline and whether or not it is “real conducting.”
Presently, Marshall serves as the Artistic Director/Conductor of the Mansfield Philharmonic, based in Mansfield, TX. Additionally, he serves as Associate Director of Music at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Rockwall, TX. He is the founding Artistic Director/Conductor of the Lucas Chorale, and the Organist/Music Director of Grace Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lucas, TX.
