About us

Paloma Griffin, Violinist

Violinist Paloma Griffin began violin studies at the age of 3 with her father, a violist. She has performed extensively throughout North America and Europe as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician.

Concerto appearances include performances with the Oregon Symphony and the Fresno Philharmonic, as well as with many regional orchestras in California’s Central Valley. Ms. Griffin also appears regularly with the Portland, Oregon-based ensemble, Pink Martini, whose numerous appearances with orchestra include performances with the Boston Pops, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Ms. Griffin has given master classes at the New World Symphony and at the Las Vegas Music Festival, where she served on the faculty. She has served as assistant concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony and concertmaster of the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. She is Associate Concertmaster of the Arizona Music Festival in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Paloma Griffin can be heard on the Pink Martini albums “Hang On Little Tomato” and "Hey Eugene" as well as on The Shins album, “Wincing the Night Away.”

Keiko Araki, Violinist

Keiko Araki is currently a member of the Oregon Symphony. She has also been a member of the Alabama and Delaware Symphony Orchestras and the principal second violinist of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. As a member of a quartet, Keiko won first place in the chamber music division of the Canadian National Music Festival. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Library of Congress. She is a graduate of the Vancouver Academy of Music and the Peabody Conservatory.

 

Inés Voglar, Violinist

Inés Voglar joined of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in August 2004 and is active as a teacher, coach, chamber music player, and soloist. Following a scholarship to come to the United States, Ms. Voglar earned a Bachelor of Music degree with Honors from Duquesne University, and a Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied with violinist Andrés Cárdenes. In 2002, Ms. Voglar was selected as one of the concertmasters for the UBS Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra, touring and working under the batons of James Levine, M. Rostropovich, Paavo Jarvi, Bobby McFerrin and Kurt Masur.

Prior to her arrival in Portland, Ms. Voglar performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony for two seasons, with whom she also appeared as a soloist. Her interest in contemporary music led her to become a member of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble for a few years. During that time, she had the opportunity to premier various works, including a violin solo piece, “Chameleon,” written for her by American Composer David Stock in 2001. This is Ms. Voglar’s second season as Artistic Director of Portland-based new music group fEARnoMUSIC and is also a member of the Free Marz String Trio.

Joël Belgique, Violist

Joël Belgique has been principal of the Oregon Symphony's viola section since 1997. Raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, by French parents, Joël studied viola with Mikhail Boguslavsky before attending the Interlochen Arts Academy. His viola studies went on to include undergraduate work at the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music with renowned viola pedagogue Heidi Castleman.

Joël's other musical posts have included the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Festival of the Lakes in Minnesota, the CrossSound Festival in Alaska, the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming and Interlochen's chamber music camp for adults in Michigan.

In Portland, Joël is a member of several chamber music ensembles with his colleagues in the Symphony including fEARnoMUSIC, the Four Violas and the Oregon Symphony String Quartet.

His recordings on the North Pacific Music label include Jack Gabel's Hellenic Triptych for solo viola and electronics and Tomas Svoboda's Trio Chorales for violin, viola and piano with Symphony Concertmaster Amy Schwartz Moretti and Svoboda.

Joël is currently working on his first recital recording, due to be released by the summer of 2006, which will include sonatas by Jacob Avshalomov, Rebecca Clarke and Marion Bauer, with pianist Cary Lewis, as well as the premiere recording of Tomas Svoboda's sonata, with Svoboda on piano.

In addition, Joël teaches many of the state's young violists including students at Portland State University.

Charles Noble, Violist

Charles Noble has been Assistant principal violist of the Oregon Symphony since 1995. He has appeared as soloist with the Oregon Symphony in works of Bach, Bruch, Castaldo, and Mozart. His other solo appearances have included the Sunriver Music Festival, Cascade Festival of Music, Chico Symphony (CA), Rose City Chamber Orchestra, Vermont Youth Orchestra, Tacoma Youth Symphony, Tacoma Young Artists Orchestra and Portland Youth Philharmonic.

Prizes and awards received include the C.D. Jackson Award at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Israel Dorman String Prize at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and first prize at the Seattle Ladies Musical Club Competition. His primary teachers were Joyce Ramëe, Michael Tree and Roberto Díaz. He holds degrees from the University of Puget Sound, the University of Maryland, and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Charles was a member of the faculty at the inaugural 1998 National Youth Orchestra Festival, and is co-founder of the Max Aronoff Viola Institute in Seattle, Washington, serving on its faculty since 1990. He has also conducted master classes in orchestral audition preparation at the University of Nevada at Reno. As a journalist, he has published two articles in the The Strad magazine, and leading music periodical.

Mr. Noble was one of three American violists invited to tour Japan with an orchestra whose roster included members of the Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra. Additional summer activities have included posts as principal violist with the Ernest Bloch Music Festival, the Cascade Festival of Music, and co-principal of the Sunriver Music Festival. He has been a featured performing artist at the 2002, 2004, and 2006 International Viola Congresses, and was a founding member of the acclaimed Ethos Quartet. During the 2005-2006 season, he co-founded the Arnica String Quartet along with his wife, cellist Heather Blackburn.

