David Balakrishnan, the Turtle Island Quartet’s founder and ‘resident composer,’ graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in music composition and violin. Moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, he quickly established his reputation as a talented young improvising violinist.

Violinist Lauren Basney made her solo New York debut at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall in 2004. Since then, she has performed throughout the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Japan, Israel and Australia, returning to Carnegie Hall twice in October 2007 and again in May 2008.

Born in Ekaterinburg, Russia, Natasha Bazhanov began playing violin at the age of five. After winning several regional youth competitions, she made her solo debut with Ural State Philhar- monic Orchestra at the age of nine and later was invited to Moscow Central Music School to join the class of professor Belenky.

Violinist Brittany Boulding Breeden, a member of the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera Orchestra, has appeared most recently as a soloist with the Olympia Symphony, Northwest Sinfonietta, Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and many more.

Tiani Butts is an Ensemble Member of the Ivalas Quartet. Tiani is a passionate solo and chamber musician that strives to use the arts to encourage and inspire young students from all backgrounds.

Violinist and violist Timothy Christie enjoys a multifaceted career as performer, teacher, public speaker and recording artist. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival (WWCMF), a nonprofit organization in southeastern Washington presenting more than 40 public chamber music events annually.

With a spirited fervor for new music and a nuanced vision for the traditional repertoire, Maeve Feinberg (the newest Member of the Spektral Quartet) locked into the Spektral vibe as though she'd been playing with them for years.

Alessandra Jennings Flanagan is a graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University where she completed her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in violin performance with Sergiu Luca.

First Violinist Ilmar Gavilán is a native of Cuba, where he began his studies at the Havana Conservatory of Music. At the age of 14, he was selected for advanced studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

Born in Riga, Latvia, into a family of violinists, Artur Girsky began playing violin at age five. He studied with Maya Glezarova at the Moscow Central Music School and with Felix Andrievsky at the Royal College of Music in London.

Julia Gish-Salerno serves as Professor of Violin and Viola at Eastern Washington University. Her accomplishments include winning first prize and the festival medal in the 2000 Seattle Young Artists Music Festival, national finalist for the String division of the 2001 MTNA collegiate competition, and being the String division Young Artist Winner of Musicfest Northwest in 2004.

Violinist Alex Hargreaves is an active performer, having played on stages around the world including Austin City Limits, A Prairie Home Companion, Panama Jazz Festival, Bonnaroo, Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals, and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, as well as venues in Europe and South Korea.

Violinist Carolyn Huebl is sought after as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She is currently Associate Professor of Violin at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University and violinist of the Blakemore Trio.

Naumburg-Award-winning violinist Andrew Jennings has achieved international acclaim as both a performer and a teacher.

Paul Kantor is one of the leading violin pedagogues and one of the most sought-after teachers in North America today. Appointed Eleanor H. Biggs Memorial Distinguished Professor of Violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2002, he received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Julliard School.

Violinist Reuben Kebede is an Ensemble Member of the Ivalas Quartet. Kebede has been heard in recital across the US, Europe, and in China.

Described as “lyrical and precise” in the New York Times and lauded in the Miami Herald for her “incisive energy and lovely tone,” Adda Kridler has performed across the globe as a chamber and orchestral musician.

In demand as a strong leader and sensitive collaborator, Ms. Kridler is a member of the Momenta Quartet, a New York-based string quartet renowned for its compelling presentation of contemporary and classical repertoire.

Violinist Petro Krysa studied at the Manhattan School of Music, University of Toronto, and The Royal Conservatory (Toronto). He has performed many solo and chamber music recitals in the United States and Europe.

A Pennsylvania native, Clara Lyon is young violin soloist and chamber musician, performing internationally to critical acclaim. As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras in Puerto Rico, France, and the United States, and has played in many of the world’s finest concert halls.

Anna Okada Burgess Maberry, 21, is a violinist, fiddler, and singer from Walla Walla, Washington. Anna began studying the violin in the Suzuki Method at the age of three.