The Mercer Island Baroque Orchestra

We are a group of local musicians that began meeting in September of 2015 with the intent of performing concerts in and around the Seattle area. Because of our instrumentation our musical selections will generally come from the baroque period and will include composers such as Bach, Handel, Haydn, Vivaldi and others.

Season Three - Upcoming Concerts

Spring Concert:  May 19, 2018 2 PM

Covenant Shores
9150 Fortuna Drive
Mercer Island, WA 98040

Program:

Cambini Quintett for String Quartet and Flute
Boccherinin Quintet in D for Flute, Oboe (sub violin) and String Trio
Mozart Quartet for Strings and Flute
Telemann Sonata No 4 for Violin and Flute
Handel’s Entrance of the Queen of Sheeba

Spring Service Concert:  June 10, 2018 9:30 AM

Emmanuel Church
4400 86th Avenue SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040 (206) 232-1573
 

For information and links on past performances click here 

Orchestra Members:

Violins

Moira Farrell
   

Moira has spent several years with the Sammamish Symphony and currently is a member of the Mercer Island Baroque Orchestra. She is the leading Suzuki violin teacher on the eastside.

Tim Winter

Tim began playing violin at age 8 and performed with the Thalia Youth Symphony during his formative years. After co-founding the  Microsoft Orchestra in 1995 and performing with the Microsoft Quartet he spent five years with the Sammamish Symphony (2008 - 2015) and currently is a member of the Mercer Island Baroque Orchestra.

Lin Marcelais

A graduate of Abilene Christian University and the University of Texas at Austin, Lin was a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, 2nd violin principal of the Abilene Philharmonic, and concertmaster of the Abilene Collegiate Symphony Orchestra. She has played with various orchestras in TX, including San Angelo, Big Spring, and Laredo Symphony orchestras. She won first place in the Texas Music Teachers' Association Post-12th Grade Orchestral Concerto Contest in Dallas, TX. After moving to Seattle, she played in the Tacoma Symphony, Northwest Symphony and Federal Way Symphony. She is currently a member of the Lake Washington Symphony and Pacifica Chamber Orchestra.

Wendy Yee

Wendy played with Sammamish Symphony and more recently with the Issaquah Philharmonic Orchestra. As a Music and Worship major, her training qualifies her to serve as choir director; however, she is primarily occupied teaching violin, piano, guitar, and voice through her private studio in the far east (Issaquah and beyond).

Colin Farrell

Colin plays both violin and viola with the orchestra. He has also performed with the Bellevue Youth Symphony and the Mercer Island Middle School Orchestra.

Paula Leibes

Paula plays with a variety of local orchestras including the Sammamish Symphony and the Mercer Island Middle School Orchestra.

Violas

Fiona Crumrine

Fiona is new to the orchestra in 2018 and enjoys playing chamber music informally with friends.

Sariya H. Rashid

Sariya started playing viola at age 9 as a school “experiment” in Utah and continued on to play with the Granite Youth Symphony through high school. After taking a break during her undergraduate years, she picked her viola up again to play with the Microsoft Orchestra and Eastside Symphony. Sariya is a current member of the Sammamish Symphony and Mercer Island Baroque Orchestra and is the viola coach for the Snoqualmie Strings Junior Orchestra. She also kicks butt in Scrabble.

Catherine Ford

Catherine is new to the orchestra this year. She recently relocated to the Seattle area from Silicon Valley where she played with the Nova Vista Symphony orchestra. Currently she is also a member of the Pierce College Orchestra in Puyallup.

Cellos

Sandra Sultan

Sandra is new to the orchestra this year. She also has performed with the Sammamish Symphony.

Janet L Pantoja

A native Californian, Janet is a product of public school music.  Her first stringed instrument was the viola.  She also studied piano.  She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance (Cello) from California State University, Sacramento.  She has 27 years of experience as cellist with the Camellia String Quartet, Sacramento, CA.  In addition, Janet has many years of performance in symphony orchestras, including the National Symphony of El Salvador, and in California, the Stockton Symphony, the Camellia Symphony, and the Auburn Symphony.  After relocating to Washington State in 2003, Janet played with the Sammamish Symphony for several years, and currently is a member of the Music Performance Group and The Mercer Island Baroque Orchestra.

Bass

Jarod Tanneberg

Jarod began playing the double bass in fifth grade. He played with his middle and high school orchestras, as well as with the Eastlake Community Youth Symphony. He graduated with a minor in Music Performance from Washington State University, then moved back to the Seattle area in 2004 where he began performing with the Sammamish Symphony. Jarod became Assistant Principal Bassist in the 2008-2009 season, then was soon promoted to Principal in 2009. He is currently a member of the Sammamish Symphony and The Mercer Island Baroque Orchestra.

Keyboard

Yuchi Chou

Yuchi Chou, a Taiwanese conductor and pianist, is now calling Mercer Island home after being a San Francisco resident for the past 10 years. Ms. Chou enjoys an international career, active in both symphonic and operatic conducting. She has performed throughout USA, Europe, and Asia. Besides winning the Vienna Philharmonic Ansbacher Fellowship at the Salzburg Festival in 2009, Ms. Chou has been invited to the Peninsula Music Festival as assistant conductor for 2013 and 2014, the winner of 2011 Aspen Music Festival Conducting Fellowship, and the winner of 2009 Shenson Fellowship for emerging artists awarded by San Francisco Foundation. As a Doctoral Candidate in Conducting at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ms. Chou loves teaching her piano students on the island, and cooking with her family.

Flute

Launa Rohar
 
Launa Rohar received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from the University of Washington, followed by graduate work in Flute Performance and Music Education at Oregon State University.  She finds great joy in teaching students of all ages and abilities. Ms. Rohar developed a successful teaching program for very young students called "Penny Whistle to Flute”. Launa is passionate about performing as a soloist and as a collaborative musician. Twice winner of the Abbotsford International Solo Competition, she has performed Concerti and solo recitals performances throughout Washington and Oregon.  As an orchestral player, she held principal flute position in the Corvallis Symphony Orchestra, the Sorg Opera Company and Tacoma Community Orchestra. Ms. Rohar loves chamber ensemble playing and has been privileged to be a performing  member of the Mercer Island Baroque Orchestra, Suite Sounds Trio, Tutti Flutti, and the Tacoma Wind Quintet. She presently lives in Bellevue and is a busy mom to three active and musical boys, ages 17, 9 and 6.

Lauren Asimakoupoulos

Lauren Asimakoupoulos is a professional flutist and private teacher in the Greater Seattle area. Ms. Asimakoupoulos attended The Wheaton College Conservatory of Music outside of Chicago, IL where she received her Bachelors Degree in Flute Performance. In addition, she also holds a Masters Degree in Flute Performance from the University of Tennessee. Recent accolades include winning the National Flute Association's Masterclass Competition in 2013 and The University of Tennessee Concerto Competition in 2014. Lauren currently teaches on Mercer Island, WA and is taking students at this time.