Sue Temple

STRINGS | Program Director

Sue Temple is the Founder and Artistic Director of Just Chamber Music and violist with the String Quartet Con Brio.  Performing in the Front Range area since 1976, she has played extensively with the Ft. Collins Symphony and Greeley Philharmonic Orchestras and continues to perform as a freelance musician throughout Colorado.  As an advocate for the viola, Mrs. Temple has maintained an active private viola studio for over 40 years. Her students have won top prizes in various Concerto Competitions and have been selected to perform in the master classes of violists and acclaimed chamber musicians, including Victoria Chiang, Roger Chase, Jesse Levine, Simon Rowland-Jones, Carol Rodland, Dr. Juliet White-Smith, James Holland, Felicia Moye, and the Borromeo, Cavani, Alexander, and Miami String Quartets.

Outside of private teaching, Mrs. Temple is a sought-after clinician and coach for middle schools, high schools, Solo and Ensemble Competitions, and various Viola Day Events (most recently at Ohio State University).

Originally from the New England area, Sue received her bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis in Performance from Bennington College in Vermont and a second Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Therapy from Colorado State University.

Heidi Mausbach

STRINGS

Cellist, Heidi Mausbach, a graduate of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, has enjoyed a fulfilling and diverse orchestral career throughout the US. She has played with the Naples Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, and the Minnesota Opera before moving to Fort Collins in 2000. Currently, she is assistant principal of the Fort Collins Symphony and the Cheyenne Symphony and instructor of cello at Front Range Community College.

Heidi performs chamber music frequently playing in Denver and surrounding areas with Pro Musica Colorado, the Front Range Chamber Players and Ensemble Faucheux. She offers music lessons at her private studio and coaches chamber music at Just Chamber Music summer festival for young aspiring music students. Heidi frequently collaborates with pianist Ryan Marvel and can be heard on his Winter and Winter II albums. In her free time, you might find Heidi on the Spring Creek Trail or hiking around the many beautiful places in Colorado.

Margaret Miller

STRINGS

Violist Margaret Miller enjoys a varied career as a teacher and performer.  She is currently on the faculty of the School of Music at Colorado State University, a position she has held since 2004.  In the years since joining the faculty at CSU, the viola studio has grown to include students from throughout the US, as well as Mexico and China.

A native of Detroit, Ms. Miller received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and a Master of Music degree with a Certificate from the Institute for Chamber Music at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Prior to joining the faculty at Colorado State University, Ms. Miller was the violist of the Colorado-based Da Vinci Quartet for eighteen years.  During that time, the Quartet toured throughout the United States and was in residence at Colorado College and the University of Denver.  Known for its adventurous programming, the Quartet created Heartstrings, an outreach program that visited many underserved communities and was featured on a segment of the PBS NewsHour.

As a performer and master class clinician, Ms. Miller has appeared at Kansas State University, the University of New Mexico, Montana State University, the University of Missouri, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Nevada Reno.  She has also presented at the Colorado Music Educators Conference, the Colorado Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, and the Wyoming Music Educators Association.  She has been on the faculty of the LEAP Institute for the Arts at CSU.

Katarina M. Pliego

STRINGS

Katarina holds a doctorate in Cello performance from the University of Northern Colorado, where she studied with Dr. Gal Faganel. She received her MM in Cello performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (UK), where she studied with Rudi de Groote. At RCS she was the recipient of a generous scholarship for most talented MM instrumentalist, received a distinction for her final recital and performed Brahms' Sextet with Ilya Gringolts all around Scotland. She completed her BA in Music from Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge (UK), where her teacher was Caroline Bosanquet. She has participated in various masterclasses given by Natalia Gutman, Karine Georgian, Daniel Rothmuller, Peter Stumpf, Silver Ainomae,, Barbara Thiem, Greg Sauer, Alexander Buzlov, David Grigorian, Heidi Litchauer, and members of the Brodsky and Chilingirian Quartets.

Dr. Pliego has performed in several competitions and was the winner of the Downbeat Music Award, Arts Innovation Award, Rocky Mountain Concerto Competition and Southard Competition at UNC, received honorable mention at UNC Concerto Competition and BBC SSO Concerto Competition at RCS, won third prize at Competition for Young Slovenian Cellists and gave solo recitals with pianist Nafis Umerkulova as the winner of Jeunesses Musicales Concert Series. She also received a fellowship for the Stamford International Chamber Music Festival (UK) and for the Wagner Orchestra in Bayreuth (Germany). 

