Faculty and Guest Artists
photo by Nathan HillJohn T. Posadas, BratscheTogether founder and violist
John T. Posadas enjoys an active career as a performer and educator. Recitals have taken him across the country and abroad with appearances at the Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, Aspen, Santa Fe Opera, Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland’s International Chamber Music Campus, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and Chautauqua. His performances have been heard on NPR stations across the country. As a chamber musician, he has won top prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and is a founding member and the violist for the Baumer String Quartet. Orchestrally, he has performed with the Houston Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, and the Chautauqua Symphony, among many others.
A sought-after clinician and teacher, Posadas has taught masterclasses and lessons at institutions across America and abroad. Recent highlights include performances and master classes at the Bower School of Music, Southern Methodist University, the Dallas Museum of Art, Concordia College, the University of Louisville, University of Florida, and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. For his extraordinary service in the arts, John was named an official Kentucky Colonel at the age of 13. He is currently a resident artist at the University of South Florida’s School of Music, where he is adjunct professor of viola and chamber music. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, playing tennis, and spending quality time with his wife and twin daughters.
Yu Jin Zhou, viola
Winner of many competitions, Ms. Jin won the first prize of the Washington International Competition, the Chicago Viola Society Solo Competition, the Ohio Viola Society Competition. She is also the prize winner of the Primrose International Competition, the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, and the Corpus Christi International Competition.
Ms. Jin has played in many venues and music festivals, including the Angel's fire, Aspen Music Festival, Bravo Vail music festival, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Marlboro Music Festival, Music@Menlo, and the 92nd street Y. Ms. Jin was invited to play on tour with musicians from Marlboro. She had her Washington debut presented by The Phillips Collection in 2006, and regularly performed recitals in China. Ms. Jin has collaborated with James Conlon, members of Guarneri Quartet, Julliard Quartet, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Mendelssohn Quartet, Orion Quartet, and Cleveland Orchestra. She also was the violist of the Miami String Quartet, the guest principal viola of the Cincinnati Orchestra, the principal viola of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the City Music Cleveland, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
As a teacher, she was invited to give master classes in the event of the Ohio Viola society, Oberlin Conservatory, Toronto University, Beijing Central Conservatory of Music, and many music festivals throughout the United States and Mexico. She has joined the faculty of the Kent State University since 2007. She was also the visiting artist of the Hartt School of Music. Ms.Jin studied viola with Wang Shaowu and Wing Ho at the Central Conservatory of Music, and Jeffrey Irvine at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Theresa Rudolph, viola
Canadian Violist Theresa Rudolph is an active chamber musician, recitalist, and orchestral player. Theresa joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Viola in 2011, and has been a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra since 2018. Theresa began her orchestral career as the youngest member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the age of 21. She has also held positions with the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, and has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Theresa has performed in festivals throughout North America, including the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. She has also been featured several times on CBC Radio Canada. Theresa performs regularly as a member of the TSO Chamber Soloists, and has appeared as guest violist with Trio Arkel and the LARK Ensemble.
Theresa enjoys many varied teaching opportunities. She is currently on the faculty of the University of Toronto, and is the Viola Coach of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Theresa studied at the Vancouver Academy of Music as a student of Gerald Stanick. The recipient of a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, she then obtained her Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Robert Vernon. While at CIM, she toured with the Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, was a prizewinner at the prestigious Fischoff Competition, and performed in Carnegie Hall.
