Meet the Players
The Northbrook Symphony is made up of dedicated players from across the Chicago area. Get to know some of our musicians.
Vladimir Gebe
First Violin
Joined 2022
With over 10 years of professional experience, violinist Vladimir Gebe has performed with the Northwest Indiana Symphony and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. He holds a doctorate from Arizona State University, where he worked on a dissertation about Austrian-Jewish composer Hans Gál. He also holds a masters from Bowling Green State University, and a bachelors from Academia de Muzică „Gheorghe Dima” din Cluj-Napoca, Romania. In addition to his music career, Vladimir is also an insurance underwriter.
José Viera
First Violin
Joined 2024
José Viera was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela and started to play the violin at the age of 9. As a member of El Sistema, José played with the National Children’s Orchestra of Venezuela at the Salzburg Festival under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle in 2013. He has also performed as a soloist with orchestras in Venezuela and Colombia. In 2019 he got invited to give a masterclass at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, where he also performed a solo violin recital including works by Bach, Ysaÿe and Kreisler. In 2014 he won the Second Prize of the Juan Bautista Plaza National Violin Competition in Venezuela, and in 2018 the First Prize of the Frank Preuss International Violin Competition.
José is a student of Almita Vamos at Roosevelt University and plays with the Northbrook Symphony and the Avant Symphony Orchestra.
Irina Fatykhova
Principal Second Violin
Joined 2010
Originally from Russia, violinist Irina Fatykhova Magill began her musical training at age seven. She graduated with distinction from Moscow State Conservatory in 2005 and received a Master of Music from the University of Tennessee in 2010. She later pursued an Artist Certificate from DePaul University. Her primary teachers included Igor Frolov, Mark Zelmanovich and Ilya Kaler. An active performer, Irina participates in concerts, recitals, and masterclasses, with extensive orchestra experience including tours throughout Russia, Europe, and the USA. She has served as concertmaster for the Gnesin Chamber Orchestra and has been a dedicated member of the Northbrook Symphony for over ten years. Since 2010, she has led a thriving private studio teaching violin and piano as well as founding iPlayMusicSchool, serving students nationwide.
Irina plays in the Keith & Kaori Williams Principal Second Violin Chair.
Luis Vivas
Violin
Joined 2024
Luis Eduardo Vivas was born in Maracay, Venezuala, birthplace of "El Sistema", the legendary music education system of Venezuela. He began violin studies in 2007 with Rubén Carrillo and studied further at the Academia Latinoamericana del Violín with Victor Vivas. He made his conducting debut with the Maracay Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2017. He also plays with the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra.
He obtained his first performance diploma with Trinity College London in 2021, and he received a scholarship to study with Almita Vamos at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he is working towards his Bachelor of Music.
Sara Oliva
Violin
Joined 2026
Sara has over 10 years experience as a freelance violinist across the country. A native of Chicago, Sara completed her Bachelors Degree in violin performance at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, with a Masters Degree and Artists Diploma from Temple University in Philadelphia. Her primary teachers included Eugene Pazin, Teresa Fream and Millie Bai. After her time with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, she spent four years in Los Angeles performing with various groups such as the San Bernardino Symphony, Redlands Symphony, and Pacific Symphony. Upon her return to Chicago, she can now be seen performing regularly with orchestras all over the Midwest such as the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Indiana Symphony, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and Quad City Symphony Orchestra. She also enjoys playing a variety of styles of music, whether it's pop covers, opera scores, or musical theater. Sara now lives in Chicago with her husband Chris, and loves pilates and trying new restaurants in her spare time.
Christopher Kang
Principal Viola
Joined 2018
A native of South Korea, Christopher Sungjoo Kang began piano studies at the age of three and violin studies at the age of six. After a Bachelor's degree from Chongshin University in Seoul, he moved to the US to study at the DePaul University School of Music with I-Hao Lee and Ilya Kaler. He also earned a Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Bettina Mussumeli.
Currently, Kang is a violist with both the Northbrook Symphony and the Avant Symphony Orchestra, and also serves as the Northbrook Symphony's Music Librarian. He also works as a music director and pianist at The New Church in Wheeling; frequently performs with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; and throughout his career has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Augustin Hadelich, Timothy Chooi, and conductors Lorin Maazel and Riccardo Muti.
Desi Tantchev
Viola
Joined 2002
Desi Tantchev received a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Viola Performance from the State Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria. Prior to moving to the US in 1996, she performed with the National Radio Symphony and State Academy Orchestra and was a member of the highly regarded European Union Youth Orchestra in Luxembourg. Desi began to play with the Northbrook Symphony in the summer of 2002. She served as principal violist of the Whiting Park Festival Orchestra for 8 years and performed regularly with Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and other professional ensembles in the Chicagoland area. Currently she is the acting principal violist of the Lake County Symphony Orchestra and is a member of Highland Park Strings. As an educator Desi is on the faculty of Encore Music Academy, OMI, Solo Classic and Northfield School of Music. Desi currently resides in the Northbrook area. Her husband and two sons are also professional musicians.
Gina Stonikas
Viola
Joined 2023
Gina Stonikas is a violist and educator who performs with orchestras throughout the United States. In 2009, she was selected for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Classical Music Workshop at the White House, where she collaborated with Joshua Bell and participated alongside distinguished artists such as Alisa Weilerstein. She was featured in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Beyond the Score program, recorded works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts for Naxos Records conducted by Marin Alsop, and presented and performed at the 2024 American Viola Society Festival in Los Angeles. Gina has served as a Teaching Fellow with the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, taught through OrchKids, and worked for the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Gina holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Music degree in Performance and String Pedagogy from theUniversity of Colorado Boulder. She studied with Victoria Chiang, Erika Eckert, Geraldine Walther, and Richard O’Neill.
