Julian enjoys numerous solo, chamber, and orchestral engagements across the U.S. He currently serves as board member with Houston-based wind quintet, WindSync. As their former clarinetist for 6 seasons, he still holds a deep passion for chamber music. A Houston resident, he also performs regularly with: Opera in the Heights, Loop38 Contemporary Music Ensemble, and Aperio Music of the Americas. He also serves on the national board for Chamber Music America. He is a graduate of the Orchestra of the Americas’ Global Leaders Training program that aims to build social music programs around the world. Through this, Julian has had the privilege to present masterclasses in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Suriname. As a chamber musician, he had the privilege to travel the world teaching and performing in venues such as: Carnegie Hall, Ravinia Music Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. Julian attended Baylor University, the University of Michigan, and the Eastman School of Music. Julian lives in the Montrose neighborhood and is a full-time real estate agent serving the Houston area and loves exploring new neighborhoods to sell!

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Casey Karr is currently a student of Paul Ellison at Rice University. He teaches bass and beginning piano, and performs consistently around the Houston area. Casey served as the one-year assistant principal bassist of the San Antonio Symphony for the 2018-2019 Season and has also performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Casey holds degrees from Northwestern University and Oberlin Conservatory, where his primary teachers were Andy Raciti, Scott Dixon, and Tom Sperl.

Los Angeles native Sean Krissman currently serves as Principal Clarinet of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and 2nd/Eb Clarinet of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. During his tenure at HGO, Sean completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University under the tutelage of Richie Hawley. He received his Bachelor of Music degree with Highest Honors from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and has studied extensively with Dan Gilbert, Chad Burrow, Helen Goode-Castro, and Yehuda Gilad. Other orchestral appearances include the New York Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and guest Principal Clarinet with Pacific Symphony. Beyond performance, Sean maintains a private clarinet studio and is on faculty at the American Festival of the Arts and Lone Star College-University Park.

Jamie Leff is the 2nd horn of the Houston Ballet Orchestra and is an active freelancer and teacher in the area.  Previously, Jamie spent 3 seasons as 2nd horn with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.  She has also performed with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, the San Antonio Symphony, and the North Carolina Symphony.  Jamie received her Bachelor's degree from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Dale Clevenger and Jeff Nelsen.  While there, Jamie had the opportunity to study abroad in Vienna, Austria, where she worked with Wolfgang Vladar of the Vienna Philharmonic. She received her Master's degree from DePaul University, under the tutelage of Jim Smelser and Oto Carrillo of the Chicago Symphony. During her time in Houston, she studied with Robert Johnson, the Associate Principal Horn of the Houston Symphony. Throughout her professional life, Jamie's been afforded opportunities to work alongside Yo Yo Ma, Jaap van Sweden, Gerard Schwarz, Alastair Willis, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Gustavo Dudamel. 

David Olson, from Storrs, Connecticut, is a performer and teacher in the Greater Houston area. Mr. Olson received his Master’s degree from Rice University Shepherd School of Music as a cello student of Desmond Hoebig. While at Rice he was a recipient of the Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program Scholarship and as Brown Scholar taught in the Preparatory Chamber Program. Before moving to Houston he earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Stephen Geber. Mr. Olson is an avid chamber musician and has performed extensively as the cellist of the Kamila, Thesiger, and Zeitlin String Quartets. He also performs regularly as a cellist in the Kinetic Ensemble, an artist-led chamber ensemble that is committed to showcasing diverse, under represented, and newly composed classical music through flexible chamber and orchestral ensemble formats. In his free time he enjoys cooking and spending time outside. 

Masha Popova recently moved to Waco, TX where she is adjunct faculty in chamber music at Baylor University. Prior to that, she was an active freelance musician in Houston and Florida, and completed a fellowship with the New World Symphony. She has 18 years of flute performance experience, including soloing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and performing as guest principal flute with Auckland (NZ) Philharmonia and Seattle Symphony. In most recent seasons, Masha performed with Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Boise Philharmonic. During the summers, she plays principal flute with Central City Opera in Colorado. She received her Master of Music degree in flute performance from the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, studying with Leone Buyse. She attended the Curtis Institute of Music for her Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance, where she studied with Jeffrey Khaner.

A citizen of both the United States and Panama, David began his musical studies at the age of 10. He was a 1st prize winner of the Young Artist Concerto competitions of the Des Moines Symphony Academy, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, and Fort Dodge Area Symphony Orchestra, and performed as soloist. He was named a National YoungArts Foundation winner, participated in the Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra, and was previously a member of the Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra and the Des Moines Youth Symphony Orchestra. David was previously a member of the Texas Music Festival Orchestra and The Orchestra of the Americas and is currently studying at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of William VerMeulen. In his free time, David enjoys lifting weights, photography, swimming, and exploring different restaurants around Houston.

A native of Miami, Florida, violist Sergein Yap studied with Ivo van der Werff at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, with Martha Katz at the New England Conservatory, and with Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2016, Mr. Yap was selected as a Zarin Mehta Fellow with the New York Philharmonic’s Global Academy Fellowship Program. Committed to new music and collaborating with living composers, Mr. Yap is a core member of the KINETIC Ensemble and Loop38. Additionally, Mr. Yap performs as a substitute with the Houston Ballet and Sarasota Orchestra. Highlights for the 2019-2020 Season include performances with KINETIC, Loop38, MUSIQA, the Melos Sinfonia of London, England, and Da Camera of Houston. Passionate about arts education and community impact, Mr. Yap is a founding executive officer of the Houston Viola Society and was a Da Camera Young Artist Fellow from 2017-2019.