Joanna Patterson Zakany, viola
Hailed for “stunning, expressive, remarkable” playing and “exemplar of grace and technical skill”, Joanna Patterson Zakany is a member of The Cleveland Orchestra and enjoys an active orchestral, chamber music and teaching career in the United States and abroad. Born in the Principality of Monaco, Joanna began her studies with her parents, Ronald and Roxanna Patterson. She continued her studies at the Academie de Musique Rainier III, where she was the youngest recipient of the “Prix Prince Rainer III , medaille d’Or” (gold medal), Monaco’s most prestigious prize for aspiring musicians. She also studied in Paris with Michel Mikkalakakos of the Conservatoire National Superieure de Paris. After moving back to the United States, she began her studies with Robert Vernon, principal violist of The Cleveland Orchestra, at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2001. She graduated with honors from CIM under full scholarship, receiving the “Robert Vernon prize”. Shortly after graduation, she joined The Cleveland Orchestra at 21 years old. She has enjoyed traveling the world and performing in the world’s best concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Festspielhaus, KKL and Musikverein. In addition to TCO, Joanna has been Guest Principal with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, guest member with All-Star Orchestra and Principal of the Canton Symphony. As a soloist, Joanna has performed with The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, the Federal Way Symphony and Marrowstone Music Festival Orchestra, the Canton Symphony, Cleveland Philharmonic, KSU Orchestra and CSU Orchestra, amongst others. She has an active chamber music career as a founding member of the Omni String Quartet, comprised of four members of The Cleveland Orchestra. She is also a member of Ensemble HD, a chamber group started by Cleveland Orchestra Principal Flute Joshua Smith. Together they perform in various eclectic venues which culminated in recording “Live from the Happy Dog”, recorded in Cleveland’s famous hot dog bar. The album garnered national and international press, which brought them to perform at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Joanna returned to perform at PCMS in 2019 with Omni Quartet, Smith and Principal Oboe of TCO, Frank Rosenwein. Zakany is Assistant Professor at Kent State University, where she enjoys teaching and performing with the Verve Chamber Players, a group made up of fellow Omni member Amy Lee and members of the Miami String Quartet, Cathy and Robby Robinson. In addition to music, Joanna is a 200hrs RTY Certified Yoga Instructor. She works with all different yoga levels and particularly loves helping musicians find a mindful way of approaching their craft, which helps them peak on stage and remain balanced in their daily life.
William Johnston, viola
William Johnston leads a varied career as a violist and educator based in Atlanta. Praised for his "richly lyrical tone and expressive playing" (ArtsATL.org), his recent performance highlights include his solo debut with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, an appearance at the Primrose International Viola Festival, and recitals in Florida, Georgia, and West Virginia. William is principal violist of The Atlanta Opera and regularly performs with the viola sections of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, and Sarasota Orchestra.
A devoted teacher, William has presented masterclasses at the Primrose International Viola Festival and at numerous colleges and universities, and during the Fall of 2018 served as visiting faculty at the University of Florida. He is a faculty member of Franklin Pond Chamber Music, coaching chamber music and performing with the Franklin Pond Chamber Players. William is also a Licensed Body Mapping Educator and offers lessons and workshops in Body Mapping, a method of preventing injury and enhancing performance by providing accurate information about the body in movement.
William studied the viola with Dorothy Stahler, Alison Heydt, Victoria Chiang, James Dunham, and Robert Vernon. William received licensure training in Body Mapping from Jennifer Johnson, and studied Suzuki Pedagogy with Kimberly Meier-Sims. He is a graduate of the Peabody Institute and Rice University, and is the first violist to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Guest Artists
David Dash, trumpet
David Dash is the Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He was previously Assistant Principal Trumpet of the Naples Philharmonic and a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, where he performed as a soloist and toured much of the United States. David has also performed with the symphonies of Atlanta, Baltimore, Charleston, Charlotte, and San Francisco, the Florida Orchestra, and the Sarasota Opera. In addition to “The President’s Own,” he has performed as a soloist with the Naples Philharmonic, Naples Orchestra and Chorus, Naples Concert Band, Monmouth Symphony, and the Astoria Symphony. David received scholarships to the Orchestra Institute in Attergau, Austria, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. He has recorded for Pentatone (Santa Fe Opera’s Grammy nominated Cold Mountain), Koch International, Albany Records, and “The President’s Own”. David is a graduate of Rice University and the Manhattan School of Music. His teachers include Armando Ghitalla and Robert Sullivan.
