MEET THE MUSICIANS | 2025 CONCERT SERIES

Anne-Marie Brown​, violin

Anne-Marie Brown, a member of the Kansas City Symphony since 2001, performs extensively as soloist and chamber musician throughout the Kansas City area. The Kansas City Star has described her performances as displaying "splendid virtuosity, with a rich impressive tone" and KCMetropolis has said her "playing was stellar, with lyricism and technique to spare." The Miami Herald has noted her work's "silky, suave tone and unaffected beauty." In recent seasons, she has been a frequent soloist with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, a guest musician with Summerfest, and a member of  the newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, recording a work for piano trio on the Navona label in 2012. In addition, she serves on the faculty of the Heartland Chamber Music Festival.
Previously, she was a member of the New World Symphony, where she appeared as both concertmaster and soloist. She holds degrees from Northwestern University and Manhattan School of Music.
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Dr. Jane Carl, ​clarinet

Jane Carl, Professor of Clarinet at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, received her degrees from the University of Michigan.  She has been a member of the South Bend Symphony, the Flint Symphony, and the Michigan Opera Theater Orchestra in Detroit, and performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.  She performs regularly with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, as acting assistant principal clarinet from 1999-2003.  She can often be heard performing with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony.  She was the artistic chair of ClarinetFest 2008, the annual conference of the International Clarinet Association, held in Kansas City.  Dr. Carl performed at the 2007 China International Clarinet and Saxophone Festival in Beijing, and the 2009 ClarinetFest in Porto Portugal.  In the fall of 2009, she became the Chair of UMKC’s Instrumental Studies Division.  She has performed with Summerfest for over two decades and is a member of the Artistic Committee which selects music heard at Summerfest concerts.  ​

Alexander (Alex) East, ​cello

Alexander East serves as the Assistant Principal Cello of the Kansas City Symphony. In addition to duties with the Symphony, which often include leading the section as principal for opera, ballet and chamber orchestra performances, East is also heard frequently in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the Kansas City region and beyond. He has also performed with the Sun Valley (Idaho) Summer Symphony every summer since 1992. 
In the Kansas City area, he has performed regularly in groups including Summerfest Chamber Music Concerts (also serving as an Artistic Advisor), the Boulevard String Quartet and newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. Before settling in Kansas City, East spent two seasons as a member of the New World Symphony under the direction of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and he was also re-invited to coach the NWS cello section as a guest alumnus. East has been featured as soloist with the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, the Sedalia Symphony, the Erie (PA) Chamber Orchestra and the Fredonia Chamber Players. 
East received his training at Indiana University where he received a bachelor’s degree and performer diploma, and he earned his master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music. His teachers have included Tsuyushi Tsutsumi, Janos Starker, Laurence Lesser and Colin Carr. He performs on either an English cello made in London ca. 1800-10 by John Betts or a contemporary cello made in 2016 by Kenneth Beckmann.
 

Larry Figg, cello

Born in Dallas in 1963, Lawrence Figg began the cello in fourth grade strings class and later was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 18. After graduating in 1985, he moved to France where he lived for five years in Paris. He was a member of the Orchestre de Chambre d’Alexendre Stajic, performed a season with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercomtemporain, and he was a regular recording artist for French radio and television. In 1986, he was a semi-finalist at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and performed as soloist with several French orchestras during his stay in Paris. In 1991, he won a position as section cellist in the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine under the direction of Alain Lombard and was later appointed the to the position of assistant principal and then principal cello until 1994. Figg has been a member of the Kansas City Symphony since 1999, and he has been described as a distinguished cellist with beautiful tone and passionate, singing musicianship by the Kansas City Star.

Hayley Grainger, flute

Hayley Grainger has held positions with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chattanooga Symphony & Opera. She is thrilled to join the Boston Ballet Orchestra and Albany Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2025 and continue her work with the Boston Festival Orchestra. In addition to her orchestral career, she is an active chamber musician, recently working with Angélica Negrón on a curated recital for the 2022 Women in Classical Music Symposium, premiering new chamber works with Voices of Change, and appearing with Fine Arts Chamber Players in 2024. Grainger is a Haynes Performing Artist and plays on a rose gold Haynes Fusion.

