Category: Artist Biographies

Singing is an essential part of life for Diane Althaus (May 19), and sharing it with others is a joy. She organized and sang in an opera ensemble program, including music from Simon Boccanegra, Cosi Fan Tutte, Martha, and Carmen. She has sung programs of art songs, and opera arias and ensembles in various local venues, including Stage7. Diane sang in Puccini’s Butterfly in a local opera company, the Countess in a duet from The Marriage of Figaro and Desiree in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” is her favorite sacred music.

Victoria Chaussee (May 9, 21), mezzo-soprano, “sings opera favorites beautifully” – The Seattle Weekly. Ms. Chaussee has performed with Seattle Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera, and Kitsap Opera. Some of her roles include Azucena in Il Trovatore, Principessa in Suor Angelica, Mama Lucia in Cavelleria Rusicana, Maddelena in Rigoletto, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Mother in Hansel & Gretel and Ursul in Beatrice & Benedict. She has performed in concert with many NW organizations including the Whidbey Island Bach Festival, Ladies Musical Club and as a national anthem singer for the Seattle Mariners. She holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance from Seattle Pacific University where she toured with the SPU Concert Choir. After graduation she attended the American Institute of Musical Studies. Victoria currently sings with Public Opera and assists with the Metropolitan Opera auditions in Seattle.

Lawrence Chu (May 13) is a native of the Seattle area, and currently resides in Bellevue with his family. His former instructors include Phyllis Allport, Frances Walton and Eva Heinitz. After completing 34 years of practice in Emergency Medicine locally, he has begun to reexplore the cello under the guidance of Nathan Chan. He is delighted to have been accepted as an official member of the Ladies Musical Club.

Selina Chu (May 13) has been a part of the music community in the Pacific Northwest for over 40 years, as a master teacher and performer. She has served as an adjudicator and visiting artist as well as Board member for such organizations as Washington State Music Teachers Association, National Federation of Music Clubs, and LMC’s Frances Walton Competition. Selina holds advanced degrees in piano performance, from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Washington, as well as national certification as a teacher of music through MTNA. Thirteen years of experience as Alaska Dance Theatre’s Principal Accompanist taught her to play well with others, and she has a special place in her heart for all types of ensembles.

Erika Fiebig (May 9, 21) is a Seattle native and started cello at five. She studied at Oberlin College, coaches the Bellevue Youth Symphony, and plays in the Ballard Civic Orchestra and subs with Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Teachers are Richard Aaron and Rajan Krishnaswami. Find her in the pit at many local theaters and in a quartet at many local weddings!

Joyce Gibb (May 3) was born in Sri Lanka and started her early piano studies with the admired, but feared music critic Elmer DeHaan. After surviving his rigorous training, she moved to London for further studies with Swiss pianist Albert Ferber, whose teachers included Rachmaninoff. Studying both piano and cello, she was awarded a gold medal for performance by the Royal Schools of Music. Joyce teaches and performs regularly and has been the concerto soloist with the Cascade Symphony, Seattle Philharmonic, Rainier Symphony, Port Angeles, Thalia, and Philharmonia Northwest Orchestras. Her performances have included concertos by Beethoven, Poulenc, Grieg, Addinsell, and Chopin, and the 1st and 2nd piano concertos by Rachmaninoff. Currently Joyce teaches private piano lessons and provides the music for St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in West Seattle.

Katie Hochman (May 1, 7, 9, 21), soprano, can be heard regularly giving recitals with Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. She has also enjoyed singing opera and oratorio with Puget Sound Concert Opera (PSCO), Opera Theater Oregon, Portland Opera, Utah Opera, Columbia Chorale and Southwest Washington Symphony (SWS). Highlights include the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon and Héro in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Bénédict performed with PSCO and Exultate, jubilate performed with SWS.

Seattle-born cellist Emily Hu (May 7) is the latest addition to the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, where she serves as Assistant Principal Cello after joining the orchestra in 2026. Her career as an orchestral cellist, chamber musician, and recitalist includes performing regularly with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, and the 5th Avenue Theater, as well as with rising Northwest favorites the Vesper Piano Trio and Jigsaw Chamber Ensemble. She is a former member of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and has appeared at the Oregon Bach Festival and the Bellingham Festival of Music, along with many other ensembles throughout the Pacific Northwest and across the country. Emily is happiest as a chamber musician and has collaborated in recital with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Alban Gerhardt. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she studied with Norman Fischer, and a Master’s degree from Northwestern University, where she was a student of Hans Jorgen Jensen.

Music is at the heart of Dikla Kafka‘s (guest artist, May 1) life. Raised in Tel Aviv, she began playing violin in middle school and bassoon in high school, studying at Thelma Yellin High School of the Performing Arts. Now based in Seattle, she performs violin with Trio Clara, and has twice participated in the Seattle Chamber Music Society Adult Chamber Music Academy, deepening her commitment to chamber music as a collaborative and intellectual art form. Her musical discipline is interwoven with a lifelong dedication to movement, both martial arts and yoga. She is the co-founder of Viveka Yoga, where she has trained and mentored yoga teachers since 2012. Dikla also works as a Jewish philosophy educator, cultivating rigorous, text-based inquiry and cross-cultural dialogue.

Angie Kam (May 3) is a Seattle-area violinist and teacher. She performs regularly with the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Tacoma, and Tacoma City Ballet. A versatile musician, she has performed with artists including including Eagles, Andrea Bocelli, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Who, Ramin Djawadi, Amy Grant, Il Divo, Idina Menzel, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Sarah Brightman, and Michael Bublé. She is also an in-demand studio musician, recording for film, television, and video game soundtracks. Angie maintains an active private violin studio in Bellevue. She holds degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Oregon and the Boston Conservatory. Outside of music, she enjoys mountaineering, skiing, and trail running.

Caitlin Kelley (May 7) enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teaching artist. She is the founder and artistic director of the Cannon Beach Music Festival, a member of the Grammy-nominated modern music collective Wild Up, and a frequent performer with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. Caitlin has appeared as a soloist and concertmaster across the country, and has received awards in numerous competitions. Most recently, she was a winner of the 2022 LMC Frances Walton Competition and a finalist in the 2023 George Gershwin International Music Competition in New York, where she received the prize for best performance of an American work. Caitlin has appeared many times on Classical KING FM in Seattle, and has also been featured on KUOW, KOMO TV, and NPR. A native of Seattle, WA, Caitlin received a Bachelor of Music degree and Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School in Los Angeles, and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York.

Maria Khavin (May 9, 21) is a pianist, teacher, and music education enthusiast. Starting her formal education at age six, she subsequently earned her degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Rimsky-Korsakoff State Music College in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Since moving to Seattle in 1992, Ms. Khavin continued to be an active performer and became a passionate educator. She appeared in numerous piano solo performances, and accompanied hundreds of instrumentalists and vocalists. She made her orchestral debut performing Mozart’s G major piano concerto with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. In Seattle, she worked with Lyric Opera Northwest, NOISE (Northwest Opera in Schools, Etc.), and Mahler’s Festival, among others. Recently, she became a Ladies Musical Club performing member, presenting several concerts a year. Ms. Khavin holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Washington.