Carolyn Stuart, violin
Violin playing described as “tonally resplendent and affectingly assured both stylistically and technically” (Fanfare Magazine) and a performer of "astonishing effectiveness, radiant inspiration, deep sensitivity, and colossal temperament" (Musical Horizons - Sofia), violinist Carolyn Stuart is heard regularly as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in prominent North American and European centers. Such recent performances were held at Carnegie, Merkin, and Steinway Halls in NYC, Salle Gaveau in Paris, the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, The Bethaniënklooster in Amsterdam, and many others. Festival appearances have included Green Mountain, Chautauqua, Interlochen, Garth Newel, Hot Springs, Pine Mountain, Killington, Fox River, and in the Netherlands (Peter de Gröte), Italy (Autunno and Classicariano in Naples), Bulgaria (Salon des Arts and Sofia Music Weeks), and France (Association Philomuses, Paris).
Carolyn Stuart currently serves as Violin Professor at the University of South Florida and on the Artist-Faculty at Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and Brancaleoni International Music Festival. Her principal teachers have included Kevin Lawrence, Paul Kantor, and Mitchell Stern, and she holds degrees from The Juilliard School, University of Michigan, and from Stony Brook University, SUNY. Her recordings may be heard on Bridge, Gega New, Albany, Capstone, and Blue Griffin.
Sonja Bosca-Harasim, violin/viola
Sonja Bosca-Harasim, performer and educator, has been described as an “undeniably impressive” performer (James Chute, San Diego Union-Tribune, August 21, 2011), and hailed for her attention to detail, making “every note count deliciously” (Joel Luks, Culture Map Houston, April 26, 2011). Bosca-Harasim is Concertmaster of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony and is Associate Professor of Violin and Viola at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Additionally, she coaches chamber music, teaches string methods to future music educators, serves as String Area Coordinator and Director of Concordia’s North Star Chamber Music Festival and Symposium, as well as its String Preparatory Program. She maintains an active performing career locally, nationally, and internationally as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, including performing as Guest Principal 2ndViolin with the Detroit Symphony and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, as well as performances at the “Grieg in Bergen” concert series in Norway, the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., La Jolla SummerFest in California, and at the Soiva Music Camp in Järvenpää, Finland. She has performed at numerous preeminent music festivals, including Schleswig-Holstein, International Holland Music Sessions, Sarasota, Encore, Tanglewood, Aspen, Round Top, Brevard and Interlochen. A native of Houston, Texas, she began her violin studies at the age of 5 in the Suzuki program at Parker Elementary and went on to study with Albert Muenzer, while attending the critically acclaimed High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She completed her undergraduate studies with David Updegraff at the Cleveland Institute of Music and returned to her hometown to continue her studies with Kenneth Goldsmith and Cho-Liang Lin at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she received her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. Bosca-Harasim resides in Fargo, ND with her husband, long time chamber music partner and bowling teammate, Ryan and their new son, Sebastian.
Lauren Burns Hodges, viola
Violist Lauren Burns Hodges enjoys a varied career as a teacher and performer throughout the United States and abroad. She is currently Assistant Professor of Viola at the University of Florida where she also coordinates and teaches Music Appreciation classes. Passionate about promoting the viola and engaging with the community, she hosts an annual viola day at UF and serves as a board member-at-large for the American Viola Society.
Dr. Hodges has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player across the United States, Europe and Asia. She recently toured China with pianist Doug Jurs, performing a new commission by Paul Richards and lesser-known works by American composers Alan Shulman and Libby Larsen. She expects to release a CD in 2020 containing the first commercial recordings of two sonatas for viola and piano by American composers Gustav Strube and Arthur Foote. This fall, she plans to tour the Chicago area with a program featuring American composers Jennifer Higdon, Augusta Read Thomas, and Perry Goldstein.
A dedicated teacher, Dr. Hodges has twice been invited to teach masterclasses at the Primrose International Viola Competition and Festival held at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, CA, and she presented pedagogical ideas from her DMA document entitled Coordinated Action in String Playing: A Comparative Study of the Teachings of Paul Rolland and Karen Tuttle at the national AVS festival held at Oberlin Conservatory in 2015. Dr. Hodges teaches students to use natural weight and leverage to produce a resonant sound free from excessive tension and pain, and she leads body awareness workshops that fuse together ideas from Rolland and Tuttle with elements from Alexander Technique, physical therapy and yoga.
