Meet The Musicians

MARINA DICHENKO, CONCERTMASTER

Marina Dichenko studied violin in Kharkov at Central Music School, Ukraine. After graduation, she continued her studies in Gnessin's Acade-my of Music in Moscow, Russia and TCU School of Music, Fort Worth, Texas. As a soloist and member of chamber groups, Marina has performed in concerts and festivals in Ukraine, Russia, Belgium, and Japan. Marina was awarded second prize in Chamber music competition in Do-netsk, Ukraine and fourth prize in the International Competition of Chamber music in Kaluga, Russia. In 2014, she graduated from the Artist Diplo-ma program at TCU School of Music. During the last three years she has been the principal violin in the TCU Symphony Orchestra as well as at Odysseus Chamber Orchestra. Her other performance credits include concerts with San Angelo, Las Colinas, Arlington, Garland and Plano Symphony Orchestras. Marina is currently a teaching artist at B Sharp Youth Music Program.

YESESNIA CAMPOS WONG, FIRST VIOLIN

A native of Amarillo, TX, Yesenia Campos completed her graduate studies in Violin Performance at Southern Methodist University and her undergraduate studies in Violin Performance at West Texas A&M University. Her studies included work with world renowned soloist Chee-Yun Kim, mentors Annie Chalex, Tomas Cotik, and Dr. Keith Redpath. While at SMU, Mrs. Campos served as the graduate assistant for the chamber music program and while at WTAMU, Mrs. Campos served as concertmaster of the West Texas A&M Symphony Orchestra for three years. As a chamber music enthusiast, Mrs. Campos was awarded the West Texas String Quartet Scholarship and served as the first violinist of the quartet during her undergraduate studies at West Texas A&M. As a soloist, Mrs. Campos won the concerto competition at West Texas A&M on two separate occasions, awarding her the opportunity to perform movements from the Bruch Violin concerto as well as the Barber Violin Concerto with the WTAMU Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Campos has also performed at several music festivals including the American Festival for the Arts, the Hot Springs Music Festival, and the Midwest Young Artist Music Festival, as well as served as a first violinist with the Amarillo Symphony for eight years. Mrs. Campos is currently the co-director at Poteet High School in Mesquite, TX

DANIELLE MENDELSON, FIRST VIOLIN

Danielle Mendelson was born in Israel where she began her formal training at the Jerusalem Academy of Music. Danielle has performed with internationally recognized orchestras which includes The Israel Philharmonic orchestra, Israel Symphony orchestra, Israel chamber orchestra, Raanana symphony orchestra, Jerusalem symphony orchestra and Ashdod symphony orchestra. She has appeared as soloist with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Raanana Symphony Orchestra and Lithuania Chamber Orchestras and has performed solo concerts in USA, Switzerland, Austria, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Germany, South Africa, Israel, France and Spain. She has also performed on several occasions with the “Voice of Music”, an Israeli broadcast radio. Since 2013 Danielle has joined the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra on tours to Japan and Brazil. Danielle is currently a member of Las-Colinas Symphony Orchestra and Odysseus Chamber Orchestra.

DIANA RAMIREZ - ROSALES. SECTION VIOLIN

Born in San José, Costa Rica, Diana Ramírez-Rosales is a teaching artist and performer in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area. She is a member of Abilene Philharmonic and the McKinney Philharmonic. Diana is a faculty member at Accent Music Academy in Frisco, as well as a private violin/viola instructor at Navo Middle School in Denton, both in Texas. Diana graduated from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where she earned a Master of Music in violin performance. She was a fellow of the acclaimed Henry Mancini Institute. With this ensemble, she had the opportunity to collaborate with film composers Jeff Beal and James Newton Howard, and has appeared in performances conducted by Chris Walden and John Williams. While living in Costa Rica, Diana was a violin section member of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, as well as the Orquesta Filarmónica de Costa Rica. She has participated in numerous prestigious music festivals, such as OA Orchestra of the Americas, Música en Compostela, Spain; FEMUSC, Brazil; and Interlochen Arts Camp, Michigan. Diana and her husband, bassoonist Dr. Brian McKee co-founded TransAmerican Duo, an emerging bassoon and violin chamber ensemble committed to new music in collaboration with contemporary composers, as well as community outreach and teaching. Diana recently finished The Global Leaders Program cohort 2021, a highly competitive program focused on leadership and social entrepreneurship for selected musicians from around the world. Diana is one of the co-founders of the social initiative Paax, a consultancy platform for music services with a focus on gender perspectives, oriented to serve growing non-profit music organizations in Latin America.

