Violin

Violinist Joanna Frankel joined the Columbus Symphony on appointment as concertmaster in September of 2016 for the 2016/17 season. She officially assumed the role of concertmaster for the start of the 2017/18 season.

Born in Philadelphia in 1982, Ms. Frankel began studying the violin at age 3 with The Suzuki Method. She trained in New York at The Juilliard School and received the prestigious ‘William Schuman Prize’ upon graduation; her mentors have included Jascha Brodsky, CJ Chang, Robert Chen, Masao Kawasaki, Cho-Liang Lin, and Joseph Kalichstein. Ms. Frankel’s post-graduate work continued at Carnegie Hall, where she entered the inaugural class of “The Academy,” a groundbreaking initiative that trains ambitious young musicians to be 21st century arts leaders. Her concerto and recital appearances have included engagements across the U.S., and in The Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Finland, The Middle East, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Her festival appearances include Marlboro Music Festival, Harare International Festival of the Arts, Johannesburg Mozart Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Centro Cultural Internacional Óscar Niemeyer, La Jolla’s SummerFest, Santa Fe New Music, The Aspen Music Festival and Spoleto Festival USA. From 2013-2016, Ms. Frankel served as first concertmaster of The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic in Durban, South Africa, and first violinist of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Principal String Quartet. She performs on a Gaetano Vinaccia violin, crafted in Naples in 1819.

Violinist Gyusun Han was born and raised in South Korea, where she began her musical studies at age six. Ms. Han joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2021 as fourth chair in the first violin section. In 2024, she became the Associate Concertmaster of the orchestra. She also performs with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra during the summer. Prior to Columbus, she performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra from 2019-21 as first violin.

Ms. Han was accepted into the Korea National University of Arts at age 15, and from there, she received her Bachelor and Master of Music, studying with Nam Yun Kim and Bonjiu Koo. She achieved her second master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she is now finishing her Doctor of Musical Arts, studying with Dr. Won-Bin Yim.

Ms. Han has been awarded distinctions at international and national competitions, including the Korea Times competition, Ewha & Kyunghyang competition, Strad competition, Music Journal competition (where she went on to receive an additional special award), and the University of Cincinnati CCM Concerto competition in the United States. In Korea, she was also invited to participate in the Young Musicians Festival.

Ms. Han made her debut as a soloist at the Universal Arts Center in Seoul, Korea at age 10. She has appeared as a soloist with the KNUA Symphony Orchestra and the Hyundai Youth Orchestra in Korea. In the United States, she has performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the CCM Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, Ms. Han is a founding member of the FOVA Violin Quartet in Korea, a group that has performed in chamber recitals at Kumho Art Hall, Olympus Hall, Perigee Hall, Han Young Art Center, and Ara Muse Hall as supported by the municipality of Seoul. The group also has expanded their concert giving by playing in China, the United States, and other regions of South Korea. In 2024, she joined the Cygnus String Quartet.

In her free time, Ms. Han enjoys exploring food and reading.

Violinist Jessica Hung was appointed Assistant Concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony in 2025. Previously she was a member of the Jacksonville Symphony. From 2008-2021, she served as Concertmaster of the Dayton Philharmonic and has also been Concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Principal Second Violin of the Sarasota Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony, and Assistant Concertmaster of the Akron Symphony.

In her formative years, Jessica also performed as Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, and Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. As a college/conservatory student, she gave her debut performances of the iconic violin solos in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade at age 18 and Capriccio espagnol at age 21. She has since performed as a substitute violinist for the major orchestras of Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Baltimore, and Milwaukee; Boston (as a Tanglewood Fellow); and various orchestras throughout Florida.

Jessica’s playing can be heard on three live-recorded albums with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director Neal Gittleman conducting, including a 2011 performance of Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. In 2022, she was chosen as Concertmaster of the orchestra for Disney’s Harmonious Live!, a special performance of the EPCOT nighttime spectacular. She made her live television debut as a member of Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra in 1998.

