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Gregory Maldonado

Artistic Director

Gregory Maldonado, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Nevada Chamber Orchestra, has over 35 years' experience conducting professional ensembles, and has also performed on the violin and viola for over 40 years in many professional orchestras, including Philharmonic Baroque Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, Santa Fe Pro Musica/Santa Fe Opera, Monterey Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, and the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He also worked as a violinist and violist accompanying popular artists such as Glen Campbell, Carol Channing, Sammy Davis, Jr., Liza Minelli, Frank Sinatra, Jackie Evancho, as well as Martin Fontaine as Elvis Presley in "The Elvis Experience."  Additionally, he was Principal Conductor and Leader of the Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, a critically acclaimed period-instrument ensemble, for nearly two decades. He holds a doctorate degree from USC, a master's from CSULB, and a bachelor's from UCLA, and has taught for over 25 years at many universitites and colleges, including UCLA, USC, CSULB, UNLV, and CSN.  Dr. Maldonado teaches in the Clark County School District - he is Director of Orchestra at West Career and Technical Academy, Las Vegas, and was a nominee for the 2017 "Heart of Education Award." He served as Director of the Las Vegas Youth Orchestra Concert Strings division from 2016 to 2019 and has been a judge and clinician for music festivals and competitions in California, Nevada, and Utah for over 30 years.  Maestro Maldonado also served as Guest Conductor of the Nouveau Chamber Ballet and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.  He is an AFM Local 369 member and has recorded on the Harmonia Mundi, RCM, Centaur, and Rococo labels.

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Candace Chun

Concertmaster

Candace Chun is the current concertmaster of the Nevada Chamber Orchestra.  She  began playing at age 12 and studied under Valerie Poullette and Oscar Carrescia. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a Bachelor in Music Education with Emphasis in Violin Performance, and completed some graduate coursework in music education at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  In addition to performing with the Nevada Chamber Orchestra, Candace also has spent the last 17 years as a music educator in CCSD.  Her students have consistently received high rankings in competitions and performances. Candace has also spent the last eight years as a violin instructor for the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM). She is also a co-founder of Girls Rock Vegas, a summer music program aimed at empowering young women through music and performance.  She has also been recognized as a GRAMMY Music Educator quarterfinalist, and a 6-time Heart of Education Award finalist.  Candace has been playing violin, viola, cello, bass, piano, percussion, and ukulele for over 20 years.

Candace also serves as the site's webmaster.  She has a loving husband and two beautiful children who are her greatest accomplishment.

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Donna Martinez

Principal Violin II

Originally from California, Donna is a classically trained violinist who holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. She currently holds prinicipal positions with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra and the Southern Nevada Symphony Orchestra.

Donna has performed in numerous corporate events and weddings with The Quartet, a pop-rock string ensemble. She has also performed with an array of artists such as the Jacksons, Sonny Turner from The Platters, Evelyn "Champagne" King, George Benson, Aerosmith's guitarist Joe Perry, Rick Ross, and Ne-Yo.

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Kimberly Johnson

Principal Viola

A Las Vegas native, Kimberly began playing viola at the age of 10. Throughout middle school and high school, she was a member of various ensembles that included Honor Orchestra, Las Vegas Youth Orchestra, All-State Orchestra, and Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. In college, she continued studying violin and viola with instructors such as Teresa Ling, Byron Tauchi, and Andrew Duckles.  Kimberly was also a member of the UNLV Symphony Orchestra during the time Maestro Hal Weller was conductor.

Kimberly now performs with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra (former principal viola), the Nevada Chamber Orchestra (current principal viola), the Southern Nevada Symphony, as well as the HSO Quartet. She has also taught students since 2002 in various ways from private lessons to coaching sectionals for the Las Vegas Youth Orchestras.

