Carole Bestvater, violin (2009-2011)

Carole Bestvater hails from the Prairie Provinces in Canada. Under the mentorship of Kerry DuWors, she recently graduated from Brandon University with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. She won the Brandon University Concerto Competition and frequently was the Concertmaster for the University’s orchestra. In addition to playing in various ensembles, she developed a passion for teaching and was one of the most sought-after teachers in Brandon, Manitoba.

Musically, her interests are very diverse and have taken her to festivals and programs all over Canada and in Europe. She was chosen to participate in the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy—a summer chamber music and opera program established by the University of Toronto. In addition to pursuing the never-ending studies of classical music, she is an avid fiddler. She has participated in folk festivals and fiddle camps, and has led workshops in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, France, and Portugal.

Other influential coaches and teachers include Mark Rudoff, Leanne Zacharias, Joanne Martin and Karen-Michele Kimmett. Carole would like to thank Brandon University for the continued loan of the Vuillaume violin made in 1844 that she currently plays.

Aaron McFarlane, violin (2009-2011)

Originally from Montréal, Canada, Aaron has performed and taught internationally. Most recently he was the Director of the Strings Department at the Mount Kenya Academy in Kenya, the largest program of its type in East Africa.

An active performer, Aaron has played in numerous orchestras including the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, the Nairobi Orchestra, and New World Symphony. In 2002, he acted as Concertmaster for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada's tour of Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong. Aaron was a founding violinist of the Ethnos String Quartet based in Houston, Texas, and worked closely with James Dunham and Norman Fischer. He has performed with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra USA, the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and the Kent/Blossom Festival.

Aaron received his Bachelor of Music from McGill University and completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University where he studied violin with Kathleen Winkler. His teachers and coaches have included Richard Roberts, William Preucil, Victor Danchenko, Régis Pasquier, Roland and Altima Vamos, and members of the Miami and Prazak String Quartets.

Aaron plays on a 1792 Johannes Cuypers violin and Hill bow graciously on loan from Keith and Averil Jolly. Aside from the violin, he is passionate about cooking, design, and architecture.

Adrienne received a Bachelor of Music Degree and Performer Diploma from Indiana University and completed her Master of Music degree at Northwestern University. Her teachers include David Szepessy, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.

Adrienne has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the U.S. as well as in Europe and Japan. As a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra from 2005-2007, Adrienne participated in the orchestra’s Musicorps program which presents educational concerts to schools and colleges throughout the city. Adrienne enjoyed various performance opportunities during her time in Chicago, including performances with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble during their visit to the city in 2006.

In 2007, Adrienne accepted a position as assistant principal cellist of Orchestra do Norte in Portugal, where she had the opportunity to perform throughout the country. We're thrilled that she has returned to the U.S. to participate in CMW's Fellowship Program beginning in September 2008.

Jason Amos, viola (2008-2010)

Jason began his viola studies at age eleven in the public school system of his hometown of Southfield, Michigan. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and received a Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music.

He has received honors in several competitions, including 4th place in the 2007 Sphinx Competition and 1st place in the 2006 Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Bradlin Scholarship Concerto Competition. In addition, Jason appeared as soloist with the Ann Arbor Symphony, played in the Flint Symphony, and performed as Principal Viola for many other orchestras throughout Michigan. In past summers, Jason has attended Aspen Music Festival, International Music Academy of Pilsen (Czech Republic). He has also served as faculty for the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill, and Four Strings Academy.

Jason enjoys participating in the Sphinx Organization’s musical outreach programs—all programs aimed toward increasing the presence of minorities in classical music. His teachers include Martha Strongin Katz, Yizhak Schotten, Caroline Coade, and Catherine Carroll.

Rachel Panitch, violin (2007-2009)

Rachel began studying Suzuki violin in 1988 in Albany, NY and worked with teacher Barbara Lapidus for fourteen years. At Vassar College, she continued to study classical violin with Betty-Jean Hagan, performed as a soloist with the Vassar Symphony Orchestra, and explored a multitude of fiddle styles. She majored in Anthropology and minored in Music & Culture, with major projects focusing on aural learning in folk music communities and the documentation of early American fiddle music. She came to Providence in 2006 to work as an AmeriCorps member at Providence Children's Museum.