Dr. Hodges is a graduate of the University of Alabama, Peabody Conservatory, and the University of South Carolina. She was the recipient of the Narramore Fellowship at Alabama and won the prestigious Jacob K. Javits national fellowship for graduate studies at Peabody. Primary viola teachers include Daniel Sweaney, Victoria Chiang, and Frits DeJonge. Her pedagogy training is from Rebecca Henry (Peabody Preparatory Division) and Suzuki certification from teacher trainer Mary Cay Neal.
Nathan Olson, violin
A native of Berkeley, California, violinist Nathan Olson began his appointment as co-concertmaster with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in September 2011. He served as adjunct faculty at the University of North Texas College of Music 2013–16, and was recently appointed adjunct faculty at Southern Methodist University. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s prestigious Concertmaster Academy, Olson studied with William Preucil and Paul Kantor. Currently concertmaster of the Breckenridge Music Festival, Olson has participated in the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Bravo Vail Music Festival and the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival.
An enthusiastic chamber musician, Olson is a member of the Baumer String Quartet (BSQ), whose debut recording will be coming out in 2019. The BSQ serves on faculty at the Crowden Chamber Music Workshop and the Monterey Chamber Music Workshop, and has held residencies at several institutions including University of North Texas, University of South Florida and University of South Dakota.
A winner of the Joseph and Elsie Scharff prize in violin at Cleveland Institute of Music, Olson has performed as soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony and Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra.
In recent seasons, Olson has appeared as guest concertmaster with the symphony orchestras of Pittsburgh, Toronto, Omaha and Tucson, and as principal second violin with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. While completing his bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Olson earned minors in both mathematics and music theory.
Dr. Jacob Tews, viola
Dr. Jacob Tews is Assistant Professor of Strings at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. He has served previously as an educator at Wartburg College, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, and the University of Minnesota.
He earned a DMA in viola performance, with a secondary emphasis in music theory, from the University of Minnesota.
As a soloist, he regularly performs recitals mixing standard and new repertoire. His present chamber music focus is on his contemporary music duo with violinist Erik Rohde, sonic apricot (sonicapricity.com); they regularly collaborate with living composers, and recently returned from a successful guest artist residency with the Alba Composition Program in Alba, Italy. Their recording of Elliott Miles McKinley’s String Quartet No. 8, written for the duo and their colleagues at Indiana State University, was released in 2019.
As a conductor, Tews has served as Music Director of the Wartburg Community Symphony Orchestra, and as Assistant/Cover Conductor for the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony and the Southern Illinois Music Festival. As a composer, he has had his works played around the world; his newest major work, a double concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra, was premiered by Kiril Laskarov, Eric Lenz, and the Southern Illinois Music Festival Orchestra in 2018.
Roxanna Patterson, viola
Roxanna Patterson began her professional career at age 16 as a member of the Fort Worth Symphony and the Forth Worth Opera Orchestras. She later attended the Shepherd School of Music (Rice University) and played in the Houston Symphony, Houston Opera Orchestra and served as Concertmaster of the Houston Ballet Orchestra. Her teachers included Ron Patterson, Eudice Shapiro, Wayne Crouse and Karen Tuttle. In 1979 she moved to Monte Carlo with her husband, Concertmaster Ron Patterson. There she changed from violin to viola and the couple formed the unique violin/viola ensemble Duo Patterson. A chamber music enthusiast, Roxanna has performed extensively in this capacity, recently recording the Hindemith Trio Op.47 for Viola, Heckelphone and Piano for the Centaur label. Roxanna has also recorded for the Ante Aeternum, CRI, and VOX labels, and appeared on European and American television. She has also appeared in recital and as soloist with orchestras in France, Italy, Germany, England, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, and the U.S. In 1984 she received the first Special Award from the Princess Grace Foundation and was recently decorated by Prince Rainier of Monaco with Chevalier de l’Ordre du Merite Culturel. She is the violist of the Rainier String Quartet and Principal Viola of the New Hampshire Music Festival. She and Ron have three children and reside in Seattle, Washington.