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Flute 2/Piccolo

Monica Guido

Clarinet II

Justin Marquis

Bass Clarinet

Justin Marquis

Saxophone I

Trumpet I

Pete Cooper

Trumpet 2

Matt Ruttan

Trumpet 3

David Shepard

French Horn I

French Horn 2

Ona Snyder

French Horn 3

Mitchell Hansen

French Horn 4

Hans Sachs

Percussion

Samantha Larrin

Mallet Percussion

Ron Battani

Piano

Kara Easton

Violin I

Candace Chun^
Katherine Kinsley de Garcia

Hermann Brumm

Nataliya Karachentseva

Kay Sanderson

Azaria Carruthers

Yurika Sinoto

Lambert Wu

Alyson Maddalon

Violin II

Donna Martinez*

Gerald Reid

Debra Yavitz

Mary Gunnell

Kaylie Pattni

Stephanie Bedker

Marc Heffner

Belinda Boswell

David Thomas

Viola

Kimberly Johnson*

Shannon Utter

Andrew Aguilar

Monica Munoz

Tyler Gordon

Giovanni Venezia

Aaron Lockhart

Cello

Mert Sermet*

Jonnie-Jo Didas

Susan Maunder

Alyson Maddalon

Bass

Alek Rodriguez

David Smith

Jimmy Cisneros

Emma Glaess

Harpsichord

Jonathan Rhodes Lee

Nevada Chamber Orchestra Personnel

Mert Sermet

Principal Cello

 

Cellist Mert Sermet, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and co-founder of the electric cello duo BRIDGE, has performed with many of the biggest luminaries of the classical, pop, Latin, and country music worlds. He played at the prestigious Carnegie Hall under the baton of the internationally renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim. He also performed at the Grand Ole Opry with John Rich and Big Kenny of Big & Rich that same year. He has performed with Natalie Cole, Nelly Furtado, Carlos Santana, Smokey Robinson, India Arie, and has recently appeared with Stevie Wonder and tenor Andrea Bocelli. Mert performs as a regular member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and has also performed in several Las Vegas shows, including The Lion King, Phantom, Cheap Trick, ShowStoppers, and The Frankie Moreno Show.

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Kyle Ruggles

Principal Flute

Kyle Ruggles is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree under the tutelage of Paula Robison. Kyle was a recipient of the Sunriver Music Festival Young Artist Scholarship from 2008 to 2015 and was runner-up in the Petri Scholarship Competition in Oregon. As a soloist, Kyle has performed Ibert's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra with the Central Oregon Symphony, in addition to giving many recitals throughout Oregon and Boston during his collegiate studies. Kyle has performed in masterclasses throughout the United States with Raffaele Trevisani, John Heiss, Marina Piccinini, Elizabeth Rowe, Cynthia Myers, and the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. In addition to being an active soloist and chamber musician, Kyle is an active orchestral musician, and has performed as principal flute and piccolo of the NEC Symphony and Philharmonia orchestras as well as principal flute of the Central Oregon Symphony, principal piccolo of the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra, and has served as both principal flute and piccolo of the Desert Winds ensemble in Las Vegas.

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Jairo Pulido

Principal Oboe

Jairo Andres Pulido was born in Chula Vista, California, and began his musical journey shortly after moving to Las Vegas at 12 years old. Mr. Pulido joined the Nevada Chamber Orchestra in the middle of the 2017-2018 concert season and has continued to perform with them since. He currently teaches and performs in the Las Vegas area.

Mr. Pulido has performed in many masterclasses, including ones with oboe legends Allan Vogel (Principal Oboe, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, retired) and Sherry Slyar (Associate Principal Oboe, New York Philharmonic Orchestra). His teachers include Dr. Stephan Caplan, Dr. Matthew Guschl, and Mrs. Coreen Levin.

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Mary Gunnell

Mary Gunnell is a performer and a music teacher in the Clark County School District. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Grand Valley State University with emphasis in Harp and Piano and a Masters in Music from Central Michigan University. Mary was also selected as a candidate for the 2nd annual Juilliard Conducting workshop held in New York. In addition to the Nevada Chamber Orchestra, she has appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band in Grand Rapids, MI, the Henderson Symphony, and is Harpist with the Desert Winds appearing with them at the 2017 Midwest Clinic International Band, Orchestra and Music Conference. Within CCSD, her students have won multiple awards and she herself is a Heart of Education Finalist several times over. She is happily married to Bryan Brady, educator in Mathematics at Fremont Middle School.  

