Mark Dix
Mark Dix has been a Phoenix Symphony member, active chamber musician and private teacher in the Valley since 1995. Born in Colorado Springs, he began studying the violin at age six. His older brother played as well and his parents loved classical music, although neither parent played an instrument. In middle school Mark became interested in the […]
Christopher McKay
Christopher McKay joined the Phoenix Symphony viola section in 2008. He has served in many capacities as orchestral musician, chamber musician, soloist, and teacher. He has performed with many orchestras across the US including the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago, Louisville Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, New Jersey Opera, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Owensboro […]
Yang Yu
Violist Yang Yu was born in Shanghai, China. He received his first piano and music lessons from his mother when he was six. Later, he went to China’s most prestigious music school, The Shanghai Conservatary of Music, to continue his music education. In 1986 Yu came to the United States to study with famous American […]
Alexander Schwarz
Brian Strawley
Ben Nguyen
Ben Nguyen is Assistant Principal Trumpet for The Phoenix Symphony. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Prior to joining The Phoenix Symphony, Mr. Nguyen performed with the Chicago Brass Quintet, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Chicago […]
Bruce Pulk
Bruce Pulk was born on Beethoven’s birthday in Detroit in 1950. Early training on piano was supplemented with percussion studies in fourth grade when his piano teacher expressed concern about his rhythm! Pulk’s fifth grade band director, Carl Karoub, was so impressed with Pulk’s progress that he successfully obtained a scholarship for private lessons with Salvatore […]
Steve Fitch
Steve Fitch, born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, plays percussion, associate principal timpani and drum set with The Phoenix Symphony. He has performed in the Drum Corps International Championship finals, and attained sixth place in DCI’s “Snare Drum Individuals.” Steve earned his bachelor’s of music degree in percussion performance with Michael Rosen at the Oberlin Conservatory […]
Shaun Tilburg
Shaun joined the Phoenix Symphony as Principal Percussion in November of 2013. He began his studies at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. Shaun went on to complete a master’s degree at the University of Houston, and received an Artist Diploma from DePaul University in Chicago. His teachers included […]
Marian Buswell
Marian Buswell was named principal oboe of The Phoenix Symphony at the beginning of the 1982-83 season. An alumna of the University of Minnesota and the North Carolina School of the Art, Ms. Buswell came to Phoenix from the Kansas City Philharmonic where she was principal oboe and frequent soloist for five seasons. Additionally, from […]
Damien Shindelman
Damien Shindelman was born in Miami Beach, Florida, but calls North Carolina his home. In 1977 he won his current position with the Phoenix Symphony and moved to Arizona. He studied oboe and English horn at the North Carolina School of the Arts with John Mack and Joe Robinson, Principal oboists of the Cleveland Orchestra […]
Paula Engerer
A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., Paula Engerer is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, where she was a scholarship student of Jerry Sirucek. Presently, she is the english hornist/assistant principal oboist of The Phoenix Symphony. Paula is also the solo oboist and english hornist for the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, where she […]
Gabriel Kovach
Gabriel Kovach, born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, is active as both a chamber and orchestral musician. Mr. Kovach has been Principal Horn of the Phoenix Symphony since 2006. Previously, he has held positions as both the Principal Horn of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. During the summers he travels to […]
Cassie Walck
Cassie was born in Texas, where she started playing the horn at age twelve. She went on to receive a Bachelor’s degree from The New England Conservatory of Music, where she met her husband Lee, and a Master’s degree from The University of Michigan. Cassie spent many years freelancing in the Michigan area and has […]
Dawson Hartman
Hannah Culbreth
Nancy Dimond
Nancy Dimond, Assistant Principal horn with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. She joined the Phoenix Symphony in 1991. Nancy attended The University of Southern California and Arizona State University and is an active chamber musician in the Phoenix area.
Magdalena Martinic-Jercic
Magdalena Martinic-Jercic, Associate Concertmaster of the Phoenix Symphony, was born in Burlington, VT, and began playing the violin at age 6. Music played an important role in her life; her father, a radiologist, played piano and cello, and her mother was a professional flutist as well as a professor of Italian. Martinic-Jercic attended the North […]
Dian D’Avanzo
Born thirty miles from the Canadian border in Halma, Minnesota, Dian D’Avanzo began studying the piano at age three, violin at age ten, and harp at age twelve. Eventually choosing to concentrate on the violin, she earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota and Master of Music degree from the New […]
Leslie Frey Anderegg
Leslie Frey Anderegg began playing violin at the age of 3 in her hometown of Clinton, South Carolina. Leslie received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from Indiana University and the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Henryk Kowalski and Stephen Rose. She has performed on the NPR show “From the Top” […]
