Paula Simmons received her bachelor's degree in Music Education from Viterbo College, a fine arts college in La Crosse, Wisconsin. And her Master of Music in Viola Performance from Florida State University in Tallahassee.Before moving to San Diego, she performed with the El Paso Symphony, the Pro Musica Chamber Ensemble in El Paso Texas, and the Jacksonville Symphony in Jacksonville Florida. Since moving to California, Ms. Simmons has freelanced extensively in the San Diego area and the Baja with a variety of orchestras, chamber ensembles and guest performers including Starlight Theatre, San Diego Comic Opera, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Orquestra de Baja, Camarata de Ensenada, the Bolshoi and San Francisco Ballet, The Moody Blues, Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson, Burt Bacharach, Dion Warwick, Natalie Cole, and Michael Crawford. In June of 2006, Ms. Simmons partnered with Luthier, Kevin Smith and opened The Violin Shop in Sorrento Valley, offering a full range of instruments, bows, accessories and services to students and professionals. Paula currently has a private teaching studio of 20 violin & viola students of all ages at The Violin Shop. In addition in November 2008, she became the founding conductor for the North Coast Strings, an adult beginners orchestra, sponsored by The Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad. It is the goal of this nationwide adult program to welcome complete beginners to string performance as well as adults that have returned to their instruments after a number of years. She also is the director and host for The Violin Shop’s Summer String Quartet Program which offers students the opportunity to be coached by many of the best professional players and teachers in San Diego County. For several years Paula was also the primary orchestra conductor of the Civic Youth Orchestra Organization.

Gregory Lawrence earned his Bachelor of Music in Performance (violin) at San Diego State University where he studied with Dr. Theodore Brunson (with a strong emphasis in the Suzuki Violin School) and Mr. Howard Hill. He then continued his post graduate studies with Eudice Shapiro at the University Southern California and later with Mr. Noumi Fischer at his studio in Glendale. Greg’s professional performing career has afforded him a wonderfully varied background in many different musical genres. He has worked with the San Diego Symphony, the San Diego Opera, the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Starlight Opera and the San Diego Lyric Opera. Greg also worked three tours with the Montovani Orchestra, including a three week tour of Japan. More recently Greg has been working with Orquesta de Baja in Tijuana, Mexico, as a violinist and subcontractor. He also works with Mariachi Compana Nevin, a virtuoso mariachi ensemble directed by its founder and virtuoso trumpeter, Dr. Jeff Nevin. In January 2001, Greg founded the Cabrillo Chamber Orchestra (CCO), a professional 12-15 piece ensemble which specializes in the literature of the baroque, rococo and early classical periods. To date CCO has given 15 concerts at various venues throughout San Diego County, including two engagements at the California Center for the Arts Escondido, and two at the First Presbyterian Church (4th& Date, San Diego) concert series. In addition to performing, Greg also maintains a private teaching studio of 20 students.

Jisun Yang has been the Assistant Concertmaster of the San Diego Symphony since 2005.  Before coming to San Diego she was a violinist in the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.  She also held the position of Concertmaster of the Spoleto Festival and Opera Orchestra in 2003.  Jisun is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin College Conservatory where she studied with David Cerone, David Updegraff, William Preucil, and Almita and Roland Vamos.   
Ms. Yang grew up in Chicago, Illinois and began playing violin at the age of six.  In 1999 she was a recipient of a Nicolò Gagliano violin from the Stradivari Society which enabled her to appear as a soloist and chamber musician all over the United States and Europe.  She has been a finalist at the Carl Nielsen International Violin competition held in New York City.  The performance, held at Merkin Hall, was broadcast live on National Public Radio.  She has also won numerous competitions including the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition (2002), The American Opera Society (1997), American String Teacher's Association Competition (1996), G.D. Searle National String Competition (1996), and the Chicago Institute of Music Concerto Competition  (1995).  Festival appearances include La Jolla Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Festival Mozaic, Encore School of Music, Spoleto Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and Bowdoin Music Festival. Contact  Jisun  to schedule a trial lesson, rates & other  information. 

Travis Maril - Violin & Viola
email: travis.maril@gmail.com

With performances hailed as both “vivacious” and “highly polished and finely tuned,”violist Travis Maril is quickly gaining nationwide recognition as a chamber musician. With the Hyperion String Quartet he won top prize at the Fishoff National Chamber Music competition, had performances broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today and collaborated with chamber music luminaries including the Miró String Quartets and members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Additional chamber music collaborators have included pianists Melvin Chen and Gustavo Romero, violinists Tai Murray and Timothy Fain and principal players of the Baltimore, Cincinnati and San Diego Symphonies. Mr. Maril plays frequently with the San Diego Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, and is currently on faculty at San Diego State University. Mr. Maril earned his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Southern California’s Thorton School of Music, where he was a Trustee Scholar and selected as an Outstanding Graduate, and his masters’ degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

Victoria Eicher - Violin
ph: 858-442-0237
email: v.eicher@att.net

Victoria Eicher grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and began playing violin at the age of four in the Suzuki program at MacPhail Center for the Arts. Victoria is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's School of Music where she studied with Mary West, Young-Nam Kim and Lea Foli. A scholarship recipient to the National Orchestral Institute (Baltimore), she has played under the batons of Kenneth Jean, Yoel Levi and Catehrine Comet. Before moving to San Diego in 1993, Victoria was Assistant Concertmaster in the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Victoria serves as Assistant Principal 2nd Violin in the LaJolla Symphony and plays sonatas and chamber works with Pianist Nadja O'Hagan. She has performed with the Orquestra de Baja, Mariachi Champaña Nevin, Caprice Strings, and in chamber ensemble programs throughout San Diego. Victoria teaches violin students in an after-school session at Marshall Middle School and has recently joined the North Coast Strings staff as a violin coach for beginning adult students. As the Outreach Director for the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, Ms. Eicher performs in community and school music programs and coaches Mariachi violin students. Her husband Noel studies classical guitar and her three children enjoy playing drums, tennis, lacrosse and downhill biking.

Abe Leibhaber - Cello
email: abramo99@hotmail.com

Abe Liebhaber, from Santa Barbara, holds positions in the Arizona Opera and Sarasota Opera orchestras, and plays frequently with the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Chamber orchestras and has performed in master classes with Ann Martindale-Williams, Peter Reijto, Yo-Yo Ma, Barry Gold, and Eleanor Schoenfeld. His teachers include Charlene Wilson, Barry Gold, David Gibson, Daniel Rothmuller and Harvey Shapiro. He has performed at the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Bonefro, Italy, and received his degrees in music performance from University of California Los Angeles and California State University Sacramento.