Stasia Kulsa (May 1, 9, 13, 21), flutist, has a Master of Arts in Music from Washington State University that she completed under the guidance of Dr. Sophia Tegart. In addition, she has undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Mechanical Engineering from WSU. While at WSU, she performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, and the Crimson Flute Choir. Since graduating, she has been performing with the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and working as an Acoustics Engineer at Blue Origin.

Pianist Thomas Lee (May 7) has performed extensively around the region and beyond, including solo performances at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, as well as concerto performances with the UW Symphony and the Kostroma Symphony in Russia, and multiple appearances on KING-FM Radio. Tom has claimed top prizes at the NFMC Young Artist Competition, Buono & Bradshaw Int’l Piano Competition, American Fine Arts Festival Concerto Competition, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Piano Competition, and the Frances Walton Competition. Under the tutelage of Craig Sheppard, Andre Watts, Jon Kimura Parker, Thomas has earned degrees from Rice University, Indiana University, and the University of Washington. His doctoral dissertation, “Evocations of Nature in the Piano Music of Franz Liszt and the Seeds of Impressionism,” uncovers some long-neglected origins of pianistic Impressionism. As a committed educator, Tom has adjudicated and lectured throughout WA, and serves on the board of directors of the SMTA as VP of Student Development.

Mark Leuning (guest artist, May 1) holds a Master of Music degree in Voice and Voice Pedagogy from The Boston Conservatory, where he was also Applied Voice Faculty within the conservatory’s Vocal Arts Extension Program. He was formerly a voice instructor at Northeastern University, and was also a member of the voice faculty at The South Shore Conservatory for several years, while maintaining a voice studio of around forty students weekly. Additionally, at the French Cultural Center of Boston, he taught courses on French Art Song, French Baroque Opera, and a General Music class for children. He was also a French and French Lyric Diction Teacher through The Franco-American Vocal Academy in Paris, France. Mark graduated from Brown University with an A.M. in French Literature. He currently teaches French at The Bush School in Seattle, and also maintain a small private voice studio locally. Previous voice students have gained entry into competitive theater and vocal performance programs including Berklee College of Music, The Boston Conservatory, and Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Opera roles have included Pâris (La Belle Hélène), Ruggiero (La liberazione di Ruggiero), Un plaisir (Les plaisirs de Versailles), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Sylvester (Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters), Der Hohepriester (Die Zauberflöte), The Priest (The Ballad of Baby Doe), and Maximilian (Candide). Choral and chamber music credits include the Northwest premier of David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion in Seattle, recitals of French mélodies at Boston’s Alliance Française and a season with Renaissance choir Convivium Musicum in Brookline, MA.

Joan Lundquist (May 1, 7, 19) has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 40 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Ms. Lundquist is the retired Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and currently is the rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Stephanie McConnel (guest artist, May 1) began studying violin in middle school, and soon developed a deep love for ensemble playing. She has performed with the Tacoma Youth Symphony, the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra, Octava Chamber Orchestra, and most recently the Pacifica Chamber Orchestra. An avid chamber music enthusiast, Stephanie plays regularly in a variety of small ensembles, and has recently performed as part of a string trio in the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Adult Chamber Music Academy. She continues to explore new collaborations, and finds her greatest joy in making music with others.

Karin McCullough (May 16) is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano who gives private lessons in her Ballard studio and performs frequently in Greater Seattle. She co-led two music history tours in Vienna in the early 2000s, is an active volunteer and acting librarian for Seattle Music Teachers Association, and has often performed on KING FM radio on Sean Maclean’s program, Northwest Focus Live. Her most recent performance there—accompanying Brandi Birdsong in songs by H. Leslie Adams—is available on NPR (https://livesessions.npr.org/videos).

Ann Rackl (May 13), violinist, has retired from a career as an English as a second language teacher at South Seattle College. She is the former assistant concertmaster of Philharmonia Northwest chamber orchestra, where she has been a member since 1976. She holds a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Montana and has studied violin with Emanuel Zetlin and Martin Friedmann in Seattle. Formerly a private violin instructor, these days she especially enjoys playing chamber and orchestral music.

Emily Riesser‘s (May 9, 21) diverse experience encompasses opera, oratorio, theatre, and new works. She recently portrayed Elle in a staging of Poulenc’s one-voice opera, The Human Voice (Ladies Musical Club), sang Frasquita in Carmen (Kitsap Opera), and played a nun in Sister Act (Tacoma Musical Playhouse). In concert, Emily is known for her interpretation of Bach cantatas, including Wedding Cantata, which she sang recently in several venues. Favorite experiences include singing Iphigenie in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride (Seattle Opera Guild), Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata (Kitsap Opera), Tamiri in Mozart’s Il re pastore (Off-Center Opera), and soprano chorus at Seattle Opera. Emily is a graduate of Goshen College (Goshen, IN) and past participant in Bel Canto Northwest (Portland State University).

Originally from Australia, Stephanie Shadbolt (May 13) has lived and worked in Japan as well as the U.S. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and a Bachelor of Music from Cornish College of the Arts, where she studied piano performance with Dr. Peter Mack. She is a Seattle International Piano Festival prize winner. Stephanie also holds a Master of Arts degree in ethnomusicology from Monash University (Australia), and performs and records Indonesian gamelan music. She has performed Javanese and Balinese gamelan music in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.

Jonathan Shih (May 19) began his piano studies with various Chicago-area teachers (most notably Emilio del Rosario), and continued briefly at Northwestern University under James Giles before a minor hand injury and recession-induced career introspection led him to forgo piano for an engineering degree. After a decade-long hiatus due to work travel, he resumed playing and now studies with Peter Mack. Jonathan has performed live on 98.7 WFMT (Chicago) and won first prize in the 2025 Oberlin International Adult Amateur Piano Competition. He was also a finalist in the 2024 Washington International Piano Artists Competition, where he received special awards for “Best Classical Performance” and “Most Imaginative Programming.” When not at the piano, Jonathan works as a product designer at a small startup and enjoys cooking, traveling, and collecting other hobbies.

Soprano Laurel Sprigg (May 9, 21) has delighted audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years with her warm, vibrant singing as a concert soloist, recitalist, and chamber music soloist. In public performances, private events, and intimate gatherings, her artistry is communicated through her fresh, clear, and heartfelt singing. Laurel studied vocal performance and music theory at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Dance at Bennington College. An advocate of community engagement, Laurel has given recitals to benefit many community groups. She has recently moved to Poulsbo Washington, and has joined the Bremerton Symphony Chorale, Kitsap Opera outreach program, and the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle.

An outstanding member of the Northwest musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas (May 7, 9, 21) has performed with a variety of companies including Kitsap Opera, Willamette Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Seattle Opera Guild. Currently Artistic Director of Puget Sound Concert Opera, Regina has served as Seattle Opera Guild’s VP of Education and is a past President and trustee of concerts for LMC. Favorite operatic roles include Adriana Lecouvreur, Suor Angelica, Tosca, and Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle). Concert work includes Schumann’s Frauenleibe und-leben, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, and Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder; soprano solos in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fauré Requiem, and Berio’s Folk Songs for voice and chamber ensemble.

Colin Ward (May 9, 16, 21) is an alumnus of Western Washington University, having performed with the WWU Concert Choir and appearing in many opera productions, including as Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. Colin has also appeared in many productions with Puget Sound Concert Opera and with the Seattle Opera Chorus, and is a regular soloist at Christian Science churches in the Seattle area.