Dr. Francesca Arnone
Francesca Arnone is an active flute and piccolo soloist, chamber musician, and educator. An avid traveler, she enjoys pursuing this passion through music and has appeared in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, in such venues as St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Conservatory of Madrid, Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, Split Academy of Music in Croatia, and the Chicago Public Library.
A featured guest artist at flute festivals around the country, she has performed at a variety of flute conventions and festivals, including those of the National Flute Association, British Flute Society, International Flute Festival of Costa Rica, and the Flute Society of Spain. Her solo and chamber music recordings on the MSR and Ravello labels have met critical acclaim. A veteran of regional and opera orchestras in the US and Mexico, she now plays with a variety of orchestras and ensembles across her home state of Florida, including the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra (member since 1997), Opera Tampa, and ensemblenewSRQ. Her concerto appearances on flute, alto flute, and piccolo have ranged from works by Bach to Chen Yi.
Dr. Arnone has served on the faculties of Baylor, West Virginia, Boise State, and Idaho State universities. She teaches at the University of South Florida and Patel Conservatory in Tampa, and at FlootFire and other summer camps around the country. Please see www.francescaarnone.com.
Misty Drake, violin
A three-time soloist with The Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, Misty Drake began the violin at age 3 and is a native to Southwest Florida. Ms. Drake completed her Master in Music in Violin Performance (‘20) from The Frost School of Music (University of Miami) as a Teaching Assistant to Charles Castleman and Henry Mancini Institute Fellow. She received her BM in Violin Performance (‘18) from The Eastman School of Music with Charles Castleman and Federico Agostini, and was named an Arts Leadership Certificate Fellow, cultivating arts engagement skills through entrepreneurial and leadership training. Currently, Misty is a member of The Orchestra Now (Bard College) pursuing an Advanced Certificate in Orchestral Studies. Mistyviolinist.com
Assistant faculty
Both Sessions
John Rose, viola
John Rose started his musical education on the violin when he was five years old under the tutelage of Paul Tarabek in Faribault, MN. Under the instruction of Dr. Sonja Bosca-Harasim, he earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Violin Performance from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, where he discovered his love and passion for viola. Starting in fall of 2020, he will be persuing his Master of Music Degree in Viola Performance and Pedagogy at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, under the instruction of Kate Hamilton.
While a concertmaster of the Concordia Orchestra, he was featured as a soloist in their performances of Rimsy-Korsakov's Scheherazade. He has also been featured with the Concordia Choir in Emmy Award-winning Concordia Christmas Concert performances as a soloist and within small chamber groups. In 2017, John competed in the Edvard Grieg Society Competition and won second prize.
He has been a rostered member of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra since 2017, initially as a violinist, now as a violist. He is also an independent instructor of violin and viola in Fargo-Moorhead.
June Session
Cassia Drake, viola
Cassia Drake, a native of Southwest Florida, began studying the violin at age 4, switching to viola at age 12 under the guidance of John T. Posadas. She gave her solo debut with the Naples Philharmonic at age 14, and has since appeared with the Sarasota Music Festival Orchestra and the SouthWest Florida Symphony. Recently, she performed with the Colburn Chamber Music Society, soloed with the Colburn Orchestra, and in the coming season she will premiere Kelly-Marie Murphy’s The Fierce Urgency of the Now. A passionate chamber musician, Ms. Drake has collaborated with artists such as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ettore Causa, Clive Greensmith, and Elisso Virsaladze. As a third-year Colburn Teaching Fellow, she maintains an active teaching studio, giving lessons to students in the Jumpstart Young Musicians Program. Ms. Drake recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Colburn Conservatory of Music. She will remain at Colburn as a Master’s degree candidate where she will continue her studies with Paul Coletti.