As a soloist she has performed with UNC Wind Ensemble, Anglia Ruskin University Orchestra, K239 Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Music School Žalec, and Nottingham Youth Orchestra. As an orchestral player she has performed as an assistant principal cellist in the Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra at the London Music Festival and around Cambridge. As a principal cellist in Orion Orchestra she took part in Women of the World Festival at the Royal Festival Hall and performed to the British Royal Family in Cadogan Hall. In years 2013 and 2014 she toured the world as principal cellist in the Shen Yun Performing Arts and played in music halls such as Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Kennedy Center, Renee and Henry Segerstrom Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Place des Arts, and Sony Centre.

Dr. Pliego is an enthusiastic teacher and has been teaching all levels, from beginners to college, since 2012. Her young students in London have received distinctions for their ABRSM (board of the Royal Schools of Music) exams, and have won principal seats in their high school orchestras. In Colorado, several of her students have performed in Western States Honor Orchestra (Chamber and Symphony) and All State Orchestra, and received generous scholarships for the BM Cello Performance degrees. Dr. Pliego was Dr. Faganel’s teaching assistant for three years, while at UNC, and taught cello and chamber music to music education majors. She was also Dr. Faganel’s sabbatical replacement in Spring 2017, while also maintaining a position as an adjunct professor of music history at the Front Range Community College in Fort Collins and Columbia College in Denver.

Dr. Pliego lives in Berthoud with her husband, their two little daughters, and their dog Tosca (named after Puccini’s opera!). In her spare time, she likes to train in Muay Thai (currently a blue belt), run, hike, and most importantly, spend time with her family.

Brightin Rose Schlumpf

STRINGS

Unique in her vast experience as a violinist and violist, Brightin Rose Schlumpf thrives in a diverse career as a orchestral and chamber musician, and as a teacher for musicians of all ages. Praised for her sweet sound, and flexibility to play well on both instruments, Ms. Schlumpf enjoys a variety of performance opportunities, within and beyond the traditional concert hall.

Since 2017, Ms. Schlumpf has enjoyed performing as a substitute in the viola section with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, including performances at Red Rocks Amphitheater and Boettcher Concert Hall and other local venues. In addition to playing with the Colorado Symphony, Ms. Schlumpf performs regularly with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Colorado Ballet Orchestra, Boulder Bach Festival Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra and the Steamboat Springs Symphony.

Beyond the orchestral stage, Ms. Schlumpf has enjoyed chamber music highlights as a member of the Chautauqua String Quartet, with whom she completed a residency in the Vail Public Schools through the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, as a member of Aspen Leaf Chamber Players, Flute and Strings by Christen Stephens and formally as the violinist/violist in ensemble ZWEI.

Ms. Schlumpf enjoys performing diverse genres of music, and has performed with Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Weird Al Jankovich, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Denver-based Pop-Baroque string quartet, Spinphony, as a violinist at Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, and on the Wildflower Pavilion Stage as a fiddler at RockyGrass MusicFestival in Lyons, Colorado.

Originally from Vashon Island, WA, Ms. Schlumpf began her studies in Suzuki violin at the age of six. From then on, she continued her studies in Houston and Philadelphia. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude in music at Cornell University, where she studied with Kia Hui Tan and Susan Waterbury.

Ms. Schlumpf spent five summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, as a scholarship student of Cornelia Heard. Following the completion of her first Master’s of Music in violin and viola performance from Longy School of Music at Bard College in Cambridge, MA as a student of Laura Bossert, Ms. Schlumpf accepted the opportunity to move to Colorado, pursue graduate viola studies as a teaching assistant to Erika Eckert and Geraldine Walther, and was the recipient of the Gabor Ormai viola prize at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

As a teacher, Ms. Schlumpf maintains an active private violin and viola studio. Ms. Schlumpf served as the orchestra and violin/viola faculty at Boulder Valley Waldorf School in Niwot, CO from 2012-2021. Previously, Ms. Schlumpf taught as faculty at the University of Colorado Summer Music Academy and as a teaching artist for El Sistema Colorado.

Ms. Schlumpf enjoys exploring the majestic colorado mountains with her husband, Scott and spending time with their feline companion, Mr. Kitty.