Melet Whinston (May 1) studied under Maria DeRungs, and was first chair in the Portland Junior Symphony and Princeton University Orchestra. She has presented school performances as a member of the Leschi Trio and as a duo with Michael Housley, pianist. She is a performing member of the Ladies Musical Club, the Music Performance Group, and the Performers Only Night—Everyone Welcome! monthly musical nights. She has many years of experience as a chamber musician and solo performer, gives recitals regularly, and performs weekly at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church.

Carolyn Wyman (May 1) studied viola at the Cornish College of the Arts, University of Washington, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and finally in Oxford, England where she received her diploma L.G.S.M. (Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music) in London. She has performed internationally in Europe and Canada as well as locally. She plays professionally with the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra as well as being secretary of the board of directors. She performs with the Ambrosia String Quartet and other ensembles. Before becoming the director of the Beaux Arts Suzuki Academy of Music, she was a faculty member of the University of Puget Sound Community Music Program and conductor of the Everett Young Strings Youth Symphony. She currently is an active performing member of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle and participates regularly in her church worship music ministries.

 

Featured LMC Member Composers

Colleen Fraser (May 1) is a singer and has a BA in Music from University of Puget Sound. After college, she started writing music for her folk/rock band and played around Seattle for about 12 years at various clubs. Since turning her interest toward classical composition, she has composed mostly for strings and piano, but is also starting to compose short choral pieces. She currently studies composition with composer Mathew Fuerst. She lives in Seattle with her husband and 5-year-old.

Composer Eldon Leuning (May 1) has lived his entire life in Washington, growing up on a fruit orchard east of Yakima near Zillah. He earned a BA in English from Whitworth College in Spokane where he also studied music. He subsequently became a high school English teacher before eventually turning to teaching music in the Lake Washington School District. It is the combination of these two interests and studies, poetry and music, that led to and define his current work composing Art Song. His training and passion for both of these are apparent in his musical settings, combining the two into a singular statement of meaning. Music is a passion Eldon shares with his son, Mark, who is a trained tenor and French teacher. Art and artistic expression are central to his life. He has most recently studied with Jesse Myers and John Muehleisen.

Patrick O’Keefe (May 1) retired from a decidedly non-musical career (computer programmer/analyst) in 2010, providing time to pursue his life-long interest in classical music. Since 2011 he has been studying music theory and composition with instructor, composer, and bass player Brian Cobb, D.M.A. His compositional style tends to be modal with somewhat nontraditional harmonies. Most of his works are for small chamber ensembles but he occasionally writes for orchestra. In addition to classical music, he also has a deep interest in Balkan folk music and recreational Balkan folkdance.

Steve White (guest artist, May 1) is from the UK originally, and his career has been in the software industry. In 1992, Penguin Books published his novel in paperback, and he toured the UK giving readings, and signing books. That was exciting for him; but he didn’t go on to become a novelist (despite writing another two). In the U.S., part of one of his songs was played on a late-night talk radio show (during the bumper between segments). It’s the most listened-to program in its time slot, so that was also a thrill. Steve has recorded a good amount of his music, and given a few amateur live performances. He took piano performance lessons for over two years, and is currently taking composition lessons. He attends LMC’s Piano Group and Composers’ Group every month, and as many shows as he can get to. He’s also privileged to be a board-member for the SCO.

Erika Fiebig (Apr 8) is a Seattle native and started cello at five. She studied at Oberlin College, coaches the Bellevue Youth Symphony, and plays in the Ballard Civic Orchestra and subs with Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Teachers are Richard Aaron and Rajan Krishnaswami. Find her in the pit at many local theaters and in a quartet at many local weddings!

Katie Hochman (Apr 18), soprano, can be heard regularly giving recitals with Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. She has also enjoyed singing opera and oratorio with Puget Sound Concert Opera (PSCO), Opera Theater Oregon, Portland Opera, Utah Opera, Columbia Chorale and Southwest Washington Symphony (SWS). Highlights include the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon and Héro in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Bénédict performed with PSCO and Exultate, jubilate performed with SWS.

Sharon Jung (Apr 18) was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Her parents were Juilliard graduates, and she was exposed to classical music from the time she was born. She started playing the oboe when she was ten years old at the request of her father. She pursued a career in nursing but has kept playing the oboe as a passion. She has studied with LMC members Gail Perstein and Bernard Shapiro. She currently studies with Dan Williams. Along with LMC performances, she plays in small ensembles and in orchestras in several churches in Pierce County.

Claudia McCormack-Kester (Apr 21), mezzo-soprano, is a versatile singer, who enjoys taking her audience on a musical journey from the deep and profound, to the unexpected comedic moment. She has appeared with such notable companies as the Seattle Opera, 5th Avenue Theatre, Tacoma Opera, Rainier Symphony, and NW Chorale. Claudia has performed for the Bellevue Botanical Garden as part of their Garden d’Lights annual celebration and was featured in KING 5’s Toys for Tots live broadcast. She has also been a featured artist on KOMO’s NW Afternoon. Claudia performs regularly as part of the Ladies Musical Club Concert Series as well as their Opera Workshop, where she has delighted in roles such as Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Grisele (La Perichole), and Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro). Most recently, Claudia performed the role of Hansel (Hansel and Gretel) with Spotlight Repertory NW, as part of Seattle’s Festival Italianio.

Yuly Kopkin (guest artist, Apr 21) is a Seattle-based collaborative pianist, choral conductor and singer. Conservatory educated in Russia, he holds a degree of Master of Music from the University of Washington on a Fulbright scholarship. Yuly established himself and gained recognition as choral conductor before his creative focus shifted towards collaborative piano. Vita in Canto, an internationally acclaimed university choir he founded in 2003 in his birth city of Ekaterinburg, Russia, was a prize-winner at a number of national and international choral festivals and also enjoyed the most enthusiastic reception during their two concert tours of the USA. Yuly is a staff accompanist at the University of Washington School of Music and Shoreline College. His past and ongoing collaborative piano engagements include such established organizations as Seattle Opera and Lyric Northwest Opera as well as leading Puget Sound area choral ensembles, including Seattle Pro Musica, Seattle Choral Company, and Ancora Choir. Yuly maintains an active schedule as freelance collaborative pianist for voice and instrumental recitals as well as productions of musicals and operas. Among his notable collaborations are partnerships with saxophonist and Yamaha Artist Sergei Govorov and internationally acclaimed Chinese pipa artist Carrie Wang. Yuly is the music director at Christ Our Hope Catholic Church, a music minister at Seattle Preparatory School, and a chorister at St. James Cathedral Cantorei, the cathedral’s professional choral ensemble.

Stasia Kulsa (Apr 8, 18), flutist, has a Master of Arts in Music from Washington State University that she completed under the guidance of Dr. Sophia Tegart. In addition, she has undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Mechanical Engineering from WSU. While at WSU, she performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, and the Crimson Flute Choir. Since graduating, she has been performing with the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and working as an Acoustics Engineer at Blue Origin.

