VIOLIN - Heather Bixler

Heather Martin Bixler is a classical violinist and educator whose playing has been described as “emotionally riveting” and “astonishingly musical and sweet.” She is a graduate of Indiana University, The Juilliard School, and the University of Memphis where she received a doctorate degree in violin performance. As a recording artist, Bixler was a featured soloist on the GRAMMY nominated recording, Forty Acres and a Burro. Bixler held first violin positions in the Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona and Orquesta Sinfonica de Galícia, and concertmaster positions with South Dakota Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de la Minería, and Garden State
Philharmonic. She worked as substitute violinist with orchestras including The New York Philharmonic and The New York City Ballet. Pursuing her interest in studying the effect that music has on the brain, Bixler completed Bachelor of Arts degree in neuroscience at Columbia University in 2021 where she was awarded the Dean Peter J. Awn Scholarship, the Joey O'Loughlin Academic Scholarship, and upon graduation, the Jennifer A. Pack Prize for excellence in the study of neuroscience and behavior as the best student overall in the School of General Studies. After graduation she worked as a research assistant in a neuroscience lab at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, recently completing a two-year, ground-breaking study on neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, she lives in New York, performing and teaching violin.

VIOLIN - Sarah Anne-Fried

Sarah-Anne Fried, violinist from Long Island, NY, began studying the violin at the age of 3 with Suzuki teacher Leslie Fayette. She started participating in NYSSMA at the age of 5 for violin, piano, voice and in her later years clarinet. Sarah performed in many string festivals on Long Island including LISFA, All County and Allstate. In the fifth grade, Sarah was accepted into the Mannes Pre-College program where her love for orchestral and chamber ensemble playing blossomed. Now in her fourth year at Purchase College under the instruction of Deborah Buck, Sarah continues to thrive, performing and making music with others as she recently just performed as a soloist with The Purchase Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys being a studio session musician and plans to further her studies in music arranging and film scoring. Sarah also loves teaching and guiding her violin students to be the best they can be while always having fun. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it and you love what you're doing. 

CELLO - Camille Dietrich

 Described as “…demonstrating a facility with a multitude of musical languages” by British avant-garde music magazine The Wire, cellist Camille Dietrich enjoys a rising career as soloist and chamber musician in New York City. As an alumni of contemporary music education program Face the Music and the Face the Music Quartet, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Baryshnikov Theater, and toured in Washington DC. She is an active chamber musician and founding member of the Madkoi Quartet, has performed at venues such as Lincoln Center and (RED) Charity Foundation, and was an artist in residence at Bronx Prep. Camille received her Master of Music and  Bachelors in Cello Performance from the Manhattan School of Music while studying with Julia Lichten David Geber, and world- renowned pedagogue Marion Feldman.

VIOLA - Stefano Piscitelli

Stefano Piscitelli has been playing the viola since the age of 7, coming from a full family of professional musicians. He has been teaching violin and viola since the age of 16 in orchestral, chamber music, and one-on-one settings. Mr. Piscitelli has worked extensively with elementary and middle school level orchestras and has worked as a coach for numerous youth chamber music programs. As a performer, he has played with professional groups such as the American Composers’ Orchestra, the Erehwon Ensemble, and the United Nations Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Piscitelli attended Stony Brook University where he studied with members of the Emerson String Quartet, as well as Matthew Lipman and Nicholas Cords. During his first year at Stony Brook, he won First Prize in the Undergraduate Concerto Competition and performed as a soloist with the Stony Brook University Orchestra, additionally where he sat as principal violist all four years at SBU. As an undergraduate, Mr. Piscitelli was brought into graduate-level chamber/contemporary music groups, the graduate orchestra, and the graduate-level opera program. After graduating from Stony Brook in 2021, he received his Masters in Viola Performance from NYU in 2023, under the tutelage of Karen Ritscher.

PIANO - Yusuke Akasaka

PIANO - Siyuan Zhang

Siyuan turned to the world of piano performance after completing a double bachelor's degree in physics and music, recognizing the vast possibility of human subjectivity and inspiration, and the power of wisdom from human beings as a unity. He is currently studying at the University of Arizona, pursuing a Doctoral degree under the instruction of Steinway Artist, John Milbauer, and prestigious concert pianist Fanya Lin. He attended the prestigious Chautauqua Institute Piano Program during the summer of 2021 and 2023 where he interacted with top pianists in the world, including Van Cliburn Gold Medalists, and faculties and students from the most prestigious music schools. In the university, he won first place and the audience prize in the 2022 annual Lois Trester piano competition, and was granted the full tuition scholarship upon admission. He was recently granted the second prize in the 2023 Aloha International Piano Competition’s young artist category, first prize (group) in the 2023 Orbetello International Online Piano Competition with a score of 96/100, and was also accepted as one of the finalists in the 2024 Chicago International Music Competition this summer.

Program Manager - Bill Makin

Bill Makin currently serves as the Music Program Manager for the D Z Strad Music School. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Crane School of Music and a Master's in Education from Concordia University. Previously, Bill held roles as Director of Music and Strings Teacher at Rancho Solano Preparatory School in Scottsdale, AZ, and as Director of Orchestras at Ithaca High School in Ithaca, NY. Most recently, he acted as Fine Arts Programs Coordinator at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY. Bill has been a judge and clinician at various state, national and international festivals; including: The Midwest Clinic, American String Teachers Association (ASTA), Arizona Music Educators Association (AZMEA), International Society of Music Educators (ISME) and New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) - where his session on ‘Directing Youth Ensembles’ has been called “an inspiring approach, guaranteed to get children loving music.” Bill was Associate Conductor of the Scottsdale Philharmonic (Scottsdale, Arizona) and conductor of the 'Arizona All State String Orchestra' in 2014. He currently performs on violin and viola with several symphony orchestras in the New York City area, and has appeared with The American Festival Orchestra (China tour), College Light Opera Company (Falmouth, MA), Musica Nova Chamber Orchestra (Phoenix, AZ), Phoenix Symphony Orchestra (Phoenix, AZ), and Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes (Elmira, NY). While not teaching or performing, Bill is a real estate agent and home baker, having achieved recognition as a finalist on Food Network's 'Holiday Baking Championship.'