Chris Adkins, cello
Christopher Adkins, ‘cello, principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony, received his musical training at the University of Northern Texas and Yale University where he studied with the distinguished pedagogue Aldo Parisot. During his tenure at Yale, Mr. Adkins held the position of principal cellist with the New Haven Symphony. Upon receiving his Master of Music degree, he assumed the duties of assistant principal cellist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra. However, after two seasons in the Rockies, Mr. Adkins’ longtime dream of being a major symphony principal chair was realized with the offer of the post with the Milwaukee Symphony, and then in 1987, he returned to his native Dallas, to occupy the chair once held by his former teacher, Lev Aronson.
In addition to his duties with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Adkins serves on the faculty of Southern Methodist University. He was cellist with Voices of Change, Modern Music Ensemble from 1988 to 1990 and with the Walden Piano Quartet from 1993 to 2006. He remains an active recitalist and chamber musician and as a member of a large musical family has, with his six brothers and sisters, formed the Adkins String Ensemble.
Mr. Adkins enjoys gardening, songwriting and woodworking, but most of all spending time with his wife, Dallas Symphony Orchestra violinist Alexandra Adkins, and their six children. Chris Adkins has been with Walden since 1993.
Jo Boatright, piano
Jo Boatright, Artistic Director for Walden Chamber Music Society, studied with Max Lanner at Colorado College, received her Master of Music from the New England Conservatory in Boston, and worked extensively with the great Hungarian pianist Lili Kraus whom she assisted at Texas Christian University. She co-founded Voices of Change in 1974 and the Walden Chamber Music Society in 1981. She is the pianist for the Walden Chamber Music Society, Artistic Director Emerita of Voices of Change and Music Director Emerita of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. She has won four Adventuresome Programming Awards given by ASCAP and a Grammy Nomination in 1999 for the CD “Voces Americanas”. Ms. Boatright has toured Europe, Russia, and the Americas and has served music professorships at Texas Christian University, the University of Texas (Arlington and Dallas), and Southern Methodist University. She has appeared as concert soloist with many orchestras including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and in Colorado with Music in the Mountains (Durango). She may be heard on CRI, Redwood, Crystal, Odyssey, Albany, Centaur, and Music & Arts recording labels. Ms. Boatright directs the annual Princeton Peak Piano Retreat in Buena Vista, CO.
Camilla Bonzo, cello
Camilla Bonzo began her cello studies in 1974 and performed her first “gigs” at age twelve, playing for her supper at her cousin’s restaurant. Camilla’s primary cello teachers were Marion Davies, Principal Cello of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1975-1987), Christopher Adkins, Principal Cello of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1987-present), and Elizabeth Morrow, Cello Professor Emerita at UT Arlington. Over the years, she has had plenty of wonderful experiences as a musician, including performing in Moscow, Prague, St. Petersburg and at the White House, performing at opening celebrations for the current Dallas Museum of Art facility in 1984 and the Sammons Center for the Arts in 1988, lending her musical talent in support of hundreds of couples getting married, and performing with the Walden Chamber Music Society as much as possible. Camilla is also a licensed attorney; in 2018 she created her own law practice, Bonzo Law PLLC. Her practice focuses on providing legal research and writing services for other attorneys. Camilla enjoys reading, dancing, snowshoeing, going to theatre, opera, ballet and music performances, and engaging in random acts of kindness. She is currently based in Denver, Colorado, where she lives with her husband, Joel.
