James Holland began his cello studies at age 9 in his hometown of Pensacola, FL. He earned degrees in cello performance from the University of Alabama and the Eastman School of Music, after which he became a member of the New World Symphony in Miami...

  Erin Eyles Espinoza is a member of The Santa Fe and El Paso Symphonies. She has performed in the New Mexico Philharmonic, in chamber music recitals in the area, and concertized throughout the United States and in Europe, South America, and Asia. Before relocating...

  Christine Rancier has been a violist with The Santa Fe Symphony since 1991. In the past she served on the Orchestra Committee and as a musician board member representative which gave her a great appreciation of the dedication of the talented staff and board....

Lynn Mostoller joined The Santa Fe Symphony in 2002, where she currently serves as second trombonist. From 1991 to 2001 she served as principal trombonist of the Tulsa Philharmonic. Prior to her appointment in Tulsa, Mostoller performed regularly with The Women’s Philharmonic, Santa Cruz Symphony,...

Anne Karlstrom has lived in Albuquerque since 1991. She has a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and received her Suzuki Long Term Teacher Training at NAU, with Dr. Louise Scott. She continued her teacher training in Albuquerque, with Susan...

Cherokee Randolph grew up in New Mexico, playing viola with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony and earning a Bachelor’s of Music degree from the University of New Mexico. After five years in Boston studying with Michael Zaretsky, she moved to Mexico City to play viola with La Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México for several years. Cherokee currently teaches orchestra at Mountain View Middle and Cleveland High Schools in Rio Rancho, NM, and plays in the viola section of The Santa Fe Symphony. She recently earned a Master’s of Music Education from Adams State University.

Violinist Justin Pollak is a native of Santa Fe, currently living in Albuquerque. He first studied violin with Catherine Nichols. As a student at the University of New Mexico, he studied with Leonard Felberg and Bernard Zinck, and he also took lessons from Kimberly Fredenburgh...

Sheila began her career at age 18 with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. She is currently a violinist with both the New Mexico Philharmonic and the Santa Fe Symphony. She has performed with Opera Southwest, Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, Musical Theatre Southwest, Flagstaff Symphony, Flagstaff...

Joel Becktell has performed, taught, and lectured throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees with honors and received the Rubenstein prize for cello performance. Joel has been a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nichols Quartet, the Harrington String Quartet, and the Moveable Feast chamber ensemble. From 1995–2002 he served as Principal Cellist of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and has also been Principal Cellist with the Santa Fe Pro Musica. In addition to the Santa Fe Symphony, he is a member of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus.

Joel has appeared world-wide on Baroque and modern cello and violoncello piccolo as soloist and with ensembles, and has been heard as a soloist with orchestras including the Austin Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Santa Fe Symphony, and the Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra. He is a co-founder, with Amy Greer, of the house concert series Movable Sol, and BWV, a period instrument concert series. He enjoys being the private teacher of several fine young cellists.

Emily Erb has held the position of second clarinetist with The Santa Fe Symphony since 2013, and has played with the orchestra since 2008. Originally from Eastern Oregon, Emily earned her Bachelor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Idaho, where she studied with Dr. J. Roger Cole. She earned her Master of Musical Arts degree from the University of Akron in Ohio, where her teacher was Dr. Kristina (Belisle) Brown. She attended Arizona State University for three years, working on a doctorate with Dr. Robert Spring. She has lived all over the country, from the West Coast to Ohio and Kentucky, but New Mexico feels like home.

From 2013 to 2022, Emily taught clarinet to second– through fifth-graders with the Young Musician Initiative, an outreach program through the New Mexico Philharmonic. She has performed with the New Mexico Philharmonic, Opera Southwest, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Arizona Opera, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and Phoenix Symphony. She taught clarinet at the Woodwinds at Wallowa Lake, a summer camp in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon, from 2009 to 2019.

Emily serves on The Santa Fe Symphony Board of Directors and is on the Steering and Programming Committees. She lives in Albuquerque’s South Valley with her husband Peter (a horn player with The Santa Fe Symphony), their two children Elida and Dylan, their dog and old cat. She enjoys knitting, gardening, and spending time in the mountains hiking and camping.

Melinda J Mack, a native of Pennsylvania, started her cello studies at age nine. She was a member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and joined them on an exciting summer tour of Jordan, Israel, and Spain. Melinda has received her Bachelor of Music degree from...

Barbara Morris was born in Albuquerque, NM, and as a child watched her father, Richard Scalf, play the violin in the Albuquerque Symphony. Thus, at an early age, she knew that playing the violin was what she wanted to do. After high school, Barbara played...

Laura Chang, a native of Wisconsin, was born into a musical family and began her studies shortly after her fourth birthday. Laura earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Peabody Conservatory under the tutelage of Martin Beaver and Pamela Frank, for whom she was a…

Violinist Gloria Velasco has been playing with The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra since it was founded in 1984. She is a retired Albuquerque Public School orchestra teacher and still works for APS as a mentor for first-year music teachers. Gloria also runs music clinics, judges…