The Richmond Symphony Welcomes Four New Musicians to 2013-14 Season

The Richmond Symphony welcomes four new musicians to the 2013-2014 season! Elena Yakovleva, one year flute and piccolo; Sam Rothstein, one year bass clarinet; Esther Nahm, one year Assistant Principal Viola; andGrace Shryock, one year Assistant Principal Oboe/English Horn.

Elena Yakovleva, one year flute and piccolo
Elena Yakovleva began playing both piano and flute as a child in Kaliningrad, Russia and later graduated from the Rachmaninoff Music College with Honors. Elena continued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and at the Folkwanghochschule Essen, Germany, studying under Prof. Hans-Jörg Wegner and Prof. Gunhild Ott, and later, under renown Jeanne Baxtresser as a Performance Residence Program student at the Carnegie Mellon University on full scholarship.

Ms. Yakovleva has received her Master of Music, Graduate Performance Diploma in Flute and Graduate Performance Diploma in Chamber Music with Marina Piccinini at Peabody Conservatory on full scholarship.

A scholarship recipient from the Russian Ministry of Culture, she was selected for the artist roster of Yehudi Menuhin's foundation "Live Music Now", has been a winner of the "New Names" Festival in Moscow, the "Villa Musica" Award, in 2006 was a prizewinner in the New York Flute Club Competition and in 2011 prizewinner in the Baltimore Music Club Competition.

She has played with the Baltimore Symphony, Annapolis Symphony and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestras, toured as soloist, with the Rachmaninoff Wind Quintet and the Kaliningrad Symphony Orchestra throughout Russia and Europe.

She has performed in the Peabody "Side by Side" project with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Marin Alsop and Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, participated in the Summer Opera Theatre of Washington, D.C., Kent Blossom Festival and National Orchestral Institute.

Elena Yakovleva was selected to represent Peabody in performances at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore, and also was a featured performer at Peabody's 2008 graduation ceremony when she received her Master of Music degree.

Summer of 2009 Elena performed as a soloist with Kaliningrad Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Andreev on the opening of IX International Music Festival "Service to Bach".

Elena Yakovleva also holds the Piccolo and Third Flute Chair with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra and Maryland Symphony Orchestra. She has joined the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in September 2013. She is also on the chamber music faculty at Peabody Conservatory and on the flute faculty at the International School of Music in Bethesda, Maryland.

Sam Rothstein, one year bass clarinet
Samuel Rothstein was appointed as the bass clarinetist of the Richmond Symphony in the Fall of 2013. He received his bachelor's degree in music performance from Northwestern University in March of 2012, studying clarinet and bass clarinet with J. Lawrie Bloom and clarinet with Steve Cohen. Originally hailing from Chicago, he has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago since 2012 and is a frequent substitute with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he toured and played clarinet with the national touring company of Les Miserables for ten months in 2010-2011. Summer festival appearances include the Spoleto Festival USA and two summers as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Esther Nahm, one year Assistant Principal Viola

Violist Esther Nahm received her BM cum laude and a performance certificate from Boston University, and a MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her primary teachers were Lynne Ramsey, Steve Ansell and Bayla Keyes. She has coached chamber music with members of the Muir, Cavani, Brentano, Juilliard, Emerson, Artis and Tokyo String Quartets. She has participated in various summer festivals including Spoleto Music Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center, Banff Centre and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Away from the viola, Esther enjoys practicing yoga, cooking and spending time with her two cats, Daphnis and Chloe. She was previously a member of the Canton Symphony and principal of the Erie Philharmonic.

Grace Shryock, one year Assistant Principal Oboe/English Horn
Grace Shryock is serving as Assistant Principal Oboe and Principal English Horn of the Richmond Symphony for 2013-14. She is also a member of the Albany Symphony and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, and Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. Praising her performance with Summer Opera Theater Company (Washington, D.C.), the Washington Post called her "an incredible English horn player." Additionally, she has been a soloist with the Neponset Valley Philharmonic and is an active recitalist. Mrs. Shryock may be heard on numerous commercial recordings, including those released by the New York Philharmonic, composed by Howard Shore, and starring Hollywood stars Ben Stiller and Kristin Wiig. Mrs. Shryock teaches oboe at Virginia Commonwealth University and served as Associate Oboe Teacher at the Manhattan School of Music. She maintains a private studio in Richmond while presenting masterclasses and reed-making workshops around the country. She has studied under Liang Wang, Sherri Sylar, Robert Botti, Thomas Stacy, Joseph Turner, Katherine Needleman, and Jane Marvine.

About the Richmond Symphony

Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 200 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 250,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, radio broadcasts, and educational outreach programs. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.