Mr. Vallejos is a graduate of Rice University, where he completed his Master’s degree in Cello Performance. He received his Bachelor of Music at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, a Professional Performance Certificate, and a Master of Music degree from Lynn University.

As a performance artist, Mr. Vallejos has performed with numerous chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout North, Central, South America, Europe, and East Asia. He has participated in prestigious summer festivals, including Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, SHMF (Germany) for four consecutive years, Orchestra of the Americas (YOA), Latin American Festival of Chascomús (Argentina), International Music Academy of Solsona, AIMS Festival (Spain), Zeist Music Days (Netherlands), Quartet Fellowship Program at Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and The Aronson Cello Festival (United States). Additionally, he was part of the Ensemble Bartok Chile International Tour 2015 “Chile, Window to the Universe,” which has been invited to participate in China’s “Meet in Beijing Festival,” with performances in Beijing, Seoul, London, and Málaga.

Aside from performing, Mr. Vallejos has a great passion for and extensive background in teaching. He has been very involved in multiple projects in the past, where he showed his dedication as a music educator. He has taught at The Conservatory School (North Palm Beach), Plumosa School of the Arts (Delray Beach), Preparatory School of Music at Lynn’s Conservatory of Music (Boca Raton), Nat King Cole Generation Hope Summer Strings, Boca Raton (Florida), Houston Youth Symphony CODA Music Program, and Vivace International School of Music, Houston (Texas). Mr. Vallejos’s goal as a teacher is to create an educational environment that allows him to guide young learners on the colorful path of music.

Mr. Vallejos also has extensive performance experience. He has been an active performer playing with various ensembles, including Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Southwest Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, and Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. He loves painting, drawing, spending time with his family, and traveling on a personal note.

Originally from the small farming community of Monte Vista, Colorado, Marika has a passion for bringing music–especially music education–to underserved communities, particularly those in rural areas. Since winning a Harmony Fellowship with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in 2021, Marika has performed extensively as an orchestral musician with orchestras across Connecticut, including the New Haven, New Britain, and Norwalk Symphony Orchestras. She recently relocated from the Northern Colorado area, where she performed with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Dance Theatre Orchestra. She may be found as a soloist or part of a small ensemble at art shows, banquets, fundraisers, animal shelters, and other charities and events. Marika has collaborated with local artists and composers to bring traditional, cultural, and completely new music to the ears of diverse audiences. Her repertoire is as diverse as her performance venues; Marika has played violin and viola in jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras, Celtic ensembles, early music ensembles, and Mariachi groups such as the Mariachi Spectacular in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 2022, Marika received the Regent’s Honor Award for Graduate Students from the University of Hartford, where she earned her M.M. in 2022. Other awards include the distinction Outstanding Student in Academics at the University of Northern Colorado School of Music (2020), Outstanding String Student at UNC (2019), finalist in the UNC Concerto Competition (2019), and winner of the 2014 San Luis Valley Concerto Competition. She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2020 with Latin Honors, summa cum laude. She has had the pleasure of performing in masterclasses for Daniel Bernard Roumain, Felix Olschofka, and Dawn Wohn. She has attended summer festivals such as the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, the Vienna Summer Music Festival, and the Mt. Blanca Summer Music Conservatory. Marika served as the assistant director for the 2021 Promisek Bach+ Festival, where she led an initiative for festival participants to design and perform community concerts in non-traditional performance venues across the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marika’s teachers include Dr. Katie Lansdale Dr. Jubal Fulks, and Joy Plesner.

Stephan Fillare made his New York City conducting debut with the world premiere of Bruce Saylor’s Adagio for Orchestra. Mr. Fillare continues to make a career for himself in New York City. His highlights include collaborating with New Camerata Opera on their double bill production of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis, and Gustav Holst’s Sāvitri, productions of Don Giovanni, Dido & Aeneas the Marriage of Figaro, Die Zauberflöte as well as the premiere of Fiora, a modern opera by Britlin Losee. Under the guidance of Maurice Peress, Mr. Fillare assisted the first fully staged production of Bernstein’s MASS in Queens, NY. This past summer, Stephan returned to Manhattan Opera Studio as guest conductor for Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and served as cover conductor for Wagner’s Die Walküre. Currently, Stephan is Assistant Conductor and Concertmaster of the New York Repertory Orchestra.