Jessica’s solo appearances include over two dozen subscription series performances with the Dayton Philharmonic, featuring concertos by Beethoven, Joseph Bologne, Bruch, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Sean Neukom (world premiere in 2018), Florence Price, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. Streaming broadcasts of concerts recorded live at the Schuster Performing Arts Center during her tenure can be heard on Discover Classical, Dayton’s public radio station. In addition, she has appeared as guest soloist with college and community orchestras across the Midwest.

As a chamber musician and arts administrator, Jessica served as both First Violinist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Principal String Quartet and Associate Artistic Director of Chamber Music for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, where she launched two experimental concert series: Project “Edge” throughout the 2017/18 season, encompassing 10 free community outreach performances in unconventional venues supported by a grant from the Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts; and “Summer Streams” in 2020, a series of live-streaming virtual chamber music concerts for the pandemic era, in conjunction with Dayton public television network ThinkTV. She has been part of Jacksonville Symphony Violin and Harp Duo with Principal Harp Kayo Ishimaru-Fleisher, the Florida Chamber Music Project, and the San Marco Chamber Music Society’s 2025 concert tour of Italy.

Jessica’s competition awards on the violin include winning Northwestern University’s Thaviu String Competition and a Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Scholarship. She was a finalist at the 1998 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Feinberg Youth Auditions with honorary adjudicator Pierre Boulez on the panel.

Jessica received a bachelor’s degree in violin performance with academic honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was a student of William Preucil and Stephen Rose. She began her undergraduate studies as a student of Gerardo Ribeiro at Northwestern University and decided to pursue a career as a leading orchestral violinist during her formative experiences in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, which she joined at age 14. She is also an alumna of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and toured Eastern Europe with the latter group in 1999, under the direction of Music Director Rossen Milanov, performing in his hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Outside of her musical career, she holds a Master of Social Work degree from Widener University and has worked in the fields of hospice and mental health. Born in Kankakee, Illinois, to Taiwanese parents, Jessica grew up in the Chicago area and resides in Ohio with her husband Paul and daughter Aurora.

Alicia Hui, currently Principal Second Violin of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, began her musical studies at the age of four and made her orchestral debut at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, MD at age nine. Since then, she has served as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Arlington Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Zurich Symphony Orchestra, Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Hui was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA at age eleven, where she studied with Victor Danchenko and received her bachelor’s degree at age sixteen. She received her master’s degree and Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of David Cerone, Paul Kantor, and William Preucil. In addition to her current position with the Columbus Symphony, Ms. Hui is also a member of the Columbus Ohio Discovery Ensemble, a member of the Cygnus String Quartet, and a regular performer and Director of Community Engagement at the VIVO Music Festival. She also has served as Guest Concertmaster with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Second Violin of the Canton Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Hui has participated and performed at the Ishikawa Music Festival in Japan, Soesterberg Music Festival in Amsterdam, Keshet Eilon Mastercourse, and Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. In addition, she has been awarded fellowships at the Perlman Music Program, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Banff Chamber Music Festival, and Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Sydney Hartwick joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2023 as fourth chair in the first violin section. She began her musical studies at age six, and has since enjoyed a varied career. As an orchestral musician, Sydney has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Britt Festival Orchestra, and the New World Symphony amongst others. As a soloist, Sydney has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, and the American Fork Symphony (Utah). She previously attended the Aspen Music Festival and Sarasota Music Festival as a fellow, as well as the Domaine Forget International Music Festival. She has participated in masterclasses with Pamela Frank, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Vadim Gluzman, and Sarah Chang. Sydney attended the Jacobs School of Music pre-college program where she was a member of the Violin Virtuosi, and performed ensemble and solo music on both a US/South American tour in Argentina. She holds a BM and MM degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, as well as a Professional Studies Certificate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In her spare time, Sydney enjoys participating in sports and cooking.