Joan Lundquist (Apr 18) has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 40 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Ms. Lundquist is the retired Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and currently is the rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Mara Mihali (Apr 13) is a Romanian soprano and a senior in Computer Science at the University of Washington. She began her musical training as a violinist, which fostered a deep passion for classical music and led her to pursue classical singing under the guidance of Pamela Casella. Her performance experience includes singing with the UW Opera Workshop as Maggie in A Chorus Line and performing with the UW Recital Choir. Most recently, she appeared as the soprano soloist in selections from Handel’s Messiah for a Bellevue Opera Christmas concert.

Valentina Rodov (Apr 13, 21) was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and received her music education as a concert pianist from the famous Moscow Conservatory. She performed solo and in chamber groups prior to emigrating to the United States. Once in the USA, Valentina decided to become a lawyer, which she successfully accomplished upon graduating from law school in Los Angeles and passing the California Bar. Valentina practiced law as a business litigator in Southern California for over twenty years until she and her husband moved to Seattle. With great support and encouragement from the Seattle music community, Valentina came back to piano playing, and soon became a frequent and critically acclaimed recitalist and chamber music performer at various venues in the Seattle area.

An outstanding member of the Northwest musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas (Apr 18) has performed with a variety of companies including Kitsap Opera, Willamette Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Seattle Opera Guild. Currently Artistic Director of Puget Sound Concert Opera, Regina has served as Seattle Opera Guild’s VP of Education and is a past President and trustee of concerts for LMC. Favorite operatic roles include Adriana Lecouvreur, Suor Angelica, Tosca, and Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle). Concert work includes Schumann’s Frauenleibe und-leben, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, and Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder; soprano solos in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fauré Requiem, and Berio’s Folk Songs for voice and chamber ensemble.

Allen Chang (Mar 8) is a pianist originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He graduated from Yale University in 2019, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in statistics and was co-president of the Yale Undergraduate Piano Collective. Allen has studied piano with Logan Skelton, Elizabeth Parisot, Donald Morelock, Sonoko Kambara, and Chao-Li Tsai. He also plays the clarinet and is currently the principal clarinetist of the Seattle Philharmonic. Outside of music, Allen enjoys traveling, eating, skiing, playing tennis, playing chess, and petting dogs.

Annie Center (guest artist, Mar 8), violist/pianist, started performing in her native Taiwan for foreign dignitaries when she was six years old. Since coming to the U.S., Annie has performed in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. As a piano soloist, she performed with San Francisco Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. As violist, she performed at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Olympic, Utah, Prague, and Red Rocks Festivals, and has collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Emerson, Cleveland, and Philadelphia Quartets. For ten years, she was the assistant principal violist of the Phoenix Symphony, for which she performed regularly as a viola soloist. She has also played in the AZ Musicfest Orchestra, Black Pearl Orchestra, South Florida Symphony, and Seattle Opera. Currently, she plays in the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Owen Cromwell (guest artist, Mar 8), violin, is very excited to debut with Ladies Musical Club Seattle. A frequent collaborator with community-led orchestras and ensembles, he is currently assistant concertmaster of the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal second violin of Solstice Symphony Orchestra as well an active participant with the Sound Chamber Players and Emerald City Chamber Orchestra. Previously, he served as the concertmaster of the St. Olaf Orchestra in Northfield, MN, and was a soloist on their tour in Washington and Oregon. Beyond orchestral music, he is a member of multiple string quartets including a former member of the Høyde Quartet which was a finalist in LMC Seattle’s own Frances-Walton Competition and a finalist and audience prize winner of the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition in 2022.

Erika Fiebig (Mar 21) is a Seattle native and started cello at five. She studied at Oberlin College, coaches the Bellevue Youth Symphony, and plays in the Ballard Civic Orchestra and subs with Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Teachers are Richard Aaron and Rajan Krishnaswami. Find her in the pit at many local theaters and in a quartet at many local weddings!

Ute Freund (Mar 21), lyric mezzo soprano, received her undergraduate and graduate training in classical voice, opera, and voice pedagogy at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Her career as a soloist started with Hamburg State Opera and continued with German and American opera companies. Ute equally sang oratorio and solo recitals, organized concert series (“Christmas with the Classics,” Benefit Concerts) and founded “Trio Encore.” She teaches voice out of her private studio in Edmonds after spending 10 years at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany, as a voice instructor. She loves foreign languages and extensive travel, hiking with her dog, bicycling, and playing pickleball.

Japanese pianist Yuriko Fukuda (Mar 25) spent part of her early childhood in New York State. She studied piano at Aichi University of the Arts (B.A.), the Imola International Piano Academy in Italy (Diploma), and earned her Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the Berlin University of the Arts. She is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions, including those in Palmanova, Padova, Imola, Osaka, and the Tokyo International Association of Artists, and will appear as an invited soloist at an Italian music festival in April 2026. Yuriko has performed with the Kraków Philharmonic and the Okayama Philharmonic, collaborated with the Primavista String Quartet, and recorded Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 3 for CD release. Active as both a soloist and collaborative pianist, she made her Seattle debut in the fall of 2025 with a duo recital alongside soprano Fumi Tagata in Bellevue. Since 2025, she has been based in Seattle.

Katie Hochman (Mar 8), soprano, can be heard regularly giving recitals with Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. She has also enjoyed singing opera and oratorio with Puget Sound Concert Opera (PSCO), Opera Theater Oregon, Portland Opera, Utah Opera, Columbia Chorale and Southwest Washington Symphony (SWS). Highlights include the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon and Héro in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Bénédict performed with PSCO and Exultate, jubilate performed with SWS.

Emiko Hori (Mar 11, 17), a native of Japan, graduated from the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Piano Performance. She studied with Shigeo Neriki, and performed at numerous places including Banff Centre, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Germany. Emiko became fascinated with and continued her study in Computer Science at Boston University. Busy working in technology companies such as CommerceHub and Microsoft, Emiko thought she would never play the piano again. She was wrong; Emiko is now actively performing piano at numerous concert venues. Emiko enjoys dividing her time between performing concerts, teaching piano, and working at Starbucks HQ’s Digital Commerce team.

Seattle-born cellist Emily Hu (Mar 25) enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral cellist, chamber musician, and recitalist, performing regularly with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, and the 5th Avenue Theater, as well as with her duo partner of twenty years, pianist Thomas Lee. She is a former member of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and has appeared at the Oregon Bach Festival and the Bellingham Festival of Music, along with many other ensembles throughout the Pacific Northwest and across the country. Emily is happiest as a chamber musician and has collaborated in recital with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Alban Gerhardt. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she studied with Norman Fischer, and a Master’s degree from Northwestern University, where she was a student of Hans Jorgen Jensen.

Violinist Angie Kam (Mar 17) is an established teacher and performer in the Seattle area. As an orchestral musician, Angie plays with the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Tacoma, and the Tacoma City Ballet. As a pop violinist, Angie has performed with many artists including the Eagles, Andrea Bocelli, the Trans Siberian Orchestra, The Who, Ramin Djalwadi, Amy Grant, Il Divo, Idina Menzel, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Sarah Brightman, and Michael Buble. She is also an active studio-recording musician for movies and video games. Angie maintains a successful violin studio of over 30 wonderful students in Bellevue. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance from the University of Oregon, and a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance and String Pedagogy from the Boston Conservatory. In her spare time Angie enjoys mountaineering, skiing, trail running, yoga, and eating.