The 2019-2020 season highlights included guest conducting the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra in a program of Beethoven, Elgar, Mozart and Donizetti, conducting the New York Repertory Orchestra in Debussy’s Petite Suite and assisting Composer Joel Mandelbaum in preparations for new recordings of his opera The Village. Stephan keeps an active career in New York City as a violinist. He can be seen as concertmaster with the New Amsterdam Opera Company, New York Repertory Orchestra, Manhattan Opera Studio and Livingston Symphony.

Stephan received his Master of Arts in Instrumental Conducting from the Aaron Copland School of Music in 2014, where he studied with Maurice Peress. Stephan has also studied conducting with Anthony Hose. He received his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Stetson University in 2012, studying violin with Routa Kroumovitch-Gomez.

Jasmine Bailey is a creative who lives in Torrington, CT where she has spent most of her life. She graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 2017 with a bachelors degree in Audio and Music Production and a minor in Art. In her last semester of college she found the spark that lit the fire of her current pursuits when she produced an animated short film. Jasmine finds that her favorite creations are those that combine all of her skills and interests through storytelling. She hopes to create content that makes a genuine connection with all those who experience it. Jasmine is more than just an artist or a musician, she is a collection of creativity.

Recently, Jasmine was named as one of Connecticut’s 2020 Emerging Artists. She has illustrated two children’s books and shown her work in shows across two states.

Zanaiya Léon is a student and an employee of the University of New Haven where she is pursuing her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Strategic Leadership, and where she serves as the Coordinator of Leadership, Diversity, and Inclusion. During the first year of her graduate program, she was the assistant to the College of Business’ Non-Profit Institute which provides educational resources, mentoring, partnerships, and collaborative spaces to nonprofit firms and social enterprises in the Greater New Haven market.

In addition to her interests in business, she also has a great passion for arts and entertainment and its impact on local communities. She was able to pursue these passions when she became involved with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in 2018 where she became a member of the Junior Board and went on to serve as the Interim Development Coordinator. She is now the 2019-2020 chair of the Junior Board and sits on the Symphony’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Gala Committee.

She is very excited to get involved further as the inaugural Harmony Fellow for the next two seasons as this experience will allow her to combine her studies with her existing passions. Many thanks to the New Haven Symphony Orchestra for providing such an incredible opportunity to underrepresented populations within the community.

Violinist born and raised in New York City. Aurora began her musical studies at the age of four with Prof. Alexander Rees (Russia) at the Bronx House School of Music. After relocating to Santiago, Chile with her family, Aurora formed part of the National Youth Orchestra Foundation of Chile for six years serving as concertmaster for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra, and the Orquesta de Camara del Teatro Municipal, as well as substitute violinist for the Chilean National Symphony, USACH, and other professional ensembles. Aurora has performed live with popular artists such as Incubus, Americo, Natalino, Mana, Marco Antonio Solis, and others.

International tours and festivals include performances with the Chilean National Youth Orchestra, Orchestra of The Americas, Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, Marrowstone Music Festival and the Cali Camerata. Most recently, Aurora was selected as a violin fellow by the Montclair Orchestra under the direction of David Chan (MET OperaOrchestra) as well as the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

She has performed in master classes for Rachel Barton-Pine, Markus Stockhausen, Ingrid Zur, Pavo Jaarvi, Ida and Ani Kavafian, Martin Chalifour, Dale Clevenger and many more.

Solo engagements include the New York City premiere of Transparencia – Sonata for Violin and Piano by Jeff Scott at the Imani Winds Festival – Manhattan School of Music, and the New Jersey premiere of A Great Light by Martin Sedek with the Choral Arts Society of New Jersey.

An avid chamber musician, Aurora is a founding member of violin duo VioliNYC and the Littman Quartet; quartet in residence at NJIT. Aurora was recently featuredalongside David Chan, Quan Yuan, Dov Scheindlin, Julia Bruskin, and others for aperformance of Shostakovich’s Two Pieces for String Octet, Op.11. Aurora is also a rostered artist with Music Under New York.