Aaron Boyd, violin
Violinist Aaron Boyd has established a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, recording artist, lecturer and teacher. Since making his New York recital debut in 1998, Boyd has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and Asia and has collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Orion, Tokyo and Emerson Quartets, the Beaux Arts Trio, Phillippe Entremont, Mitsuko Uchida, Lynn Harrell, Cho-Liang Lin, and David Finckel. As a violinist of the Escher Streing Quartet, Boyd appears at prestigious venues throughout the world and is an artist member of tThe Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. As a concertmaster, Boyd has led numerous ensembles, including the Kansas City and Tucson Symphonies. A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Martin E. Segal prize from Lincoln Ceenter, Boyd has also been a prizewinner in numerous competitions including the Ecoles D’art Americans de Fontainebleau, the Klien Violin Competition, the Tuesday Musical Society and the Pittsburgh Concert Society and was also awarded a Proclamation by the City of Pittsburgh for his musical accomplishments. A passionate advocate for new music Boyd has been involved in numerous commissions and premieres in concert and on record. He can be heard on the BIS, Music@Menlo Live, Naxos, Tzadik, North/South and Innova labels. Born in Pittsburgh, Boyd began his studies with Samuel LaRocca and Eugene Phillips and graduated from the Juilliard School where he studied with Sally Thomas and coached extensively with Paul Zukofsky and the legendary cellist Harvey Shapiro. Formerly on the violin facilities of Columbia University and the University of Arizona, he now serves as director of chamber music and professor of practice in violin at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. Boyd makes his home in Dallas, Texas with his wife Yuko, daughter Ayu and son Yuki. Boyd performs on the “ex Stopak” Matteo Gofriller violin, created in Venice, 1700.
Anna Brumbaugh, clarinet
Praised for her “incisive” playing by the New York Times, clarinetist Anna Brumbaugh is a highly sought after orchestral player, chamber musician, and soloist. Formerly principal clarinet of the Florida Grand Opera, the Palm Beach Symphony, and Miami’s acclaimed Nu-Deco Ensemble, Anna is currently principal clarinet of the Central City Opera Orchestra in Colorado and frequently plays with the Colorado Symphony, Opera Colorado, and Boulder Philharmonic orchestras. She has also performed professionally with groups such as the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Jacksonville Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and The American Symphony Orchestra of New York City.
Anna enjoys her summers as an annual performer at the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, Minnesota, a progressive summer music festival dedicated to providing classical music concerts free of charge.
A passionately dedicated and enthusiastic educator, Anna is the clarinet professor at Regis University in Denver, Colorado.
Awarded with a full scholarship from Irene Diamond, Anna earned her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in May of 2013 and her Bachelor of Music with High Distinction and the coveted Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in 2011. She is endlessly grateful to her wonderful teachers, Jon Manasse, internationally acclaimed soloist, and Bil Jackson, former principal clarinet of the Colorado Symphony.
A native of Boulder, Anna enjoys hiking and spending time with her family in her beautiful home state of Colorado.
Matt "Diek" Diekman, viola
After learning violin at a young age along side his musical siblings, Diek was convinced to try viola by Wayne Crouse (former principal violist of the Houston Symphony), and it was a natural fit with no turning back! Since then Diek has performed professionally with many orchestras and arts organizations including the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Tulsa Philharmonic, Dallas Opera, Sarasota Opera, San Antonio Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and has served as Principal Violist of the Tucson Symphony, Principal Violist of the Colorado Chamber Orchestra and Principal Violist of the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio. He was a founding member of the Crouse Quartet (Oklahoma), is a member of the Walden Chamber Music Society (Colorado) and has participated in many summer festivals across the country such as the Colorado Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Round Top Music Festival, Brevard Advanced Chamber Music Program, and has been the principal violist of the Utah Festival Opera Company. As a chamber musician, he’s been invited to perform with the Cactus Pear Music Festival, Olmos Ensemble, Musical Offerings, Austin Chamber Music Society, and others. Diek has studied with the principal violists of many of our nation’s top orchestras, and he has a Masters of Music in Performance from the University of Oklahoma and an Artist Certificate in Viola from Southern Methodist University. As professor of viola at Regis University and regular guest artist at Denver School of the Arts, he is an active and enthusiastic music teacher to all ages and enjoys a healthy freelance career as well. Perhaps his greatest musical honor is to own and perform on the very instrument on which his former teacher (Crouse) built his illustrious career.
Outside of music Diek has a slew of passions: As an outdoor enthusiast he enjoys hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, and anything involving mountains and has summited many of Colorado’s 14,000 ft. peaks. Also an avid adventure motorcyclist, he explores the back roads and trails of our fantastic country, specifically the Wild West, often carrying along a special “all-terrain” carbon fiber viola on his back to perform for unsuspecting people in unlikely places. Diek is a talented, prolific photographer and independent film-maker. His comical “Viola-Matic” has garnered over 100,000 YouTube views, the Western “Upon the Awful Tree” has premiered on the big screen and as international performance art, his war cautionary tale “States of Contention” has garnered film festival awards and is available to stream on-demand, and he always has another project up his sleeve!