Heather Blackburn, Cellist

A New York native, Heather Blackburn holds degrees from Peabody Conservatory and Washington State University. She has been a member of the Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra for six years, and has served as acting cello in the Oregon Symphony for three years. Heather has also participated in numerous summer festivals including Cascade, as assistant principal cello, the Oregon Bach and the Sunriver Music Festivals. A chamber musician in demand, Ms. Blackburn has appeared on many Northwest series including Second City in Tacoma, Mostly Nordic in Seattle, Chamber Music on Tap in Portland, Aronoff Chamber Series in Seattle and the Ragland Classical Series in Klamath Falls. In May 2004 Heather was a featured performer with the Oregon Ballet Theatre's company premiere of Opus 50, in 10 performances of Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio. Heather's primary cello instructors were Stephen Kates and Christopher von Baeyer, and she has studied chamber music with Sam Sanders, Earl Carlyss, Robert Mann and Robert Sylvester.

As a founding member of Portland's Ethos Quartet, Heather performed live radio shows on KING FM in Seattle and KBPS FM in Portland, and was featured on an episode of the television show "Fanfare" with Murray Sidlin. She was lauded by the Oregonian for her "burnished tone" during the quartet's acclaimed Beethoven Cycle. Currently Heather is the cellist of the Arnica String Quartet, which performed in August of 2006 as guest artists at the Methow Music Festival in Washington. Besides teaching cello at Pacific University, Ms. Blackburn is on faculty at the Community Music Center in Portland as well as the Max Aronoff Viola Institute in Seattle, where she has coached chamber music and taught cello for the past ten summers. Heather is an active recitalist and maintains a private teaching studio.

Adam Esbensen, Cellist

Adam Esbensen joined the Oregon Symphony in 2003 following two years with the Louisville Orchestra. He is also part of Portland's New Music ensemble Fear No Music. During the summer he performs both as chamber musician and in the orchestra, in the Mozart Festival in San Luis Obispo and is a founding member of the Chintimini Chamber Music Festival in Corvallis. Adam holds degrees from the Mannes College of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Timothy Eddy and Stephen Geber respectively.

 

 

 

 

Molly Alicia Barth, Flutist

Flutist Molly Alicia Barth is an active solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, specializing in the music of today. Molly is the adjunct flute professor at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and principal flutist of the Salem Chamber Orchestra. As a founding member of the new music sextet eighth blackbird, Molly held residencies at the University of Chicago and at the University of Richmond. With eighth blackbird, Molly toured extensively throughout the United States and abroad, recorded four compact discs with Cedille Records, and was granted the 2000 Naumburg Chamber Music Award, the 1998, 2000 and 2002 CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, first prize at the 1998 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, the 1998 Coleman Chamber Music Competition and 1996 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Composers commissioned for Molly include Frederic Rzewski, Kotoka Suzuki, Cliff Colnot, Thomas Albert, and Ryan Ingebritsen. She holds degrees from the Oberlin College-Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Karen Wagner, Oboist

Oboist Karen Wagner has been a member of the Oregon Symphony since 1999. She received her bachelor's degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and then pursued a master's degree at the University of Southern California as a student of Allan Vogel. Karen was awarded three consecutive fellowships to the Aspen Music Festival, where she studied with John de Lancie, and has also worked extensively with John Mack, Richard Killmer and Elaine Douvas. Before coming to Portland Karen was a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach and played second oboe with the Louisville Orchestra. Since arriving in the Northwest Karen has played with both Chamber Music Northwest and the Oregon Bach Festival. In August 2007 she will serve for the sixth season as the principal oboist with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. In addition to an active playing career Karen enjoys a private teaching studio and is a regular chamber music coach for the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

Dave Bamonte, Trumpeter

David Bamonte has been a member of the Oregon Symphony since 1994. Prior to coming to Oregon, Dave played two seasons in the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. He also performs regularly with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops and has performed in concert with the New York Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall. Dave can be heard on recordings by the Oregon Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops and with Wynton Marsalis and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. His most recent recordings are as principal trumpet of the Israel Philharmonic performing Mahler 2 and as solo cornetist on a recording of L'Histoire du Soldat with Third Angle New Music Ensemble. Dave has also performed master classes and clinics throughout the US and Japan.

Aaron LaVere, Trombonist

Recently appointed Principal Trombone of the Oregon Symphony, Aaron LaVere is emerging as one of the leading brass players of his generation. His most recent work with the New World Symphony had him performing under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Hans Vonk, Sergiu Comissiona, Vladimir Spivakov, Don Runnicles, and Hugh Wolff. Mr. LaVere has worked with the Detroit Symphony under Neeme Jarvi, the San Antonio Symphony under Christopher Wilkins, the Kalamazoo Symphony, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ann Arbor Symphony, and the Flint Symphony.

A frequent soloist, LaVere has appeared throughout the Midwest, performing the Grondahl Concerto, the David Concerto, and the Jacob Concerto. As a chamber musician, LaVere has performed with the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Detroit Symphony Brass Quintet, the Michigan Chamber Brass, and the New World Brass Quintet.

A native of Flint, Michigan, LaVere began his musical studies at the age of nine in the public schools. His education took him to Interlochen, and on to the University of Michigan, where he earned both a BM and a MM in performance. He has studied with Jay Friedman, Sam Pilafian, James DeSano, Milt Stevens, Mark Lawrence, Ian Bousefield, and H. Dennis Smith, and received an invitation to the Tanglewood Music Festival. As a member of the Pacific Music Festival, LaVere toured throughout Asia performing under Christoph Eschenbach. At the National Orchestral Institute in Washington DC, he worked under the batons of Marin Alsop, Maximiano Valdes, and Peter Bay.