Evan Halloin, bass
Evan Halloin joined Summerfest as an artistic advisor in 2023. He has been a double bassist with the Kansas City Symphony since 2012, and has served as Associate Principal since 2016. Prior to coming to Kansas City he was a member of the New World Symphony. He has earned degrees from Rice University and the New England Conservatory, studying with Timothy Pitts and Donald Palma. Halloin has performed as a substitute musician with the Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Houston Symphony Orchestras, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Originally from De Pere, Wisconsin, he currently resides in Prairie Village, Kansas. When not riding his bike, solving crossword puzzles, or arranging music for a Summerfest concert, he loves to let his dog Penny drag him, his wife Margaret, and young son Graham for walks around the neighborhood. 
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Joshua Hood, bassoon
​Joshua Hood, bassoonist, received his bachelor of music degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Lewis Hugh Cooper.  He completed his master's degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University with Benjamin Kamins, former Principal Bassoonist of the Houston Symphony.  Hood has performed with a number of orchestras including the Kansas City Symphony, Houston Symphony, and the North Carolina Symphony.  He joined the Charlotte Repertory Symphony to outstanding reviews.  He has also performed with several festivals including the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, May Music Festival in Charlotte, NC, Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, NY,  the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA, and with the Ritz Chamber Players on  the Amelia Island Music Festival in Florida.  He has performed with Summerfest since 1998.
 

Rena Ishii, violin

Rena Ishii joined the Kansas City Symphony in 2011. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in violin performance from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Won-Bin Yim. She continued her studies with William Preucil at Cleveland Institute of Music and received a professional studies certificate. In the Cleveland area, she became active as an orchestra player and was a member of Canton Symphony, Akron Symphony and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Ishii has spent summers at Aspen Music Festival, Spoleto USA, and Tanglewood Music Center. Ishii has a passion for teaching as well. She has been actively teaching privately and at schools. In her free time, she enjoys jogging, cooking, and reading.

Celeste Johnson Freher, oboe
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Celeste Johnson is Professor of Oboe at the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory, where she is an active performer, pedagogue, clinician, and presenter. Before moving to Kansas City, she performed for eleven seasons as a member of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra and taught at Oklahoma State University. Her career has taken her across the globe, including teaching and performing appearances in Japan, Colombia, Switzerland, the Isle of Man, Canada, and throughout the United States.  
Celeste continues to perform actively in a wide range of settings, including solo, concerto, chamber, and orchestral engagements. She has released two recordings on the Equilibrium label. Her playing has been recognized with top prizes at the Gillet and Barbirolli International Oboe Competitions, and she has earned fellowships to perform at renowned festivals such as the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, and Lucerne Festival, among others.
Celeste is an active and engaged member of the professional music community, having presented at the International Double Reed Society, the Midwest Double Reed Society, and a range of music education conferences throughout Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. She also serves as an Artistic Advisor for Summerfest, contributing to the festival’s creative direction and programming. Celeste holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Paul Kim, violin

​Paul Kim is an accomplished and versatile violinist known for his exceptional artistry and dedication. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with William Preucil and Stephen Rose. Kim has performed with renowned ensembles, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Music Festival, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Kim began playing with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra in 2023. In addition to his orchestral engagements, Kim has actively participated in music education and community outreach. He has served as a section and chamber music coach for the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, nurturing the talents of young players. He also made contributions to the Nashville Symphony's Accelerando program by teaching lessons, masterclasses, and serving on jury panels. Presently, Kim finds fulfillment in sharing his expertise as a violin teacher, collaborating with his wife, Waka Kim, at P & W Violin Studio. Through their dedicated instruction, they provide students with exceptional violin lessons, imparting their extensive knowledge, and fostering the growth of aspiring musicians.

Victoria Knudtson, horn
Minnesota-born horn player Victoria Knudtson joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as Assistant/Utility Horn during the 2019-2020 season. Born to a pianist mother and singer father, Knudtson found her artistic voice on the horn when she was 16 years old after a coincidental meeting with her first teacher, Wayne Lu.
Knudtson received her Bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 2017 and her Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020 under the tutelage of Jennifer Montone and Jeffery Lang of the Philadelphia Orchestra. 
During her studies at IU with Canadian Brass horn player Jeffery Nelsen, she also benefited from the orchestral pedagogy of Dale Clevenger, former principal horn of the Chicago Symphony, and studied early music performance on the natural horn with Richard Seraphinoff.  She spent the Fall 2016 semester in Vienna, Austria, studying with members of the Vienna Philharmonic.  She served as principal horn of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic from 2016-2018, and held a core horn position with the ensemble Symphony in C from 2018-2019.   Knudtson has performed as a soloist with the Indiana University Symphony Orchestra and the Yale New Music Ensemble and frequently performs chamber music in various cities. 
She ardently enjoys collaborating with composers and performing new music.
Knudtson was a horn fellow of the Boston Symphony's Tanglewood Music Center in 2019, and at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan with music director Valery Gergiev in 2018. Knudtson played a leader/teacher role as a staff member at Kendall Betts Horn Camp for several years, and will be teaching at Heartland Horncamp in the summer of 2022 for its inaugural event.  
When not on stage or in the practice room, Knudtson enjoys spending time outside, gardening, painting, and latin dancing.
 