Caitlin Kelley (Mar 25) enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teaching artist. She is the founder and artistic director of the Cannon Beach Music Festival, a member of the Grammy-nominated modern music collective Wild Up, and a frequent performer with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. Caitlin has appeared as a soloist and concertmaster across the country, and has received awards in numerous competitions. Most recently, she was a winner of the 2022 LMC Frances Walton Competition and a finalist in the 2023 George Gershwin International Music Competition in New York, where she received the prize for best performance of an American work. Caitlin has appeared many times on Classical KING FM in Seattle, and has also been featured on KUOW, KOMO TV, and NPR. A native of Seattle, WA, Caitlin received a Bachelor of Music degree and Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School in Los Angeles, and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York.

Monica Kessler (Mar 17) earned her BM in piano performance from Western Washington University and MM in piano performance from Central Washington University. She has extensive teaching and accompanying experience, having taught on faculty at Wenatchee Valley College, Woods House Conservatory, Northshore Christian Academy as well as her own private teaching studio. While continuing to perform she also has a career as a full-time real estate broker.

Stasia Kulsa (Mar 8), flutist, has a Master of Arts in Music from Washington State University that she completed under the guidance of Dr. Sophia Tegart. In addition, she has undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Mechanical Engineering from WSU. While at WSU, she performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, and the Crimson Flute Choir. Since graduating, she has been performing with the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and working as an Acoustics Engineer at Blue Origin.

Yoonjung Lee (Mar 21) was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the U.S. at the age of 13. She was awarded a scholarship to study cello performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the instruction of Dmitry Kouzov. She has performed in various types of group settings covering many different genres of music. Currently, she is a cellist in the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, and has avidly performed in both the United States and South Korea as part of the Urbana Pops Orchestra, Baltimore Philharmonic Orchestra, Western Symphony Orchestra, and many others. Yoonjung’s mutual interest in science led her to pursue a doctoral degree in biological sciences from the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST), and she is currently also working as a research scientist at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB).

Joan Lundquist (Mar 5, 8, 11, 21) has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 40 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Ms. Lundquist is the retired Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and currently is the rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Kayleigh Miller (Mar 8, 25) was a member of the San Antonio Symphony and is a current member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. She has additionally performed with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, the Britt Festival, and National Arts Centre Orchestra. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory and Eastman School of Music, and has certifications in Pilates, yoga, strength training, and Body Mapping. In her spare time, she enjoys strength training, running, hiking, and spending time with her two chihuahua mixes, Milo and Mortimer.

Erika Pierson (Mar 8) earned her bachelor’s in Cello Performance from Indiana University and her master’s in Performance from the University of Michigan. Between her degrees, Erika studied in Berlin, at the Hochschule der Kunste, and in London under Eileen Croxford, FRCM. Her other teachers included Richard Aaron, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Markus Nyikos, and Erling Blondal Bengtsson. Erika has given solo recitals in England, Germany, Spain, and in the United States, and has soloed with orchestras in Berlin, Ann Arbor, and Everett, WA. On the less classical side of things, she has also performed with Mannheim Steamroller, Rod Stewart, The Walkmen, and Deltron 3030. Currently Erika performs regularly in NOCCO Chamber Orchestra, and freelances and teaches in the Seattle area.

Caroline Rhoads (Mar 21) – Bio TBA

Emily Riesser’s (Mar 21) diverse experience encompasses opera, oratorio, theatre, and new works. She recently portrayed Elle in a staging of Poulenc’s one-voice opera, The Human Voice (Ladies Musical Club), sang Frasquita in Carmen (Kitsap Opera), and played a nun in Sister Act (Tacoma Musical Playhouse). In concert, Emily is known for her interpretation of Bach cantatas, including Wedding Cantata, which she sang recently in several venues. Favorite experiences include singing Iphigenie in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride (Seattle Opera Guild), Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata (Kitsap Opera), Tamiri in Mozart’s Il re pastore (Off-Center Opera), and soprano chorus at Seattle Opera. Emily is a graduate of Goshen College (Goshen, IN) and past participant in Bel Canto Northwest (Portland State University).

Soprano Tiina Ritalahti (Mar 5, 8) holds degrees in music and vocal performance from the University of Washington. She has performed throughout Washington with Northwest Opera in Schools Etcetera (NOISE), Puget Sound Opera, Ladies Musical Club and Puget Sound Concert Opera, as well as being a featured soloist for the Finlandia Foundation. She has sung such roles as the First Spirit and Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Lisa in Bellini’s La sonnambula, Änchen in Der Freischütz by Weber, Cis in Britten’s Albert Herring, and Olympia in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman. Further, she has performed in multiple operas by Menotti: Lucy in The Telephone, Monica in The Medium, and Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief. Her passion for singing also extends to art song repertoire, which she performs regularly in recitals around Western Washington. Tiina has created unique breathing classes for young singers that combine her knowledge and experience as a massage therapist, certified yoga teacher and singer.

Valentina Rodov (Mar 5) was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and received her music education as a concert pianist from the famous Moscow Conservatory. She performed solo and in chamber groups prior to emigrating to the United States. Once in the USA, Valentina decided to become a lawyer, which she successfully accomplished upon graduating from law school in Los Angeles and passing the California Bar. Valentina practiced law as a business litigator in Southern California for over twenty years until she and her husband moved to Seattle. With great support and encouragement from the Seattle music community, Valentina came back to piano playing, and soon became a frequent and critically acclaimed recitalist and chamber music performer at various venues in the Seattle area.

Susan Strick (Mar 8), soprano, has sung and taught in Seattle for many years. She has appeared with the Seattle Opera, Tacoma Opera, Village Theater (Maria in The Sound of Music) and as a soloist with the Seattle Bach Festival, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Choral Company. Susan earned her B.A. in music from Stanford University, M.A. in music from UCLA, and an Opera Diploma from the University of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory. A regional finalist in both the Metropolitan and San Francisco Opera national auditions, she has performed leading roles with many small opera companies. Susan has been a faculty member of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where she created and taught “Opera as Theater” in the Honors seminar program as well as teaching voice and being an active performer, music director, and coach in the theater department. Currently she teaches in Seattle and at Music Works Northwest in Bellevue.

Kathryn Vinson (Mar 11) is a mezzo-soprano known for the warmth and richness of her voice. She appears frequently in recital in Seattle in venues ranging from Town Hall to Saint Mark’s cathedral. She has an extensive repertoire of German Lieder and has appeared internationally in operas in Europe and the Middle East. Ms. Vinson is equally at home with oratorio and has been a soloist with Seattle Baroque Orchestra and Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers. Her voice can also be heard on the soundtracks of a number of major motion pictures. Ms. Vinson has been a featured singer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, performing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the annual Christmas production of The Nutcracker.

Colin Ward (Mar 21) is an alumnus of Western Washington University, having performed with the WWU Concert Choir and appearing in many opera productions, including as Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. Colin has also appeared in many productions with Puget Sound Concert Opera and with the Seattle Opera Chorus, and is a regular soloist at Christian Science churches in the Seattle area.

Melet Whinston (Mar 21) studied under Maria DeRungs, and was first chair in the Portland Junior Symphony and Princeton University Orchestra. She has presented school performances as a member of the Leschi Trio and as a duo with Michael Housley, pianist. She is a performing member of the Ladies Musical Club, the Music Performance Group, and the Performers Only Night—Everyone Welcome! monthly musical nights. She has many years of experience as a chamber musician and solo performer, gives recitals regularly, and performs weekly at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church.

