Featured Artists

Victor Koszman

Originally from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Mr. Koszman is currently a first violinist with the Dallas Opera Orchestra. He also performs with the Texas Winds Violin/Harp duo. Previously, he was a member of the Fort Worth Symphony. As a student at Southern Methodist University, Mr. Koszman was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Colburn-Pledge Music Scholarship and was the winner of the Southern Methodist University Concerto Competition. He was also featured on a broadcast on WQXR "Young Artist Showcase" in NYC. Mr. Koszman has also been a soloist with the Winters Chamber Orchestra in San Antonio, the New Philharmonic of Irving, and the Carrollton Chamber Orchestra. He has participated in summer music festivals in Italy, Aspen, Idaho, Utah, and Vermont, where he won the Killington Music Festival Competition.

Sondra Jones

Ms. Jones currently holds the position of Assistant Principal Second Violin with the Dallas Opera Orchestra and performs with the Dallas Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, and the Wichita Falls Symphony. In addition, she is the first violinist of the Texas Winds String Quartet, which has been performing the cycle of Beethoven's String Quartets. Ms. Jones has toured Japan and Hawaii with the Cincinnati Baroque Ensemble, and since 1986, she has spent the summers as Assistant Concertmaster of the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria. Ms. Jones holds a Bachelor of Music degree and a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In addition to attending concerts and opera, her hobbies include travel, cooking, and swimming with the Dallas Aquatic Masters.

Kristen Swanson

Having performed with such local groups as the Dallas Opera Orchestra, Voices of Change, and the Fort Worth Symphony, Ms. Swanson also has extensive international experience. She has performed as both a principal violist and soloist in Moscow, St Petersburg, Riga and Prague. In addition, Ms. Swanson has performed at the White House and throughout the United States. She has attended music festivals at Interlochen, Aspen, and Sarasota, and was a finalist in the Seventeen Magazine/General Motors National Concerto Competition. Ms. Swanson received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1995. She was also a student at Beijing University and speaks Mandarin Chinese.

Mitch Maxwell

A native of Abilene, Texas, Mr. Maxwell is currently Principal Cellist with the Dallas Opera Orchestra. A long-time student of the late Lev Aronson, Mr. Maxwell is an active chamber music performer in the Dallas area and is one of the founding members of the Trinity Chamber Players. Mr. Maxwell was a faculty member and the Assistant Principal Cellist in the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra at North Carolina's Eastern Music Festival. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music degree from Southern Methodist University.

Affiliated Artists

Norman Stone

Currently a violinist with the Dallas Opera Orchestra, Mr. Stone also performs with the Wichita Falls Symphony and the Texas Winds String Quartet. An experienced pedagogue, he also teaches at St. Andrew Methodist Church and maintains his own private studio. His summer performing activities include the Southern Methodist University Summer Conservatory, the Killington Music Festival in Vermont, and the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) Festival in Graz, Austria. In 1985, Mr. Stone received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Performance from Southern Methodist University. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, waterskiing, and boating.

Meghan Birmingham

Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Ms. Birmingham has performed with various local orchestras, including the Dallas Opera Orchestra, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, the Texas Chamber Orchestra, the Wichita Falls Symphony, and the Amarillo Symphony. Ms. Birmingham studied with Michael Kimber at the University of Kansas before moving to Wichita to play in the Wichita Symphony, and in 1995, graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from Wichita State University. In addition, Ms. Birmingham holds a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York, where she studied with Heidi Castleman before moving to Dallas to study with Ellen Rose. In addition to her musical interests, Ms. Birmingham pursued a second career in accounting, earning the third highest score in Texas on the Certified Public Accountancy exam in November 2000. She currently works in the tax department at Weaver and Tidwell, LLP, and resides in Carrollton with her husband and their three cats.

Tonia Bricker Pilliod

Adriana La Marchina

Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Ms. LaMarchina currently performs with the Dallas Opera Orchestra, the Wichita Falls Symphony, and the North East Texas Sympony. The latest in a family of talented musicians, Ms. LaMarchina began her studies with her father, Robert LaMarchina, former Honolulu Symphony Music Director and Principal Cellist with NBC and Chicago Symphonies, respectively. After moving to Texas, Ms. LaMarchina began her studies with former Dallas Symphony Principal Cellist, Marion Davies. Ms. LaMarchina is a former member of the Shreveport Symphony and Opera, and her chamber music credits include the prestigious Quartet Program in Rochester, New York, the Congress of Strings and the Shreveport Festival Quartet. While attending the Congress of Strings in Greeley, Colorado, she participated in master classes with world renowned cellist YoYo Ma and studied privately with Ron Leonard, former Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In recent years she has played with the Dallas Summer Musicals and Casa Manana. In addition to her musical skills, Ms. LaMarchina holds a degree in Computer Science and is a licensed ham radio operator.

Kristin Van Cleve

Raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Ms. Van Cleve is Principal Second violinist with the Dallas Opera Orchestra and is the Artistic Director of the Historical Performance Ensemble, Texas Camerata. She has appeared with Texas Camerata in Paris and Brantome, France; at the Boston Early Music Festival; and throughout the southwest. Ms. Van Cleve received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance from the University of North Texas, and performs on an 1877 George Gemunder violin and a 1797 Johann Leeb Baroque violin.

Vilma Miranda

Originally from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Ms. Miranda is currently a cellist with the Dallas Opera Orchestra, participates in Texas Winds Musical Outreach, and teaches cello in Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Young Strings Program for minority children. Ms. Miranda holds a Master of Music degree from Southern Methodist University and is adjunct faculty at Baylor University. In addition to her musical skills, Ms. Miranda is a Certified Court Interpreter for the Hispanic community.