Locally, Rachel has performed both on violin and mandolin with folk and roots-inspired bands including Beat Root, Ben Pilgrim and the Free Union Band, Chris Capaldi Trio and Tallahassee. In 2008, she made her European solo debut on violin with the Providence Mandolin Orchestra in France and the Netherlands. Playing and singing with her bluegrass band, the Bourbon Boys, she has performed at venues from Boston to Wyoming (Rhode Island, that is). Rachel has studied contradance fiddling at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, the Festival of American Fiddletunes in Port Townsend, Washington, Pinewoods American Dance and Music Week and at Donna Hebert's Fiddling Demystified.

Arlyn Valencia, violin/viola (2007-2009)

Arlyn, a violinist and violist from Cleveland, Ohio, has gained recognition as a versatile musician. Her wide range of experience includes being a classical musician, playing guitar, violin, and vocals in rock bands, musical theater, and performing with the violin troupe Barrage.

As an advocate for new music, she has collaborated with composer Steve Reich and served as Concertmaster of the 2004 Baldwin-Wallace FOCUS Festival Orchestra under the baton of Krzystof Penderecki. She was a Fellow at the National Orchestral Institute in 2004-05. A dedicated teacher, creating opportunities for communities throughout the Cleveland area, Arlyn pioneered a pilot string program at the William Cullen Bryant Elementary School through a partnership with Baldwin-Wallace and the Cleveland Orchestra. She also served as an intern with the Lakewood Rock Orchestra Project. Arlyn is a founding member of the American String Teachers Association chapter at the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory, which through her vision, created a student-run partnership with Elyria High School Orchestras.

Arlyn received her Bachelor of Music with distinction from the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory and recently earned her Master of Music degree from Longy School of Music in 2007. Her teachers and coaches include Laura Bossert, Eric Rosenblith, Julian Ross, Roger Tapping, Terry King, Pamela Frank, Wei-Shu Co, and Lawrence Dutton.

Chloë Kline, viola (2006-2008)

Chloë received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she was a viola student of Martha Katz. Other influential viola teachers include Karen Tuttle, Roberto Diaz, and Richard Young. Chloë has also studied chamber music with members of the Vermeer, Juilliard, Guarneri, Cleveland, American, Orion, Brentano, Emerson, and Tokyo string quartets, and has participated the Aspen, Banff, Taos, Sarasota, Musicorda, and Kneisel Hall summer festivals. From 1998-2000, Chloë performed in concerts and festivals in Germany and across the United States as a member of the Lipatti String Quartet, the graduate string quartet in residence at Northern Illinois University. In 2005, Chloë received a Master's degree in Arts in Education from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.

Chloe completed the Fellowship Program in June 2008 and joined the Community MusicWorks staff as Writing Coordinator.

After graduating with distinction from the School of Music at Indiana University, Laura accepted a position with the Graduate String Quartet at Wichita State University, where she received her graduate degree in cello performance. She has since performed in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, and Italy. Laura has an experimental electronic group of her own, Mem1, which has allowed her to collaborate with the Penderecki String Quartet and perform at the Orange County Museum of Art, REDCAT (Walt Disney Hall), and at numerous galleries and festivals throughout Southern California. Mem1 curates the quarterly experimental music series, CTRL+ALT+REPEAT, which features performances by local and internationally recognized performers of experimental electronics and new music.

Laura completed the Fellowship Program in June 2008. Learn more about Mem1 by clicking here.

Minna Choi, Fellowship Program Coordinator

A founding member of the Providence String Quartet, Minna returned to Community MusicWorks in 2006 as the Fellowship Program Coordinator. In addition to organizing monthly seminars, supervising the Fellows in teaching and administrative duties, and serving as the contact for the Fellowship Program, Minna performs, teaches violin students, and works with Phase II ensembles on occasion.

Learn more about Minna by clicking here.