KEYREEL RASKOLENKO. PRINCIPAL 2nd VIOLIN

Uzbekistan born multi-instrumentalist KeyReel Raskolenko has been described as “world class as a violinist and composer.” He has performed and recorded with many musicians across North America and Europe. A virtuoso player on 4-string and 5-string acoustic and electric violins, he is a classically trained musician with experience in classical chamber and orchestra music, fiddle music, improvisation, and music composition. While his fiddling is rooted in the Cape Breton style, he is equally versed in playing classical, Irish, Scottish, and American Folk music. He has taught and performed at prestigious festivals such as the Cape Breton Fiddler’s Association (Canada), Celtic Colours (Canada), and Summer Music Intensives (Texas), and has also toured extensively across Europe and Asia with classical chamber and fiddle music.
In addition to teaching and performing, KeyReel also composes for many instruments, including violin, string quartet and orchestra. His works have been performed at the Great Hall of Gnesin’s Academy, the Moscow House of Composers, and Texas Christian University.
Keyreel graduated from the Gnesin’s Russian Academy of Music with his BM and MM degrees for violin in 2005, and is currently working on his Artist Diploma degree from Texas Christian University, where he is a student of Dr. Elisabeth Adkins. Also he is a member of several orchestras in DFW area TX now. In addition to his classical program and fiddle life, he studies and plays jazz and occasionally performs rock concerts in DFW area on his 5-string electric violin.

NICOLE PAGLIALONGA, 1st Violin. Orchestra Manager and Orchestra Librarian.
Violinist Nicole Paglialonga enjoys a diverse career as a recitalist, orchestral musician, teacher, and community builder. Ms. Paglialonga has performed in Asia, Europe, South America, and throughout North America. Recent highlights include performances at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the AIMS Festival in Graz, Austria, as well as concerts in Thailand and festivals in Colombia. Her performance of Mark Phillips’ Violin Power at the 2015 Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in America was a highlight of the event and was later selected to be included in a commercial release celebrating the conference. As an orchestral musician, Ms. Paglialonga is currently a member of the Roanoke Symphony, Opera Roanoke, and in the summer months performs with the Ash Lawn Opera Orchestra in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has appeared with numerous other orchestras including the Charleston Symphony (SC), Florida Orchestra, Opera Tampa, Orlando Philharmonic, and Sarasota Orchestra, among others. Ms. Paglialonga has also worked extensively in the commercial music industry across a wide variety of genres. While living in Florida, she frequently worked for the Walt Disney Company and appeared alongside legendary performers such as Seal, Styx, Clay Aiken, Idina Menzel and Johnny Mathis (with whom she toured on multiple occasions). Currently, Ms. Paglialonga serves on the faculty at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Her responsibilities there include serving as the Director of the Virginia Tech String Project, a program involving approximately 200 area string students, as well as teaching courses in musicology. She has also been on the string faculty at Bethune-Cookman University, Bluefield College, Patel Conservatory, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Ms. Paglialonga is particularly passionate about bringing classical music to traditionally underserved communities. In 2013, in cooperation with the Radford City Schools District, she founded the Radford Youth Strings to expand the musical opportunities for local students. As a board member for the Friends of the Roanoke Symphony, she organizes the Smiles Outreach Series, which sponsors approximately a dozen performances by nationally recognized professional musicians in area public schools. She also recently launched a new initiative with St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital called “Music for Mental Health,” which provides therapeutic music to patients.

SABRINA MACKENZIE, PRINCIPAL VIOLA

Sabrina Mackenzie received her Bachelor of Music in viola performance from the University of North Texas, where she studied under the tutelage of Dr. Susan Dubois. She went on to receive a Master of Music in performance from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where she was a student of Elizabeth Freivogel. While at UIUC she also received extensive training in chamber music from the acclaimed Jupiter String Quartet. In high school, Sabrina made it into the Texas All-State Orchestras all four years and was in the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra for three years. She maintains an active teaching career in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and performs in regional orchestras such as the Sherman Symphony, the Odysseus Chamber Orchestra, the Las Colinas Symphony, the Fort Smith Symphony, and the Lyric Stage Orchestra.

TESS CROWTHER, PRINCIPAL CELLO

Originally from Edmonton, AB, Tess Crowther started playing the cello at age three studying with Diana Nuttall. She holds a Performance Diploma in Cello Performance from The Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, ON, as well as a Performance Diploma and Master’s Degree in Cello Performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Crowther was fortunate to study with teachers such as Andrés Diaz, Chris Adkins, David Hetherington, and Shauna Rolston.
Crowther has led as principal cellist in a number of orchestras including the Odysseus Chamber Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada where she was awarded the Steve Sitarski Leadership Award. She was invited as one of three cellists in Canada to participate in the Canada-India National Youth Orchestral in India, as well as the sole cellist invited to take part in the 2015 Canadian Opera Company Orchestra Academy, giving chamber recitals at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, as well as playing alongside the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. She is currently also a member of the East Texas Symphony and a regular sub with many other orchestras in Texas.
An avid chamber musician, Crowther was a co-founding member and the cellist of the Grigori String Quartet, which was awarded first place at the University of Toronto’s Felix Galimir Competition. Another ensemble Crowther co-founded, piano trio “1-2 Trio” led her to Quebec’s Palais Montcalm by invitation to perform an all-French program. Crowther has made regular appearances in chamber concerts in Toronto, at venues such as the Arts and Letters Club, University of Toronto Noon Concert Series, and Noon Series at Christ Church Deer Park. Since moving to Dallas, Crowther has been a regular performer in the Meadows Virtuosi Concert Series, and winner of the 2016 and 2017 Meadows Chamber Music Honors Competition, and was invited to perform with members of the Escher String Quartet during their 2017 and 2018 residencies at Southern Methodist University.
In addition, Crowther has performed in solo masterclasses across Europe and North America, including the Banff Centre Masterclasses for Strings and Winds, the Clandeboye Festival, and the Lev Aronson Festival. She has worked with various international artists and ensembles, including Lynn Harrell, Colin Carr, Melissa Kraut, David Geringas, Raphael Wallfisch, Timothy Ying, the Cecilia String Quartet, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