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Jonathan Snyder

Horn 1

Jonathan Snyder is a freelance horn player and instructor of theory at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who earned his doctorate (DMA) at UNLV under the direction of Professor Bill Bernatis. He completed his Master of Music in Horn Performance at the University of California, Santa Barbara. At California Lutheran University, Jonathan received his Bachelor of Arts in Music in both Horn Performance and Music Composition. 

 

He has performed with the Tournament of Roses Honor Band (2000), Topanga Symphony, Santa Barbara Master Chorale, Santa Maria Philharmonic, Colburn Wind Ensemble, Gold Coast Wind Ensemble, Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra, Desert Winds, for the Rubicon Theater’s production of West Side Story, and for various university ensembles. He has performed internationally at Hornclass in Prague and has toured with the Kirkkonummi Chamber Orchestra of Finland. Currently, Jonathan performs with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Southern Nevada Symphony, Nevada Chamber Orchestra, and was a founding member of the Red Rock Wind Quintet. He also released a CD in 2019.

As a composer, Jonathan was a recipient of the 2012-2013 Sherrill C. Corwin Metropolitan Theater Award for his revised edition of “The Last Hope” for orchestra. He continues to actively compose arrangements for the High Desert Horns, the UNLV Horn Studio, and for the Red Rock Wind Quintet. His arrangements for horn ensembles have also been performed in the Czech Republic and throughout the United States.

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Liz Valvano

Bassoon

Liz Valvano, bassoonist, received her Doctor of  Musical Arts in bassoon performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, studying with Dr. Janis McKay. She completed her master’s in music, woodwind performance specializing in the double reed instruments, at Texas State University,  under the tutelage of Daris Hale and Dr. Ian Davidson, and her Bachelor of Arts in music and chemistry at Hollins University with Danny Felty of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Liz is serving on the woodwind faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, leading the esteemed bassoon
studio.
With performances from Reno, Nevada, to Budapest, Hungary, music omnivore Liz has maintained a consistent performing career since falling in love with the double reed instruments as a young musician. While in residence in Las Vegas, she performs with local ensembles, including the Nevada Chamber Orchestra and The Desert Winds, as well as UNLV’s resident Red Rock Wind Quintet. She is honored to substitute in the Las Vegas
Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Reno Pops Orchestra. Liz’s doctoral research is in Baroque performance and aesthetic, about which she created an accessible method book for the modern bassoonist to learn how to play the baroque instrument. As a lecturer, she teaches introductory music classes for non-majors at UNLV.

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Lindsey O'Connor

Principal Clarinet, Principal Saxophone

Las Vegas musician Dr. Lindsey N. O’Connor is the Adjunct Professor of Saxophone at Southern Utah University and the College of Southern Nevada, the Woodwinds Paraprofessional for both Clark County School District and Faith Conservatory of the Fine Arts, the Director of Woodwinds for the Las Vegas Youth Orchestras, and the Artistic Director of the Las Vegas Youth Saxophone Ensembles. As a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), she maintains a private woodwind and piano studio of more than fifty students at Family Music Centers Academy, Nevada’s largest private music teaching institution. O’Connor was previously on faculty at Union College and was a Band Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

O'Connor is the Vice President - Social Media/Publicity and Woodwind Chair of the Nevada Music Teachers Association. As an educator, she frequently serves as an adjudicator and clinician for the Nevada Music Educators Association, Southern Nevada Band Association, and Las Vegas Music Teachers Association. An active member of the North American Saxophone Alliance since 2003, O'Connor has given master classes, lectured on “The Music of Benjamin Boone,” and performed in various solo and chamber settings at several regional and biennial conferences. She has been featured in Pan Pipes (Spring 2020) and The Instrumentalist Magazine (December 2016).