A member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1984, Violinist David Edge has had an extensive career as an orchestral musician, chamber music performer, and teacher. Mr. Edge received his Bachelor of Music from Indiana University, where he studied with Daniel Guilet, Josef Gingold, Tadeusz Wronski, and Franco Gulli. He later went on to earn his master’s degree at Northwestern University under the tutelage of Samuel Magad. Before joining the Columbus Symphony, he played in the Grant Park Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and was Assistant Concertmaster of The Amarillo Symphony.

In 1981, while on the faculty at West Texas State University, he was a founding member of the Harrington String Quartet. As a member of the Harrington String Quartet, Mr. Edge had the opportunity to study with members of the Guarneri String Quartet and the Juilliard String Quartet and played concerts throughout Texas. In the fall of 1984, he, along with Steve Wedell and Richard Bell, founded the Seraphin String Trio, which performed chamber music recitals throughout Ohio for twenty-four years.

Mr. Edge has maintained a private studio at home for many years, and he served as Artistic Director of the Jefferson Academy of Music from 1987-1990 and conducted the Women in Music String Sinfonia for 10 years. He was on faculty at Otterbein University for twelve years, where he was Artist-in-Residence as First Violinist of the string quartet, QUBE.

Mr. Edge also has performed music for violin and harp regularly in recitals and in churches with his wife, Janet Thompson. In his spare time, he enjoys yoga, swimming, bike riding, experimenting with digital recording, and spending time with his sixteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Robert Firdman graduated from the Eastman School of Music with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in performance and literature, and studied with Donald Weilerstein and Charles Castleman. Before joining the Columbus Symphony, he was an associate member of the Rochester Philharmonic under the direction of David Zinman and was also concertmaster of the National Orchestral Association in New York City which performed numerous times in Carnegie Hall. Mr Firdman has been an adjunct violin teacher at Ohio Weslyan University and Kenyon College. He also has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Dublin and was a member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, and performs regularly with The Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra.

Recently, Mr Firdman performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the New Albany Symphony Orchestra and went to Bonefro, Italy, as a coach and yoga instructor with Chamber Music Connection.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Maalik Glover is an active orchestral musician and private teacher. He was appointed to the Columbus Symphony violin section in 2024 after completing one season at the New World Symphony. He has received recognition at competitions such as winning Omega Psi Phi’s 2015 Talent Hunt as well as the 2021 CCM Violin Competition.

Maalik has studied the violin since the age of 11. His first significant accomplishment was his acceptance into the Talent Development Program, an initiative launched by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra that targets gifted African-American and Latino music students to further develop their future careers as accomplished classical musicians. This has perpetuated his unyielding advocacy of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music. Since then, he has held multiple private studios including his own with the Columbus Symphony Academy.

During his graduate studies, Maalik held a two-year fellowship with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He is a three-time fellowship recipient of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and a two-time fellowship recipient of Spoleto Festival USA where he served as concertmaster.

In 2019, Maalik graduated summa cum laude from Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music. He later obtained his Master’s at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music in 2022 upon completion of the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship. In his spare time, Maalik loves exploring, traveling to new cities, as well as composing film and video game music.

Violinist Tatiana V. Hanna began her musical studies at the age of 6 in Riga – Latvia. She won several national competitions while still attending the special Darzinsh Music School, and as the leader of the Violin Ensemble performed across Latvia, Germany and Bulgaria, as well as made a number of recordings. During her graduate studies with Prof. Valdis Zarinsh at the Latvian National Music Academy she became a concertmaster of the “Rigas Kamermuziki” Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Normund Shne. Tatiana V. Hanna came to the USA after winning a full scholarship to study at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX under Prof. Arkady Fomin. While at SMU she performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York and Kennedy Center in Washington DC with the New York String Orchestra. As concertmaster and soloist she led the SMU Conservatory Chamber Orchestra in a performance at the White House and a tour of Great Britain. She also won several international competitions and took part in different music festivals. After receiving her Artist Certificate Diploma from SMU Tatiana V. Hanna became a member of the New World Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. There she collaborated with world renowned conductors and soloists. As part of the NWS she performed across the United States, Europe, South Africa, Central and South America and made several recordings. Tatiana V. Hanna has been a violinist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1999. She also enjoys teaching in her private studio in New Albany, where she lives with her family.

