Our Members

---

. 

Violinist Madison Ryan recently graduated from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music as a Fellow of the Henry Mancini Institute, where she studied with Charles Castleman. During her time at Frost, she was mentored by a number of other major musical figures, including Gerard Schwarz, Jodi Levitz, and Karen Lord-Powell. She has previously studied at the University of Wyoming with John Fadial and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with David Neely.

Ryan is best known for her work in forwarding the accessibility and diversity of classical music, as exemplified by her recently-published dissertation, “Expanding the Repertoire: A Presentation of Violin Concertos Composed by Women.” This spearheaded her Expanding the Repertoire Initiative, which strives to catalog, promote, and perform works by historically marginalized groups. Through this initiative, Ryan has regionally premiered several works by women composers and developed a series of community recitals intended to showcase composers and musicians local to the Miami area. 

             Ryan’s solo commitments have led her to be named the 2023-2024 Alba Rosa Viëtor Fellow at the Frost School of Music. In this role, she had the distinction of giving the regional premiere of Alba Rosa Viëtor’s Sonata for Violin and Piano with the intention of recording and releasing the piece in late 2024. As a chamber musician, Ryan is a founding member of Duo Vizcaya, a violin and percussion duo based out of Miami that specializes in the performance of contemporary works. She currently teaches a studio of up-and-coming violinists through the Frost Preparatory Program.

Bostonian violist Alexandra D’Amico is a creative performer who is passionate about playing for diverse audiences in a variety of settings. Ms. D’Amico has enjoyed performances under the batons of maestros Michael Tilson-Thomas, Marin Alsop, Leon Fleisher, Valentina Peleggi, and Kazem Abdullah. She performs regularly as a soloist, a chamber musician, and orchestral player. In May of 2022, Ms. D’Amico was invited to perform the Telemann Viola Concerto with the Missiones De Chiquitos Festival Orchestra in San Ignacio, Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She has

appeared on NPR’s From the Top, WDNA Music Hour, and has solo performances featured on The Violin Channel as an alumna of the Heifetz International Music Institute. In Miami Ms. D’Amico performs regularly with The Palm Beach Symphony, Florida Grand Opera Orchestra, Miami City Ballet Orchestra, and The Symphonia in Boca Raton. Ms. D’Amico is frequently invited to play in the viola section at New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida and the Naples Philharmonic. Since 2022, Ms. D’Amico has been a member of

the viola section at the Lancaster Festival Orchestra in Ohio. Ms. D’Amico debuted at Carnegie Hall in a chamber music recital in 2022.

As a multi-genre performer, Ms. D’Amico has backed great musical theater and popular artists such as Andrea Bocelli, KYGO, Leslie Odom Jr., Vanessa Williams, Billy Currington, Rick Springfield, Halsey, Andy Grammar, and Sheryl Crow. Ms. D’Amico holds a B.M. from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University where she studied with Richard Field and Choong-Jin (CJ) Chang, and a M.M. degree from Florida International University where she was a teaching assistant to Michael Klotz. She is a current D.M.A. student and Henry Mancini Institute Fellow at The University of Miami studying with Jodi Levitz.

.  Eliot is a freelance violinist from Dallas, Texas. He got his Bachelor’s degrees at Bard College and at Bard Conservatory of Music, where he received a degree in music studying with Weigang Li and Shmuel Ashkenasi as well as a degree in mathematics. Prior to Bard, he studied with Jan Mark Sloman in Texas. When Eliot was ten, he began studying every summer at Meadowmount, and after attending Meadowmount for six summers, he began attending the Castleman Quartet Program, where spent the next five summers. He then recieved his Master’s degree under the tutelage of Charles Castleman at Frost School of Music. Since completing his master's he has worked throughout South Florida as a member of Florida Grand Opera, The Venice Symphony, Palm Beach Symphony, The Southwest Florida Symphony, and others.  He also serves as the concertmaster of the Miami Pixel Symphony. Eliot has performed chamber music with members of the Saint Lawrence Quartet and the Guarneri Quartet, and he has performed in an orchestral setting with such musicians as Joshua Bell, Zuill Bailey, Charles Castleman, and Gil Shaham. Eliot has also studied chamber music with musicians and groups including Phillip and David Ying, Patricia McCarty, Anne Setzer, the Danish Quartet, the JACK quartet, The Percussion Collective, and Arnold Steinhardt.  

. Shea Kole received a Bachelor's in music performance from the Eastman School of Music in 2003. After completing a Master's degree from Ohio University, Shea was appointed Assistant Principal Cello of the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes located in Culiacan, Mexico. He held this position for 7 years, performing hundreds of concerts throughout the state of Sinaloa and the country of Mexico. Since arriving in Florida in 2015, Shea has been in demand throughout the state, appearing with many orchestras while also earning his doctorate at the University of Miami. Throughout 2019 Shea recorded several tracks for the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit." At present Dr. Kole is active as a recording and teaching artist. He regularly performs with the Naples Philharmonic amongst other ensembles in South Florida.