O’Connor’s performances have been described as “extraordinary” (Mesquite Local News), “flawless” (Walter White, Southern Nevada Symphony Orchestra Co-Concertmaster), and “beautifully played” (Moapa Valley Progress). O’Connor is an active solo artist, as well as soprano saxophonist of the Red Rock Saxophone Quartet and principal clarinetist of the Nevada Chamber Orchestra. She has been a saxophonist with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra and has played in musical productions on the Las Vegas Strip including Jesus Christ Superstar at the Tropicana and Guys and Dolls at the Westgate. O'Connor performed Marcello's "Concerto” for oboe [or soprano saxophone] with the Southern Nevada Symphony Orchestra, Russell Peterson’s “…Who Needs Enemies?” for saxophone quartet and wind orchestra at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the North American premiere of Jun Nagao’s “Die Heldenzeit” for alto saxophone and wind orchestra with the Desert Winds, and Henri Tomasi’s “Ballade” for alto saxophone with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Symphony Orchestra as a Graduate Solo Competition Winner. An advocate for new music, she has premiered solo and chamber works by Krista Abrahamson, Daniel Dorff, Garrett Hope, Kincaid Rabb, and David Von Kampen.

O'Connor's research is focused on the life and works of David C. Heath, British composer and flutist currently residing in Scotland. Her dissertation, "A Performer’s Guide to and Analysis of David Heath’s Out of the Cool, Rumania, and Coltrane," is the first and only academic document on Heath, making her the foremost scholar of both him and his music.

O’Connor received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance cum laude from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance cum laude from Michigan State University. Her primary teachers include John Bailey, Phillip Barham, Paul Haar, Joseph Lulloff, and Diego Rivera; she has also performed in solo master classes for Claude Delangle, Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Ellis Marsalis, Bennie Wallace, and Walt Weiskopf. O'Connor's professional memberships include the American Federation of Musicians, College Music Society, International Clarinet Association, Music Teachers National Association, North American Saxophone Alliance, Pi Kappa Lambda (ΠΚΛ) National Music Honor Society, and Sigma Alpha Iota (ΣΑΙ) International Music Fraternity. She is the President of the Sigma Alpha Iota Las Vegas Alumnae Chapter and founding director of both the Las Vegas Saxophone Day and Las Vegas Clarinet Day.

O’Connor is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician and performs exclusively on Vandoren and Yamaha products. She is also an endorsing artist for Meridian Winds’ Center Brace Resonance Weights and Ergonomic Heavy Mass Saxophone Neck Screws

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Gerald Reid

People often find themselves stressed and uptight with the ​​struggles of life and its challenges.  It is typical for us humans to have our thoughts scattered mostly through life's stresses. Research suggests that music can help soothe one's mind and soul as a healing source, as music has been given its place amongst the best resources for mental healing, and or mental therapy.

Gerald Reid has studied music from many styles and forms, and is now aware that music has social, mental, and physiological therapeutic treatment. Gerald has since high school started performing groups for the public's enjoyment. After serving 32 years with the Clark County School District and retiring from the Clark County Schools in Las Vegas, Nevada, he continues to teach at the Nevada Arts Academy, a private school in Las Vegas, Nevada. Also, since 2001 Gerald has been an active member of the Rome Festival Orchestra in Rome, Italy. Currently he is in the process of helping develop the non-profit Nevada Chamber Orchestra in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Gerald's educational background includes a Master's in education with an emphasis on leadership from Nova University, and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Also, he has a bachelor's in music education from Chapman University in Orange, California, an Associate's of Arts from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, and completed studies for a Master of Music in Education from UNLV (no Comps), Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Tyler Gordon

    Tyler Gordon is a sophomore at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Double Bass Performance major under Professor Brycen Ingersoll and a minor in Viola Performance. As a bassist, he has held principal positions in the Reno Philharmonic Youth Orchestras, and the Marrowstone Music Festival in Bellingham, Washington, and performed a concerto with the Reno Pops Orchestra as well as subbed in the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra. As a violist, he regularly performed with the Reno Pops Orchestra and currently, with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra. Tyler has also been studying conducting for the last six years under various conductors in Nevada. He is currently a student of Taras Krysa at UNLV.