Andrew Kolb, cello
Cellist Andrew Kolb has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States as well as in Canada, England, Switzerland and Sweden. For six years he was a member of the Fairmount String Quartet and principal cellist of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. In Oregon, he was principal cellist of the Eugene Symphony and a member of the Columbia Piano Trio, performing concerts in Germany and Austria including the famous Haydnhaus-Wien.
Andrew studied with Timothy Eddy at SUNY Stony Brook, Ross Harbaugh at University of Miami and Steven Doane at the Eastman School of Music. He has taught cello on university faculties in Newfoundland, Kansas and Oregon. Currently Dr. Kolb teaches at the Thomas MacLaren School, Colorado College and UCCS, and performs with the MacLaren String Quartet, Opera Colorado, Boulder Philharmonic and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.
Byron Hitchcock, violin
A native of Wyoming, Byron Hitchcock has performed across the United States, Latin America, and Asia to critical acclaim. Praised by the Boston Globe for his “fearlessly expressive” playing and his “finely honed tone,” he has established himself as a dynamic and versatile artist, appearing on the concert stage as a concertmaster, soloist, and chamber musician.
Mr. Hitchcock currently serves as Concertmaster of multiple professional orchestras across the Front Range. He currently serves as Concertmaster of Opera Colorado, which features highly acclaimed productions each season at Denver’s Performing Arts Center, as well as Central City Opera Orchestra, a summer festival held in Central City’s 19th century historic jewel box opera house. He is also Concertmaster for Denver’s Inside the Orchestra, the country’s only professional orchestra focused solely on educational programming for Children. He recently accepted an appointment as Concertmaster of the Fort Collins Symphony.
Previously, Mr. Hitchcock acted as Concertmaster of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and the Spoleto USA Festival Orchestra. He has appeared as a guest concertmaster with Opera in the Heights in Houston, Texas, and with the Arizona Opera Orchestra in Phoenix, Arizona.
As a soloist, Mr. Hitchcock’s “brilliant” and “uninhibited” playing has won him prizes in numerous competitions, including the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project Concerto Competition. He is an active recitalist, and recently completed recording Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. Upcoming projects include recording Beethoven’s complete Sonatas for violin and piano, and performing live on the St. Michael Concert Series in Chicago.
Mr. Hitchcock has studied with members of the Juilliard, Takacs, Cavani, Emerson, and Cleveland Quartets. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, and an Artist Diploma from SUNY Purchase. His teachers include David Updegraff, Lucy Chapman, and Laurie Smukler.
Mr. Hitchcock performs on a 1998 Stanley Kiernosiak violin from Chicago.
Tori Woodrow, violin
Violinist Tori Woodrow has been praised for her sensitive and expressive playing. Her performing career has taken her throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Ms. Woodrow has performed on concert tours in France, Switzerland, the UK, and China. As a recording artist in the U.S., she has been featured on full-length movie soundtracks, commercials, and singer-songwriter albums.
Ms. Woodrow has played for the Vancouver, Charlotte, Charleston, Knoxville, Eugene, and Austin Symphony Orchestras. She has performed regularly with the Colorado Ballet Orchestra, Central City Opera, and the Colorado Music Festival. Formerly, she served as Principal First Violin of the Fort Collins Symphony, and she is now a member of both the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and the Opera Colorado Orchestra.
Ms. Woodrow enjoys an active career as a music educator. She has held faculty positions with Boulder Suzuki Strings in Boulder, Colorado, at the Cary School of Music in Cary, North Carolina, and at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas. She has been featured as a guest chamber music clinician with the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestra, and has a thriving private violin studio. Her students have been accepted into youth orchestras, all-state orchestras, and university music degree programs.
In addition to performing and teaching, Ms. Woodrow is a certified life coach, and helps other musicians access their unique genius to create a career they love, in or out of music.
Ms. Woodrow earned her Masters’ Degree in Violin Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from the same University, where she was a National Merit Finalist and graduated With Highest Honors as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She holds her CTACC certification from Coach Training Alliance, an ICF accredited school.
Ms. Woodrow performs on a 1946 violin from Chicago by Carl Becker, Sr.