Josquin Larsen

STRINGS

Josquin Larsen, violist, leads a multifaceted career as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and educator. He has served on the faculties of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and Arkansas State University. In addition to his private studio of violinists and violists, Josquin works with young musicians through masterclasses, leading sectionals with area youth and honor orchestras, as a clinician, and has spent summers teaching viola at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. His students have been accepted to leading music schools, honor orchestras, summer festivals, and have received prizes in regional competitions.  

Madison Johnson

STRINGS

Madison earned her B.M. at the University of Northern Colorado and her M.M. at The Boston Conservatory in Viola Performance. Madison performed for three years with the Great Falls Symphony and the Cascade String Quartet in Montana. She also maintained violin and viola studios in Great Falls, Havre, and Fort Benton, Montana.

With the quartet, Madison toured across Montana and the Northwest, performing concerts, presenting educational school shows, giving masterclasses, and collaborating with other professional artists across the state and country.

In 2016 she returned home to establish a violin and viola studio in Fort Collins.

Zo Manfredi

STRINGS

Zo Manfredi currently maintains an active teaching and performing career in Northern Colorado. She has served as Visiting Instructor of Violin and Chamber Music at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, and formerly held the positions of Teaching Artist of Violin and Viola at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, Assistant Music Associate of Violin at Grinnell College, and Instructor of Violin and Viola at Richland Community College in Dallas, Texas. Locally in Colorado, Dr. Manfredi enjoys playing with the Fort Collins Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Front Range Chamber Players, Quartet Con Brio, and a variety of chamber ensembles along the Front Range. She has also held positions within the violin sections of the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra, the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Des Moines Symphony.

During the summers, Dr. Manfredi serves on the faculty of the Just Chamber Music Festival in Fort Collins, Colorado and has served on the faculties of the Red Lodge Music Festival, the David Adler Center for the Arts Chamber Music Camp and as guest artist with the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival.

In August 2015, Dr. Manfredi received her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas under the direction of renowned pedagogue, Julia Bushkova, where she was awarded both a Teaching Fellowship and Teaching Assistantship. She earned her M.M. at Arizona State University and her B.M. from the University of Puget Sound. She also studied violin and viola in Vienna, Austria through the IES Music Program with Barbara Gorzynska and Matthius Maurer.

Dr. Manfredi is originally from Billings, Montana and currently resides in Loveland, Colorado with her husband Matt, their daughter Louisa, and their son Jack. In addition to teaching and making music, she enjoys spending time outdoors and in the mountains with friends and family hiking, biking and running.

For more information, visit her website www.zomanfredi.com

Ben Tomkins

STRINGS

Benjamin Tomkins has distinguished himself as a violinist, composer, writer, and educator. He received his M.A. from the Cleveland Institute of Music in violin performance and subsequently won a position with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with numerous other orchestras and has coached extensively as a chamber musician with members of the Cleveland, Miami, Penderecki, Tokyo, Miro, and Arditti quartets.

As a composer, Mr. Tomkins has had his music performed in recitals and concerts across the country. Most recently, his String Quartet was performed as part of the Breckenridge Music Festival winter series, and he is currently engaged this fall for the premiere of his piano trio at CU Boulder and a piece for string orchestra for the Denver School of the Arts.

Mr. Tomkins currently serves as Director and principal violin instructor for Strings Attached, a non-profit string music initiative in Englewood and Sheridan, CO to provide string education to communities without means or availability. Under his tenure, the program has expanded dramatically, and his skills as an arranger have allowed Strings Attached to present diverse programming including Carnival of the Animals, Rodeo, the Nutcracker, Peer Gynt, units on French Impressionism and the Russian Five, and a staged version of Bizet’s Carmen. Future programming includes Dvorak, the Magic Flute, and American in Paris.

Finally, this year Mr. Tomkins was appointed director of the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestra Philharmonia Orchestra.

Benjamin currently lives in Denver with his wife Robyn, their cat Molly, and their dog Wallace. When not involved in music, he occupies himself writing a column for the Dayton City Paper and his blog, running, and cooking.