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    Jimmy Cisneros

    Starting in 2008, Jimmy has been playing bass for 14 years in Las Vegas. Originally from Hacienda Heights California, he has resided in Las Vegas for 14 years as well. During High school he attended the prestigious Las Vegas Academy for Orchestra after picking up music very quickly in middle school.
    He is a 6 year veteran of Las Vegas Youth Orchestra (LVYO) and CCSD honor Orchestra as well as 4 year veteran of NMEA Nevada All-State Orchestra. Jimmy was also chosen principal bassist of The Las Vegas Youth Philharmonic in 2010 and served as such until graduation in 2013 including a Concert Tour of China.
    While on tour in China he was asked to play with the Qinhaungdao Symphony Orchestra as they were short on Bassists. After graduation he attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas where he played with UNLV Symphony and Chamber orchestra's under the direction of Taras Krysa from 2014-2016. During this time he was also invited to play for the Henderson Symphony Orchestra as well as Desert Winds Symphonic band, both of which he is still involved in to this day.
    While out busking one day Jimmy was approached by Gerald Reid of Nevada Chamber Orchestra and after a brief conversation was invited to be a part of that group as well. He is also a founding member of the Dr Shirley Linzy Young Artist Orchestra of Las Vegas, also known as YAO, directed by Yunior Lopez. Jimmy also currently plays for 1 take Improv Comedy and University Methodist Church, both directed by Faustino Solice as well as being a member of The Southern Nevada Symphony Orchestra Bass section out of Mesquite Nevada. Jimmy has been lucky enough to perform at the Smith Center Six times on several different occasions over the last couple years during & since graduation from high school and will keep looking forward to any new opportunities that may arise in the near future. One of these opportunities came in disguise in March of 2020 when the pandemic shutdown canceled indefinitely concerts with every single group here in Southern Nevada. With the knowledge and hope that the theaters and venues would soon open again, Jimmy found an opportunity to start his own group. After making several phone calls to musicians from all around town, he was overwhelmed by the need of everyone that he spoke to, to make music. Upon this realization, ClassicaLV was born as a outlet for musicians who wanted to make music when everything was closed. ClassicaLV has been lucky enough to be featured at several venues around Las Vegas since our beginning and will be featured at Whitney Library Theater every month till Dec 2023.

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    Jerome Eadeah

    Jerome Eadeh is a percussionist and audio engineer born in Grand Rapids
    Michigan. During his childhood, it was said that Jerome’s style of percussion
    was “TOO LOUD” according to his parents and the neighbors. Of course, that
    only encouraged him because from there, Jerome continued with his
    drumming career performing in various bands, drum and bugle corps,
    teaching, and eventually into college. He obtained degrees from Western
    Michigan University and Indiana University, studying mostly classical music,
    but was soon picked up to include audio engineering to his musical arsenal
    when he was chosen to join the Production Services department of Indiana
    University. There, Jerome helped a completely analog production facility to
    move into the digital realm by introducing digital and non-linear audio and
    video to the department. After a short five years in Bloomington, he then set
    his sights on Las Vegas to soon take a career path with the newly formed Las
    Vegas Clark County Library District, where they were developing theatrical
    venues to provide live audio recording, performance, editing, and visual
    production services to the public. Soon after, Jerome became the Technical
    and Production Services Supervisor, running AV technical staff of as many as
    fourteen, designing systems, and consulting with various entities throughout
    Southern Nevada. With his own company, Customized Multimedia Projects,
    Jerome has performed as a percussionist and/or audio engineer for countless
    events and has taught audio and music composition to hundreds of students
    young and old. Currently, Jerome is on staff with the College of Southern
    Nevada to help bring excellence in audio performance to the students, and to
    mentor upcoming musicians/audio engineers so they can move the world into
    new frontiers of audio excellence.

      Aaron Lockhart

      Aaron Lockhart is a recent graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music holding a bachelor's degree in Music Performance. His main professor was Madeline Prager, and he also studied with Elizabeth Blomenstock, Dimitri Murrath, in addition to Jay Liu and Matt Young of the San Francisco Symphony. During his time at the Conservatory, Aaron has played with several groups from small chamber outings to the Berkeley Symphony. He was lucky enough to be under the baton of MTT, Edwin Outwater, and Christian Reif. During his time in Las Vegas, he has subbed for various gigs including the Nevada Chamber Orchestra, and the Henderson Symphony. During his senior year of High school, Aaron won second place prize in the Las Vegas Youth Orchestra concerto competition. During the fall of 2021, Aaron will go on to the University of Colorado Boulder to pursue his Masters degree in Music Performance under the guidance of Viola professor Erika Eckert, and the Takács Quartet.

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