William Manley, a native of Columbus Ohio began playing the violin at the age of eight with Kari Gunderson. He then spent his high school years at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan where he studied with Rosemary Malocsay and Julia Bushkova. He then attended Manhattan School of Music in New York City completing his Bachelor of Music degree where he was a student of Albert Markov and Oleh Krysa, as well as Sylvia Rosenberg and Ariana Bronne. He then completed his Master of Music degree at Indiana University where he was a student of Nelli Shkolnikova. William attended numerous summer festivals such as Meadowmount with Sally Thomas and Anne Setzer as well as Encore School for Strings with Victor Danchenko. He also attended Schlesvig-Holstein in Germany as well as the Spoleto Festival in Italy. William also lived in Hong Kong for several years where he played with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. After returning to the U.S. he played in the Arkansas Symphony in Little Rock. In 2005 William returned to Ohio and has since been performing with the Dayton Philharmonic where he has been serving as Assistant Concertmaster since 2009. William also has been performing as a member of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus since 2006 and as an Associate Musician with Columbus Symphony since 2007. William is now happily serving in his first season as a full time member of the violin section of Columbus Symphony.

Gail Sharp comes from a family of mostly music educators, including her mother and three of her four sisters. Her father played the trumpet but chose to go into law. Gail grew up in the Cleveland, OH area and thrived in the rich music tradition of the city.

Gail received degrees in music performance from Baldwin-Wallace University (BM) and the Eastman School of Music (MM). During her summers of graduate school, she performed in Europe with the Spoleto Festival and the Heidelberg Castle Festival, holding the position of Concertmaster in operas for both festivals.

Upon graduation, Gail won the Assistant Concertmaster position in the Savannah Symphony but instead was asked to fill the open Principal Second Violin position, which involved playing in the symphony string quartet. This quartet included two other members of the Columbus Symphony (Luis Biava and the now retired John Ewing).

After two years in Savannah, Gail joined the Columbus Symphony and has enjoyed playing as a Section Violinist.  The position offers the variety of playing both First and Second Violin across the repertoire, which is enriching.

Gail enjoys reading mostly fiction (thrillers and mysteries), cooking, gardening while listening to audio books, and playing in her church orchestra. She is a proud cat mom to Franklin, a loving, handsome tabby who is big, muscly, and an occasional pill.

Zoran Stoyanovich has been a violinist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra for 23 years. A native of Yugoslavia, Stoyanovich won the first prize in the prestigious Yugoslav Competition of Young Artists for musicians, ages 18 to 33, when he was 19 – an award given only twice in over 30 years. He was also awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Culture of the former Soviet Union for graduate study at the Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. While living in his native Yugoslavia he played as a soloist with Zagreb Philharmonic and Belgrade philharmonic and also did many recital tours and recordings.

Stoyanovich came to the United States to further his musical studies as a graduate student, on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1984, and studied with the renown Professor Josef Gingold at The Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington Indiana. He was a participant of an international violin competition of Indianapolis and the acting concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra.

David Tanner has been a full-time member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1984. Prior to that he was principal second violinist of the Charleston Symphony in South Carolina. He is a native of New Jersey and graduate of the Eastman School of Music, having studied with Zvi Zeitlin. He maintains an active teaching studio of talented young violinists in Dublin, Ohio.

Mwakudua waNgure grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, where he started violin as a child through the Suzuki method. He continued his violin studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and went on to earn a Bachelor’s of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory, where, and a Master’s of Music from the University of Michigan where he studied with Aaron Berofsky and Kathryn Votapek. Mwakudua also studied with Timothy Lees at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.

Mwakudua joined the violin section of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 2022. Prior to this, he served as a member of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and the Lansing Symphony orchestra, as well as as a diversity fellow in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Mwakudua has also played in the Grand Tetons Festival Orchestra and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.

In his free time, Mwakudua enjoys working out, listening to podcasts, and watching shows.