Duke Lee, viola

Duke Lee is a native of Houston, Texas. He attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School. He also was a fellow at the New World Symphony. Lee has been a member of the Kansas City Symphony since 2006. Lee is married to Kansas City Symphony violinist Rena Ishii and they have three boys, Leon, Anton, and Owen.

Matt Lengas, oboe

Matt Lengas joined the Kansas City Symphony as English horn and Utility oboe in 2022.  He previously held similar positions in the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra and the Amarillo Symphony, and has performed as a substitute musician with the San Antonio Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Matt is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Shepherd School of Music, and the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, respectively.  Additional studies have included summer fellowships at the Banff Centre, Round Top Festival Institute, and Aspen Music Festival and School.  A native Wisconsinite, Matt began his oboe studies in the Peshtigo, WI public school system and studied privately with Andrea Gross Hixon throughout high school. His other important mentors include Richard Killmer, Robert Atherholt, and Andrew Parker.  When he is not playing the oboe or making reeds, Matt enjoys walking in Kansas City’s beautiful parks and exploring the diverse art of coffee brewing.

Alejandro Lombo, flute

Alejandro Lombo is currently the acting piccoloist of the Kansas City Symphony, principal flutist of the Detroit Opera and was previously the principal flutist of Symphony in C. He has performed regularly with the Philadelphia Orchestra and went on their 2023 European tour under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In the summer of 2023, Lombo performed with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center under the direction of Louis Langrée and attended the Music Academy of the West where he won the Keston Music Academy Exchange competition and subsequently performed with the London Symphony Orchestra. In previous summers, he has attended the Aspen Music Festival as a Conducting Academy flute fellow and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America for three consecutive summers, where he toured the USA, Asia and Europe. He has also performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center among others.  
He is the winner of the 2023 Sphinx Orchestral Partners Audition Competition, the  2019 Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition, the 2019 Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia Young Artist Competition, and the 2021 Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition where he performed Martin’s Concerto for 7 Winds. 
Lombo studied with Jeffrey Khaner at The Juilliard School where he earned his masters degree and at the Curtis Institute of Music where earned his Bachelor’s degree.

Jessica Nance, viola
Jessica Nance has been a member of the Kansas City Symphony since 1995 and Assistant Principal Viola since 1997. She has performed locally with the Boulevard String Quartet, newEar, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and on a variety of chamber music, solo, and educational projects. Before moving to Kansas City, Jessica was Principal Viola in the Michigan Opera Theater and with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She attended the University of Michigan where she studied with Yizhak Schotten. Jessica is married to trumpeter Brian Rood and together they have two children. When not playing the viola, she enjoys running and triathlon training. Jessica has performed with Summerfest since 2000.
 

Tabitha Reist Steiner, harp

Tabitha Reist Steiner began her musical studies at age four in piano and at age eight in harp. An active freelancer throughout the Midwest, her playing was lauded as “…some of the most precise and beautifully inflected harp playing….” by the Kansas City Star. Steiner is principal harpist with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra and a regular extra with the Kansas City Symphony and the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. In the past, she has held principal harp positions with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Tulsa Opera Orchestra and the Washington, D.C. Summer Opera Orchestra. During the summer, she is found on stage with the Summerfest Chamber Music Festival. Steiner earned a master of music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor of music degree from Washburn University. She lives in Overland Park, KS with her husband, Michael, and their two small children.
 

Melissa Rose, piano ​

Pianist Melissa Rose has collaborated with instrumentalists and singers in concerts throughout the United States and at venues in Argentina, Malta, Santorini, and Russia. She has recorded and edited arrangements for viola/piano of the Tonadillas by Granados (ViolaSound), one of which was included in the 2017 Grammy-nominated music film, The Music of Strangers. In addition to chamber music recordings on the Naxos, Centaur, Blue Griffin, Delos, Good Child Music, and Navona Records labels, Melissa has participated in numerous premieres and residencies with leading American composers and is a member of ALIAS Chamber Ensemble in Nashville. Currently a Professor of Piano and Senior Associate Dean at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music, she enjoys preparing pianists for careers in collaboration. Melissa received the M.M. in piano performance from the Yale School of Music and the D.M.A. in collaborative piano from the University of Michigan. Melissa has enjoyed performing with Summerfest since 1994.