Sharon Wong (Mar 8) started playing piano at age four, beginning her collaborative piano journey in high school serving as the organist, pianist, and choir accompanist for her church. Sharon studied with Margaret Fabrizio on an 1812 Broadwood fortepiano while earning a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She recently retired after receiving an MBA from Stanford and many years serving as a technology executive at multiple startups and major software companies. Sharon now happily plays with multiple chamber ensembles, community theater organizations, and subs at various churches around Seattle.

Madeline Beery (Feb 21), M.Ed., was a music major, and worked as a Music Therapist for several years before pursuing public health professionally. Since moving to Seattle in 1985, she has studied with Zart Dambourian-Eby, SSO, Wendy Wilhelmi, Vancouver Symphony and Pam Mooney, SSO. She has played in the Dubuque, Alexandria, and Kuala Lumpur Symphonies, and now plays in the Rain City Symphony. She was the co-founder and President of AIDS Impact for 20 years that educated health professionals on AIDS, prevention, and infection control in over 42 countries. Her final public health project for WA State was to lead the planning for a pandemic.

A student of Bernard Shapiro and Dan Williams, Rosemary Bell (Feb 21) played in the Seattle Youth Symphony under Vilem Sokol and later studied at the Cornish school. Rosemary has freelanced throughout the Seattle area for 30 years and has played in local orchestras including Thalia Symphony and Broadway Chamber Orchestra. She has been a soloist for many local churches.

Jane Hoyt Buckner (Feb 21), M.D., studied clarinet under Joseph Longo, principal Clarinetist at the Minnesota Orchestra and was a member of the Minnesota Youth Symphony during her middle and high school years. She attended Carleton College, where she was principal clarinetist in the Carleton Orchestra, studied voice and was a member of the Carleton Choir. While attending the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine she was a member of the JHU Chamber Music Society, she continued to play chamber music throughout her Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Jane moved to Seattle 30 years ago and has been a member of Rain City Symphony for over 15 years. She is a practicing rheumatologist at Virginia Mason and the President of the Benaroya Research Institute. As a physician and immunologist, she works to understand and treat autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. She is a scientific co-founder of Gentibio, a company developing cell-based therapies to treat autoimmunity.

Lin Chen (Feb 6) is a freelance vocalist, violinist, and music educator in the Greater Seattle area. Growing up in Australia, she was fortunate to study music with esteemed teachers from the Griffith Conservatorium in Brisbane and the Sydney conservatorium. Her experience in vocal performance spans multiple genres including Classical, Musical theatre, and Jazz. She currently studies voice with Dr Kari Ragan. Lin is also a violin coach for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO) and performs with a number of local ensembles including her own string quartet—Quartet Evolution. Her career highlights include performing at the Sydney Opera House, Westminster Abbey, and Cologne Cathedral. She enjoys giving regular recitals in Seattle with the Ladies Musical Club.

Lawrence Chu (Feb 17, 21) is a native of the Seattle area, and currently resides in Bellevue with his family. His former instructors include Phyllis Allport, Frances Walton and Eva Heinitz. After completing 34 years of practice in Emergency Medicine locally, he has begun to reexplore the cello under the guidance of Nathan Chan. He is delighted to have been accepted as an official member of the Ladies Musical Club.

Selina Chu (Feb 17, 21) has been a part of the music community in the Pacific Northwest for over 40 years, as a master teacher and performer. She has served as an adjudicator and visiting artist as well as Board member for such organizations as Washington State Music Teachers Association, National Federation of Music Clubs, and LMC’s Frances Walton Competition. Selina holds advanced degrees in piano performance, from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Washington, as well as national certification as a teacher of music through MTNA. Thirteen years of experience as Alaska Dance Theatre’s Principal Accompanist taught her to play well with others, and she has a special place in her heart for all types of ensembles.

Ute Freund (Feb 17, 26), lyric mezzo soprano, received her undergraduate and graduate training in classical voice, opera, and voice pedagogy at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Her career as a soloist started with Hamburg State Opera and continued with German and American opera companies. Ute equally sang oratorio and solo recitals, organized concert series (“Christmas with the Classics,” Benefit Concerts) and founded “Trio Encore.” She teaches voice out of her private studio in Edmonds after spending 10 years at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany, as a voice instructor. She loves foreign languages and extensive travel, hiking with her dog, bicycling, and playing pickleball.

Diana Gao (Feb 25) is a concert pianist, music advocate, and former corporate marketing leader. After a successful career managing product marketing strategies at Microsoft and Dell EMC, she has fully embraced her passion for music, dedicating herself to performance and artistic advocacy. She earned her MBA from the University of Washington (UW) and continues to refine her piano skills under the tutelage of Dr. Robin McCabe from UW. She has won numerous accolades, including a Gold Medal of the Seattle International Piano Competition, and First Prize in the “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition. She also serves as a Board Member of Classical KING, and is a frequent guest of its Northwest Focus Live program. Since 2020, she has presented annual fundraising recitals at Microsoft, raising tens of thousands of dollars to support local non-profit organizations—reinforcing her deep belief that music has the power to inspire change and make the world a better place.

Emiko Hori (Feb 3, 9), a native of Japan, graduated from the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Piano Performance. She studied with Shigeo Neriki, and performed at numerous places including Banff Centre, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Germany. Emiko became fascinated with and continued her study in Computer Science at Boston University. Busy working in technology companies such as CommerceHub and Microsoft, Emiko thought she would never play the piano again. She was wrong; Emiko is now actively performing piano at numerous concert venues. Emiko enjoys dividing her time between performing concerts, teaching piano, and working at Starbucks HQ’s Digital Commerce team.

Dr. Mia HyeYeon Kim (Feb 26) is a Seattle-based pianist originally from Seoul, South Korea. She has won top prizes in the Frances Walton, Metropolitan International, and Texas State International Piano Competitions, among others. Recent highlights include performances of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the UW Wind Ensemble in Seattle and South Korea, and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the UW Symphony Orchestra. She has also been featured on Classical KING FM 98.1. A passionate collaborator, Kim has performed extensively with vocalists, instrumentalists, choirs, and opera companies. She currently serves as adjunct faculty at Wesleyan College and as a staff pianist at the University of Washington. She holds degrees from Yonsei University (BM), New England Conservatory (MM), Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (AD), and the University of Washington (DMA), studying under Victor Rosenbaum, Soyeon Kate Lee, and Craig Sheppard. A certified yoga instructor, she incorporates wellness into her musical work through workshops and outreach.

Peter Klein (Feb 21) grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. He earned a BFA in Theater and Music from Emerson College in Boston, also studying at the Longy School of Music. His bassoon teachers include Louise Cavalieri Goni, Dan Welcher and Francine Peterson. He currently plays in the Rain City Symphony and in several informal chamber groups. Peter has composed several chamber and choral pieces, incidental music for theatrical productions, and musicals for children. Now retired from a career in information technology, he also announced classical music at public radio stations and wrote about music for newspapers and magazines.