Andrew Giordano

STRINGS

A native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Andrew Giordano began playing the violin at the age of five. He recently joined the forward-looking Beo String Quartet as their newest member and violinist. Before joining Beo, he was a founding member and performed with the award-winning Altius Quartet for nine seasons. As a member of Altius, Andrew won several awards and toured internationally in Europe, Asia, and Australia. the Altius Quartet recorded three albums on the Parma Records label: “Dress Code” (a crossover album), “Shostakovich String Quartets Nos 7, 8, and 9,” and “Quadrants Volume 3,” which is comprised of never-recorded works by living composers.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Indiana University where he studied with Kathleen Winkler, Federico Agostini, and Koichiro Harada. After graduating from Indiana, he went on to complete his Master of Music degree at Southern Methodist University under the tutelage of the late Emanuel Borok. From 2014-2017, Andrew and the Altius Quartet held the position of Fellowship String Quartet-in-Residence at University of Colorado Boulder and were mentored by the Takács Quartet. While at CU Boulder, Andrew also studied privately with Edward Dusinberre, Károly Schranz and Harumi Rhodes of the Takács Quartet.

In addition to performing, Andrew is a passionate teacher. Now in his eighteenth year of teaching, Andrew has taken several graduate-level pedagogy seminars and Suzuki Method teaching courses. Andrew and his wife Nathália Kato have a private teaching studio together, and actively perform as a violin/piano duo under the name “Duo Pragma.”

Andrew is passionate about enabling kids from underserved communities to study music, regardless of income. He is Artistic Director of Boulder MUSE, an El Sistema-type organization dedicated to providing group music lessons for young musicians who cannot afford to pay for private lessons.

Andrew plays on a 1928 Gaetano Gadda violin, and a bow made by David Samuels.

Jean Farley

STRINGS

Jean Farley earned her B.M. in Violin Performance from New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida where she had the opportunity to study with Ida Haendel, Cathy Meng-Robinson, and Rafael Druian. She has spent multiple summers attending at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, and a summer studying violin in Stuttgart, Germany.

Jean has a special interest in chamber music. She has received chamber music training from the Miami String Quartet, Felix Galimir, Yo Yo Ma, and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. She has performed and coached extensively throughout her musical training and her professional career.

Jean spent many years in the southern United States performing in orchestras, playing chamber music and teaching violin throughout Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. She held the position of Artist-in- Residence at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she directed the middle-school orchestra program. She has also been an instructor with Suzuki Talent Education Program in Atlanta, Georgia.

During her 20 years residing in Fort Collins, Jean performed with the Fort Collins Symphony and the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestras. She is a co-founder of Just Chamber Music.

Ben Thomason

STRINGS

Mr. Ben grew up in the Boulder Suzuki Strings program, studying violin with renowned Suzuki pedagogue Dr. William Starr and Amy Gesmer-Packman. He went on to earn a B.A. in Violin Performance from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, and Master of Music in Violin Performance from California State University, Northridge.  

Mr. Ben is a compassionate and focused violin teacher, with over 15 years of teaching experience and training in Suzuki Violin in Units 1-10 with master teachers Liz Arbus and Cathy Lee. He has served as Director of the Texas Lutheran University Community Music Academy, a program of over 250 strings and choral students, teaching both a large private studio and a beginning orchestra for the program. He has also lived in China for 5 years, is fluent in Mandarin, and taught Suzuki violin at Seed Music Academy in Hong Kong. Since arriving in Fort Collins, Mr. Ben has also joined the Off the Hook Arts and teaches free after-school group classes for the Meadowlark Music Program.

Mr. Ben relocated to Fort Collins in 2022 with his wonderful family, and recently became a member and the librarian of the Fort Collins Symphony. He has also been a member of the Mid-Texas Symphony, the Laredo Philharmonic, the Santa Monica Symphony, and the Walla Walla Symphony, and enjoys rehearsing and performing solo and chamber music as his schedule permits.

Ben Thomason, M.M.

Beth Wells

STRINGS

Beth Wells has been a member of the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra cello section since 1991. She is also a member of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and the String Quartet Con Brio. Past positions are with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, and the String Quartet Fantastique,

Since retiring from Poudre School District in 2012 where she taught orchestra in several secondary schools, including Rocky Mountain High School, Beth has maintained an active cello studio teaching lessons to elementary through high school students. From 2013-18, Beth was director of the Northern Colorado Cello Choir, and she was chairperson for the Colorado Chapter of American String Teacher Orchestra Festival from 2015-2016. She is a member of the Colorado Music Adjudication Association, and enjoys the opportunity to conduct, clinic, and adjudicate middle and high orchestra festivals around the state. From 2013-2021 she served on the Fort Collins Symphony Education Committee, and was co- organizer of the 2021 Virtual Musical Zoo, hosted by Friends of the Symphony.