A passionate advocate for music education, Aurora is a former Orchestra of the Americas Global Leader. Currently, she is on faculty at the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, Robert Treat Academy, and guest violin coach for the New Jersey Youth Symphony.

Aurora holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and a Performer’s Certificate from the Cali School of Music under the tutelage of Prof. Mary Ann Mumm (MET Opera Orchestra)

Kelsee Vandervall is a Chicago based cellist, teacher and arranger. A typical day for this cellist ranges from recording sessions to orchestral performances.

Kelsee received a dual Master’s of Music Degree in Cello Performance and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan in 2018, studying with Anthony Elliott. She was a awarded a fellowship for her 2 years, having the opportunity to train with world-renown faculty and artists such as the Calidore and Takács string quartet.

Most recently, Kelsee  can also be seen performing with groups such as the River Raisin Ragtime Revue, ecletic band Glad Rags, and on episodes of the FOX show Empire. Kelsee spent part of 2018 performing with J. Cole on his KOD tour.

An alum of Columbia College Chicago, Kelsee spent 4 years under the instruction of Jill Kaeding and had the opportunity to perform with many artists including; Grammy award winning artist Paula Cole, Todd Rundgren, smooth jazz artist Brian Culbertson, gypsy jazz guitarist Samuel Strouk, Charlie Sexton, record with singer/ songwriter Yoshi Breen, guitarist Kevin Eubanks and Darmon Meader. Previous teachers include Jocelyn Butler of the New Music School and Lincoln Smelser, faculty of Northern Illinois University.

James Keene is a versatile soloist, chamber musician, orchestral violinist, and music pedagogue. After attending Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, he received his B.M. from Rutgers University, and later studied at San Francisco Conservatory. Starting in high school, he has played solo, chamber, and orchestral performances for audiences throughout China, Italy, Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the USA.

Currently, as founder of Classical Revolution NJ, he schedules chamber music performances throughout the central NJ area. He travels frequently between the east and west coast for performances in the Bay Area. Also, as a faculty member of Newark School of the Arts, he instructs the Carollo Scholarship violin students there. His principal teachers have been Todd Phillips, Carmit Zori, Lenuta Ciulei, and Wei-He.

Most recently, James placed 1st place Russel Johnson String Competition in Philadelphia and shared the Carnegie Hall main stage with Dionne Warwick.

Gabrielle Skinner is enrolled in the Master’s program at Rice University as a viola student of Ivo van der Werff. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a Viola student of Kirsten Docter. Ms. Skinner has played with the Governor’s School for the Arts, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, the Shepherd Symphony Orchestra, The Virginia Symphony, as well as Hampton Roads Chamber player’s. Her debut performance was in the Spring of 2011, when she performed Paul Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher at the beautiful Sandler Center of the Arts. Ms. Skinner placed second in the regional Bland competition, and she placed first in
the John Marshall competition sponsored by Symphonicity. In the past, she has attended the Aspen Music Festival, Sphinx Performance Academy, the North American Viola Institute, and the Meadowmount School of Music. Gabrielle has also had the pleasure of performing at the International Viola Congress 2012. In 2017, she was fortunate to be an alumni attending the Sphinx Connect Conference, where she worked with other musicians of color advocating for diversity in todays music society.

Ms. Skinner has performed in Master classes for Heidi Castleman, Jeffrey Irvine, Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot, David Holland, Mark Jacobs, Sabina Thatcher and Roger Tapping. She has also performed in Chamber Master Classes for David Geber, Mark Steinberg, the Cavani
String Quartet, The Miami String Quartet, The Brooklyn Rider Quartet, The American String Quartet and The Jupiter Quartet. In 2016, Gabrielle became a founding member of the Kamila Quartet at the Shepherd School of Music. With them she attended the Robert Mann Institute in January 2017, and has a summer residency planned in Steamboat Springs, working with
members of prominent orchestras from around the country. Gabrielle plays a custom made, modern viola by Geoffrey Ovington.