Rhonda Kline (Feb 9) is Artist in Residence and Director of Collaborative Piano at the University of Washington School of Music. An accomplished and versatile pianist, Rhonda’s passion is collaborating with others in sharing music. Early professional experience was at Wichita State University in Kansas, where she was a staff pianist. International highlights include a weeklong residency at the American University of Sharjah near Dubai in partnership with baritone Victor Benedetti and soprano Juliana Rambaldi and a European recital tour with Metropolitan Opera soprano Joyce Guyer. Seattle projects include music direction for several children’s operas by local composer Sterling Tinsley, and an upcoming recital of American art songs in April with Ladies Musical Club members Susan Payne O’Brien and Clarice Alfonso. Rhonda serves as general director and music director for Northwest Opera In Schools, Etc. (N.O.I.S.E., www.noiseforkids.org), an opera education program serving elementary schools and retirement communities in Washington.

Stasia Kulsa (Feb 6), flutist, has a Master of Arts in Music from Washington State University that she completed under the guidance of Dr. Sophia Tegart. In addition, she has undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Mechanical Engineering from WSU. While at WSU, she performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, and the Crimson Flute Choir. Since graduating, she has been performing with the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and working as an Acoustics Engineer at Blue Origin.

Joan Lundquist (Feb 6, 17, 25, 26) has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 30 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Ms. Lundquist is the retired Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and currently is the rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Karin McCullough (Feb 6) is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano who gives private lessons in her Ballard studio and performs frequently in Greater Seattle. She co-led two music history tours in Vienna in the early 2000s, is an active volunteer and acting librarian for Seattle Music Teachers Association, and has often performed on KING FM radio on Sean Maclean’s program, Northwest Focus Live. Her most recent performance there—accompanying Brandi Birdsong in songs by H. Leslie Adams—is available on NPR (https://livesessions.npr.org/videos).

Mara Mihali (Feb 3) is a Romanian soprano and a senior in Computer Science at the University of Washington. She began her musical training as a violinist, which fostered a deep passion for classical music and led her to pursue classical singing under the guidance of Pamela Casella. Her performance experience includes singing with the UW Opera Workshop as Maggie in A Chorus Line and performing with the UW Recital Choir. Most recently, she appeared as the soprano soloist in selections from Handel’s Messiah for a Bellevue Opera Christmas concert.

Ann Rackl (Feb 17, 21), violinist, has retired from a career as an English as a second language teacher at South Seattle College. She is the former assistant concertmaster of Philharmonia Northwest chamber orchestra, where she has been a member since 1976. She holds a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Montana and has studied violin with Emanuel Zetlin and Martin Friedmann in Seattle. Formerly a private violin instructor, these days she especially enjoys playing chamber and orchestral music.

Emily Riesser‘s (Feb 25) diverse experience encompasses opera, oratorio, theatre, and new works. She recently portrayed Elle in a staging of Poulenc’s one-voice opera, The Human Voice (Ladies Musical Club), sang Frasquita in Carmen (Kitsap Opera), and played a nun in Sister Act (Tacoma Musical Playhouse). In concert, Emily is known for her interpretation of Bach cantatas, including Wedding Cantata, which she sang recently in several venues. Favorite experiences include singing Iphigenie in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride (Seattle Opera Guild), Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata (Kitsap Opera), Tamiri in Mozart’s Il re pastore (Off-Center Opera), and soprano chorus at Seattle Opera. Emily is a graduate of Goshen College (Goshen, IN) and past participant in Bel Canto Northwest (Portland State University).

Jonathan Shih (Feb 6) began his piano studies with various Chicago-area teachers (most notably Emilio del Rosario), and continued briefly at Northwestern University under James Giles before a minor hand injury and recession-induced career introspection led him to forgo piano for an engineering degree. After a decade-long hiatus due to work travel, he resumed playing and now studies with Peter Mack. Jonathan has performed live on 98.7 WFMT (Chicago) and won first prize in the 2025 Oberlin International Adult Amateur Piano Competition. He was also a finalist in the 2024 Washington International Piano Artists Competition, where he received special awards for “Best Classical Performance” and “Most Imaginative Programming.” When not at the piano, Jonathan works as a product designer at a small startup and enjoys cooking, traveling, and collecting other hobbies.

An outstanding member of the Northwest musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas (Feb 6, 9) has performed with a variety of companies including Kitsap Opera, Willamette Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Seattle Opera Guild. Currently Artistic Director of Puget Sound Concert Opera, Regina has served as Seattle Opera Guild’s VP of Education and is a past President and trustee of concerts for LMC. Favorite operatic roles include Adriana Lecouvreur, Suor Angelica, Tosca, and Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle). Concert work includes Schumann’s Frauenleibe und-leben, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, and Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder; soprano solos in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fauré Requiem, and Berio’s Folk Songs for voice and chamber ensemble.

Colin Ward (Feb 6) is an alumnus of Western Washington University, having performed with the WWU Concert Choir and appearing in many opera productions, including as Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. Colin has also appeared in many productions with Puget Sound Concert Opera and with the Seattle Opera Chorus, and is a regular soloist at Christian Science churches in the Seattle area.

Allen Chang (Jan 1) is a pianist originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He graduated from Yale University in 2019, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in statistics and was co-president of the Yale Undergraduate Piano Collective. Allen has studied piano with Logan Skelton, Elizabeth Parisot, Donald Morelock, Sonoko Kambara, and Chao-Li Tsai. He also plays the clarinet and is currently the principal clarinetist of the Seattle Philharmonic. Outside of music, Allen enjoys traveling, eating, skiing, playing tennis, playing chess, and petting dogs.

Lin Chen (Jan 14) is a freelance vocalist, violinist and music educator in the Greater Seattle area. Growing up in Australia, she was fortunate to study music with esteemed teachers from the Griffith Conservatorium in Brisbane and the Sydney conservatorium. Her experience in vocal performance spans multiple genres including Classical, Musical theatre and Jazz. She currently studies voice with Dr Kari Ragan. Lin is also a violin coach for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO) and performs with a number of local ensembles including her own string quartet—Quartet Evolution. Her career highlights include performing at the Sydney Opera House, Westminster Abbey and Cologne Cathedral. She enjoys giving regular recitals in Seattle with the Ladies Musical Club.

Erika Fiebig (Jan 14) is a Seattle native and started cello at five. She studied at Oberlin College, coaches the Bellevue Youth Symphony, and plays in the Ballard Civic Orchestra and subs with Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Teachers are Richard Aaron and Rajan Krishnaswami. Find her in the pit at many local theaters and in a quartet at many local weddings!

Ute Freund (Jan 14), lyric mezzo soprano, received her undergraduate and graduate training in classical voice, opera, and voice pedagogy at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Her career as a soloist started with Hamburg State Opera and continued with German and American opera companies. Ute equally sang oratorio and solo recitals, organized concert series (“Christmas with the Classics,” Benefit Concerts) and founded “Trio Encore.” She teaches voice out of her private studio in Edmonds after spending 10 years at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany, as a voice instructor. She loves foreign languages and extensive travel, hiking with her dog, bicycling, and playing pickleball.