Beth is married to Tom Bittinger, principal bassoonist of the Fort Collins Symphony and Cheyenne Symphony. They enjoy national and international travel, attending performances of the finest orchestras, and spending time with their five children and their spouses, four grandchildren, and two basset hounds, Jasper and Jazmin.

Elliott Larsen

STRINGS

As a devoted orchestral player, Elliott held positions with the Boston Chamber Orchestra and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. In chamber music, he has collaborated with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. As a passionate teacher, his students have successfully performed in concert venues and have won prizes in prominent competitions including the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the Enescu International Violin Competition, and the Seoul International Competition. Elliott received his training at The Boston Conservatory under the tutelage of world-renowned violinists Joseph Silverstein and Ronan Lefkowitz.

Debra Throgmorton

PIANO

Debra Throgmorton currently serves as a full-time faculty member at Front Range Community College - Larimer campus, where she teaches music courses and directs the Music and Dance programs. She has appeared as a soloist with many regional orchestras including the Greeley Philharmonic, Ethos West Chamber Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, Greeley Chamber Orchestra, and UNC Chamber Choir and Orchestra. She is currently serving on the board of Front Range Chamber Players.

Jesse Pierson

PIANO

Jesse is the Music Program Lead at Front Range Community College Larimer Campus, as well as college-wide Online Lead for Music and the Recording Arts and Technology program.  He is active as a collaborative and solo pianist in the surrounding community as well as a dedicated pedagogue in piano, and music theory.  Jesse received his Doctorate of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado in 2020 with a focus in Piano Performance and a secondary emphasis in Music Theory.  Celebrations of his professional accomplishments include several Master Teacher award nominations at Front Range Community College, and presentations for the Music Teacher’s National Association, and FRCC Teaching with Technology Conference. Highlights of Jesse’s performing accomplishments traverse from performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto as the featured soloist with the Central Washington University orchestra all the way to solo and collaborative performances in Germany as a part of the Interharmony International Music Festival.      

Jesse is passionate about teaching and writing curriculum for students so that they can obtain a robust understanding of all aspects of music.  His innovative dissertation focused on collecting and analyzing hundreds of pre-college pieces from the solo piano repertoire so that students of all ages could experience some of the most important features from music theory classes in their everyday practice.  Whether putting on his hat as a performer, coach, or classroom instructor, Jesse is always thinking about students first and foremost so that they might stand on the shoulders of the previous generation of musicians to continue the creation of art in our community.

Tim Burns

PIANO

Pianist Timothy Burns is a versatile performer and collaborator, with significant instrumental, vocal, and choral accompanying experience. He holds degrees in piano performance, music theory pedagogy, and collaborative piano from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, studying with Carol Schanely-Cahn, David Allen Wehr, and Jean Barr.  Currently, Dr. Burns serves as Supervisor of Piano Accompanying at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where he frequently collaborates with faculty, guest artists, and students.

Dr. Burns has performed throughout the United States and Canada.  He has served as staff accompanist for the 2010 King Award Competition, the 2012 International Viola Congress, the 2013 International Society of Bassists Competition and Conference, and the 2017 International Horn Competition of America.  Additionally, Dr. Burns has worked with renowned choral conductors Brady R. Allred, Daniel Bara, Scott Tucker, and Amanda Quist, among others, with performances at such venues as New York City’s Riverside Church and Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.  Past performances include the Frick Collection’s “Salon Evening” concert series in New York City, and the 2016 ClarinetFest International Conference at the University of Kansas.

As an avid supporter for new and current music, Dr. Burns has performed works by current composers such as Mari Esabel Valverde, Margaret Brouwer, Mathjis van Dijk, Baljinder Sekhon, and James M. David.  Past summer residences have included the New York State Summer School of the Arts Choral Studies Program in Fredonia, NY, the Performing Arts Institute at the Wyoming Seminary near Wilkes-Barre, PA, and the Eastman School of Music’s “Summer@Eastman” program.  For the Summer of 2018, Dr. Burns will be in residence with The Lift Clarinet Academy and the Just Chamber Music program, both held in Fort Collins, and he will perform with violinist Michael Davis as part of the Chapel Series at the YMCA of the Rockies.