EMMANUEL KWOK, SECTION CELLO, SUBSTITUTE PRINCIPAL

Native of Hong Kong, Tsun-yuet Emmanuel Kwok has appeared as soloist in Europe, Asia, and the United States, and has also performed over 30 world premieres of contemporary music. Kwok is currently member of the McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra and has previously played with orchestras including the Dallas Chamber Symphony, Plano Symphony, Irving Symphony, Hong Kong New Philharmonic, Collegium Musicum Hong Kong and Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. He played solo and chamber recitals both in Asia and in the States, and solo appearances with orchestras including Mesquite Symphony, Collegium Musicum Hong Kong, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Art Academy Orchestra and Hong Kong Baptist University Symphony Orchestra. He has received numerous awards, including 1st prize in the Hong Kong Music Festival and 2nd prize in the National Competition of Asia. In addition to his classical performance, he worked with worship ministries and pop singers in Southeast Asia, recording more than ten CDs as solo cellist; in 2021, he also worked with RedSeaMusic (CA, USA) to produce music videos. Kwok’s future commitment including playing chamber recitals in Dallas-Fort Worth area and solo performances with Mansfield Philharmonic and Coppell Community Orchestra in the season of 2021 to 2022.
Kwok began cello study at the age of 6 in Hong Kong under Ms. Tung Hiu-lo, later he has finished his Master of Music in cello performance with Professor Ray Wang at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He is currently a doctoral candidate (ABD) at TCU School of Music, majoring in Cello Performance with cognate in Music Theory. In the U.S. his primary teachers included Jesús Castro-Balbi and Eugene Osadchy. He also had the privilege of coaching by Johannes Moser, Lynn Harrell, Steven Isserlis, Bagram Saradjian, Dmitri Atapine, Maja Bogdanovic and Li-Wei Qin. As musician and scholar, Kwok holds memberships of Pi Kappa Lambda International Music Honor Society and Golden Key International Honor Society.
Kwok was appointed as Assistant to Artistic Director of the Texas Cello School in 2021. He was previously served as faculty of Clear Creek Music Festival (OR), TCU Summer Cello Academy and Fort Worth B Sharp Youth Music Program. During his stay at TCU, he also serves as Professor Castro-Balbi’s teaching assistant as well as assistant director of TCU Cello Ensemble. Kwok believes in Authentic Christianity and the philosophy of Authentic Music Performance. Besides cello playing, he loves fishing, reading, trying new foods, enjoying movies, video games and music arranging.

EVGENI KARELIN, PRINCIPAL CLARINET

Evgeni Karelin is a Russian-Israeli Clarinetist currently living in Fort-Worth TX. Evgeni received Graduate degrees from Jerusalem academy of music and is currently working on his post graduate degree in TCU.
Evgeni Performed in many prestigious concert halls in Israel, Germany, Netherlands, and USA with Orchestras as Jerusalem Symphony, Wiemar symphony and the Israeli Opera
Evgeni has appeared as a soloist with Ashdod Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Academy Symphony Orchestra and Ministry of education youth orchestra.
Evgeni participated in several prestigious music festivals including the Penderecki music festival, Weimar festival, Miami music festival, Duxbury and Crested Butte music festival.
He performed under button of outstanding conductors as Michael Sanderling, Caren Levine, Frederic Chaslin, Bradley Moore, David Effron and many more. Evgeni is currently principal clarinetist of Odysseus Chamber Orchestra and is a dedicated clarinet teacher.

KRISTIN PERRY, PRINCIPAL OBOE

Kristin Perry is an oboist originally from Avon, Indiana, and currently is a Fellow with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She received her Master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Jeff Rathbun and her Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, studying with Linda Strommen and Roger Roe. Ms. Perry graduated high school from the Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied with Daniel Stolper and was the recipient of the Oboe Award.
Ms. Perry has performed with several orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, Opera Western Reserve, Cleveland Opera Theater, Erie Chamber Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, Warren Philharmonic, and the Oistrakh Symphony.
She has attended numerous summer festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center, Brevard Music Center, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Domaine Forget, and the Interlochen Arts Camp.
In addition to performing, Ms. Perry also enjoys teaching, which she has done in private and group settings for almost ten years.