Pianist Nobuko Hasegawa (Jan 11), born in Japan, began to play piano at age 4 and was soon in demand as an accompanist performing at weddings, festivals and teaching. Performances include the piano duo group at the Levine School of Music in Washington D.C., the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China, and with the Telemann Chamber Music Group in Osaka, Japan. Nobuko has studied with Ms. Kazuko Yokoi, Professor emeritus of Osaka University of Education and Dr. Robert Palmer, the Ruth Weldy Mauzy and Mary Weldy Porter Distinguished Professor of Music, and holds Master’s Degrees in Piano Performance and Accompanying/Chamber Music.

Katie Hochman (Jan 14), soprano, can be heard regularly giving recitals with Ladies Musical Club of Seattle. She has also enjoyed singing opera and oratorio with Puget Sound Concert Opera (PSCO), Opera Theater Oregon, Portland Opera, Utah Opera, Columbia Chorale and Southwest Washington Symphony (SWS). Highlights include the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon and Héro in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Bénédict performed with PSCO and Exultate, jubilate performed with SWS.

Emiko Hori (Jan 1), a native of Japan, graduated from the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Piano Performance. She studied with Shigeo Neriki, and performed at numerous places including Banff Centre, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Germany. Emiko became fascinated with and continued her study in Computer Science at Boston University. Busy working in technology companies such as CommerceHub and Microsoft, Emiko thought she would never play the piano again. She was wrong; Emiko is now actively performing piano at numerous concert venues. Emiko enjoys dividing her time between performing concerts, teaching piano, and working at Starbucks HQ’s Digital Commerce team.

Maria Khavin (Jan 14) is a pianist, teacher, and music education enthusiast. Starting her formal education at age six, she subsequently earned her degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Rimsky-Korsakoff State Music College in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Since moving to Seattle in 1992, Ms. Khavin continued to be an active performer and became a passionate educator. She appeared in numerous piano solo performances, and accompanied hundreds of instrumentalists and vocalists. She made her orchestral debut performing Mozart’s G major piano concerto with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. In Seattle, she worked with Lyric Opera Northwest, NOISE (Northwest Opera in Schools, Etc.), and Mahler’s Festival, among others. Recently, she became a Ladies Musical Club performing member, presenting several concerts a year. Ms. Khavin holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Washington.

Stasia Kulsa (Jan 14), flutist, has a Master of Arts in Music from Washington State University that she completed under the guidance of Dr. Sophia Tegart. In addition, she has undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Mechanical Engineering from WSU. While at WSU, she performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, and the Crimson Flute Choir. Since graduating, she has been performing with the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and working as an Acoustics Engineer at Blue Origin.

Dr. Jennifer Li (Jan 1) completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2001. In that same year, she was awarded the Special Presentation Award by Artists International, which presented her solo debut recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Jennifer has performed in master classes for renowned concert pianists including John Perry, Lazar Berman, John O’Conor, and Roslyn Tureck, among others. She has given solo recitals in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, and the Netherlands. Since returning to her hometown of Seattle in 2003, Jennifer has established a successful private teaching studio and continues to perform as a soloist and chamber musician.

Joan Lundquist (Jan 14) has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 30 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Ms. Lundquist is the retired Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and currently is the rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Kayleigh Miller (Jan 17, 20) was a member of the San Antonio Symphony and is a current member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. She has additionally performed with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, the Britt Festival, and National Arts Centre Orchestra. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory and Eastman School of Music, and has certifications in Pilates, yoga, strength training, and Body Mapping. In her spare time, she enjoys strength training, running, hiking, and spending time with her two chihuahua mixes, Milo and Mortimer.

Tatiana (Tanya) K. Moore (Jan 20) started studying piano at age six with the goal of becoming a concert pianist. She completed music school studies in Moscow, Russia, and, after immigrating to the U.S., continued them in NYC at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, both preparatory and college levels. Taking an orthogonal path upon graduation from Fordham University and, after a career in the high-tech industry at IBM, Microsoft and Sonos, Tanya returned to music studies at the Chopin Academy of Music. She has been building a new repertoire, performing in concerts, recitals and local competitions.

Gail Perstein (Jan 11) has a Bachelor of Science from Springfield College, a Bachelor of Music from P.L.U., a Master of Music from U.W. (both in oboe performance) and a Master of Arts in Historical Musicology, also from U.W. She splits her time between teaching oboe privately, performing on oboe/English horn, and performing early music. She played in both early and classical music groups at P.L.U. and U.W., and continues performing in various settings, ranging from Tacoma Opera to local church services. Ms. Perstein performed for many years with her own medieval group, Chansonnier, using period instruments. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle for 22 years and chair of the Frances Walton Competition Committee for 23 years.

Soprano Tiina Ritalahti (Jan 14) holds degrees in music and vocal performance from the University of Washington. She has performed throughout Washington with Northwest Opera in Schools Etcetera (NOISE), Puget Sound Opera, Ladies Musical Club and Puget Sound Concert Opera, as well as being a featured soloist for the Finlandia Foundation. She has sung such roles as the First Spirit and Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Lisa in Bellini’s La sonnambula, Änchen in Der Freischütz by Weber, Cis in Britten’s Albert Herring, and Olympia in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman. Further, she has performed in multiple operas by Menotti: Lucy in The Telephone, Monica in The Medium, and Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief. Her passion for singing also extends to art song repertoire, which she performs regularly in recitals around Western Washington. Tiina has created unique breathing classes for young singers that combine her knowledge and experience as a massage therapist, certified yoga teacher and singer.

Eric Shankland (Jan 11, 17) has been playing bassoon since age 15. He played in the NCR band and the Youth Philharmonic in Dayton, Ohio. He studied with Arthur Grossman and played in the University Symphony at the University of Washington, and currently studies with Paul Rafanelli of the Seattle Symphony. He was principal bassoon in the Eastside Symphony (Redmond) for fifteen years. Eric is a research scientist at the University of Washington.

Julie Shankland (Jan 11, 17) has played clarinet since marching band in the Ohio snow. Since moving to Washington, Julie has played in the UW Concert Band, Eastside Symphony, West Seattle Community Orchestras, Rain City Symphony, and various chamber music camps. Julie is an adult student of Jennifer Nelson and recently learned to play bass clarinet. Julie works in the Office of General Counsel at the Washington State Bar Association.

Jonathan Shih (Jan 1) began his piano studies with various Chicago-area teachers (most notably Emilio del Rosario), and continued briefly at Northwestern University under James Giles before a minor hand injury and recession-induced career introspection led him to forgo piano for an engineering degree. After a decade-long hiatus due to work travel, he resumed playing and now studies with Peter Mack. Jonathan has performed live on 98.7 WFMT (Chicago) and won first prize in the 2025 Oberlin International Adult Amateur Piano Competition. He was also a finalist in the 2024 Washington International Piano Artists Competition, where he received special awards for “Best Classical Performance” and “Most Imaginative Programming.” When not at the piano, Jonathan works as a product designer at a small startup and enjoys cooking, traveling, and collecting other hobbies.

Melet Whinston (Jan 14) studied under Maria DeRungs, and was first chair in the Portland Junior Symphony and Princeton University Orchestra. She has presented school performances as a member of the Leschi Trio and as a duo with Michael Housley, pianist. She is a performing member of the Ladies Musical Club, the Music Performance Group, and the Performers Only Night—Everyone Welcome! monthly musical nights. She has many years of experience as a chamber musician and solo performer, gives recitals regularly, and performs weekly at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church.