 
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Neil Samples, violin

Neil Samples, a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, comes from a musical family, where while growing up, the only respite from hearing his siblings practice their instruments came from practicing his own. He began playing the violin at age 4, studying in Philadelphia with Edgar Ortenberg, and later with Albert Markov at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

​After graduating from the Manhattan School, he freelanced in New York for several years before joining the Kansas City Symphony in 1993, earning the position of Assistant Concertmaster in 1994. During his tenure in Kansas City, he also performed with the St. Louis and Detroit Symphonies. In 2006, he departed from the Symphony and moved to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Neil was very active in the recording studios, playing on over 400 motion picture and television soundtracks, working with composers such as John Williams, Alexandre Desplat, Randy Newman, Hans Zimmer, and Alan Silvestre, to name but a few. He also appears on albums of popular recording artists such as Adele, Bon Jovi, Post Malone and Arianna Grande.

In addition to his recording work, Neil also played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and many other LA area orchestras and ensembles. One of the highlights of his time in Los Angeles was playing Wagner’s Ring Cycle, featuring Plácido Domingo, a truly thrilling experience.
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Neil recently returned to the Kansas City area, to the dream home his wife Janelle and he built in Lake Winnebago, dividing his time between there and Los Angeles, where he still works as a recording musician. He is delighted to spend time and perform with his old friends and colleagues from the Kansas City Symphony, in the place he never stopped thinking of as home.

Richard Ryan, bass
​Richard Ryan, an Arizona native, has been a Kansas City Symphony member for four seasons.  Before his tenure in Kansas City, he was Assistant Principal bass of the Louisville Orchestra.  A graduate of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Richard has participated in music festivals such as Aspen and Artosphere, and has conducted the Louisville Youth Orchestra and Kling Chamber Orchestra.
 

Karen Savage, piano

Karen Hsiao Savage (Juilliard: DMA, MM Collab Piano, MM Piano; UVic: BMus) is Professor of Collaborative Piano and Coordinator of Chamber Music at UMKC Conservatory, where she created the new master’s degree program in collaborative piano. Karen received the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring and the Friends of the Conservatory Faculty Excellence Award. She leads the Healing and Harmony Concert Series, sending Conservatory students to perform at hospitals, hospice, and senior homes. Karen has performed in Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Shanghai Grand Theatre, and the Perlman Music Program, with broadcasts on internationally syndicated NPR programs and on Vietnamese and Chinese national television. Recent projects include recitals with members of the Kansas City Symphony, New York Philharmonic, LA Phil, and Chiara Quartet, an album of works by women’s composers with Celeste Johnson, and a multi-media production on mass incarceration with choreographer Gary Abbott and composer Paul Rudy. 88SQUARED, her piano duo with husband Jeff, gave critically praised international premieres of Liebermann’s Sonata for Two Pianos, won the Ellis Duo Competition, the Abild Prize in American Music, and second prize and special mention at Concours Grieg International Competition (Norway), and recorded albums on Albany Records and Navonna/PARMA.    

Daniel (Dan) Velicer, piano

An active performer and teacher, Dan Velicer appears regularly with the Kansas City Symphony, Trio Fedele, and the Lyric Arts Trio.  He is a frequent collaborator with members of the Kansas City Symphony and the UMKC Conservatory faculty. Velicer also helps university and high school students prepare for recitals and competitions. 
Prior to arriving in Kansas City, he was an Opera Coach Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and the head staff pianist at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music.  Along with his wife, Kristi, Velicer was on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory where he coached chamber music, led master classes, and performed with faculty. 
He received his bachelor of arts degree from Cornell University, majoring in both anthropology and music.  He received his master of music degree from Rice University. 
 

Jesse Yukimura,​ viola
​Violist Jesse Keone Yukimura, from Washington State, discovered at an early age the joys of ensemble music, from chamber music to orchestra. Jesse received a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Peter Slowik, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Oberlin College. He then studied with Ralph Fielding at the Lynn Conservatory of Music, where he earned a Master of Music degree and a Professional Performance Certificate. Before moving to Kansas City, Jesse was a viola fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, an orchestral academy founded by artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas. Jesse joined the Kansas City Symphony in 2018, previously joined KC Summerfest in 2019, and is excited to play again this summer. Outside of music, Jesse maintains a variety of interests, from birdwatching to boardgames.