Dan Klingler
Principal Cello
Joined 2013
A Chicago native, Dan Klingler has a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance from DePaul University. Following his studies, Dan was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago where he served as Principal Cello and frequently performed in the orchestra's chamber music series. For nearly ten years Dan performed regularly in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's contemporary chamber music series, MusicNOW. Besides his work as a performer, he has been a faculty member at the Merit School of Music for 15 years, where he has taught hundreds of Chicago area students including through the Merit Music In the Communities partnership with Chicago Public Schools. Dan has played in the Northbrook Symphony since 2013.
Dan plays in the Allen Nottke and Marcia Kirtland-Nottke Principal Cello Chair.
Martin Nocedal
Cello
Joined 2017
Martin Nocedal is the Director of Orchestras at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. Martin received his Bachelors degree in Music Education from Northwestern University where he studied with Hans Jørgen Jensen, and his Masters in Cello Performance from the University of Michigan. He previously served as the Director of Orchestras at Maine South High School in Park Ridge and at Davenport Central High School in Davenport, Iowa. He has also been a faculty member at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory in cello and chamber music, and a lecturer in cello at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.
As an active chamber musician, Martin has performed with members of the Chicago, Madison, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras. He was an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and is currently a cellist with the Northbrook Symphony. Martin also plays with the Oistrakh Orchestra of Chicago, with whom he recently performed at Carnegie Hall alongside pianist Thomas Nickell.
Patrycja Likos
Cello
Joined 2014
Patrycja Likos holds both a B.M. and an M.M. from the Academy of Music in Łódź, Poland were she studied cello with Andrzej Orkisz. She subsequently received an Artist Diploma in Cello Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the studio of Brandon Vamos. In 2011, Patrycja was a winner of the Krannert Center Debut Artist Competition and from 2012 to 2014 she was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In 2018, Patrycja was featured in the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series.
Patrycja has more than 15 years of experience in teaching. Her private cello studio serves the northern suburbs of Chicago. In addition to teaching, she collaborates with various orchestras and ensembles including the Northbrook Symphony, the Avant Symphony Orchestra, the Lake County Symphony, the Lira Ensemble, the Capriciosso String Quartet, and Parkwest Strings. Patrycja lives in Palatine with her husband and two children. She enjoys listening to WFMT, reading, cooking, baking, biking, and playing pickleball with her family.
Naza Bektur
Cello
Joined 2025
Naza Bektur began studying cello at the age of 8 in a highly competitive music school in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She continued with her cello training at the Kyrgyzstan National Conservatory under Zenona Slenzak-Begaliev and at the Moscow Conservatory under Maria Tchaikovskaya.
She has run a successful private music studio in the Chicago suburbs since 2015, and enjoys teaching children and adults from beginner to advanced. In 2016, Naza was a featured a performer in Sounds of Kyrgyzstan, a gala concert held at the Music Institute of Chicago. She has also played with the Highland Park Strings and Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra.
Julian Romane
Principal Double Bass
Joined 2013
Julian Pat Romane is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and received his Masters in Performance from DePaul University. He is currently Professor of String Bass at South Suburban College in South Holland, Illinois. In addition to the Northbrook Symphony, Julian has performed with many ensembles including the Memphis Symphony, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Lake Forest Symphony, Ars Viva Symphony, and the Northwest Indiana Symphony. He has worked with many performers including Peter Gabriel, Tony Bennett, Itzhak Perlman, and James Galway. He is married to cellist Ingrid J Krizan. They live with their daughter in Homewood, IL
Stephen Reichelt
Double Bass
Joined 2022
Stephen Reichelt is a Chicago-area bassist and music educator. He received his Bachelors in Music Performance on double bass from DePaul University in 2000 and a State of Illinois teaching license from Northeastern Illinois University in 2013. He holds section bass contracts with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, West Michigan Symphony and Rockford Symphony Orchestra; and won Principal Bass of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra in 2019. He was named Acting Co-Principal Bass of the Charleston Symphony in South Carolina for the 2025-26 season. Stephen proudly plays with Maestro Mina Zikri in both the Northbrook Symphony and Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago.
Stephen plays in the Ron Bernardi Assistant Principal Double Bass Chair.
Maria Schwartz
Flute
Joined 2025
Since the age of eight, Maria Schwartz has been captivated by the flute and orchestral music. In addition to her work at the Northbrook Symphony, she is Second Flute with Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and New Philharmonic. As a trained Suzuki flute teacher, Maria maintains a teaching studio in Highland Park and is on faculty at both North Park University and The Music Institute of Chicago. She has a Bachelor's Degree from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a Master's Degree and Professional Studies certificate from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Maria plays in the John R. Halligan Charitable Fund Flute Section.
Minkyung Stella Cha
Flute
Joined 2024
Flutist Stella Minkyung Cha completed the Diplôme Supérieur d'Enseignement and advanced chamber music program at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. She earned her Master's degree with scholarship from the University of Cincinnati and completed doctoral coursework at Seoul National University, where she also served as a research assistant. She is a first prize winner of the Seoul Flute Competition and has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras. She's also been featured on Korean television. Stella is currently a Dolce Powell Artist, serves on the faculty of Christian Liberty Academy, and performs with both the Northbrook Symphony and Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago.
Stella plays in the John R. Halligan Charitable Fund Flute Section.
Grace Hong
Principal Oboe
Joined 2022
Grace Hong is an active soloist, chamber musician and orchestra player in the Chicago area. A native of Seoul, she played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on their 2008 Europe tour with Bernard Haitink. She is Principal Oboe of both Camerata Chicago and Chicago Opera Theater, and plays regularly with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Grace is a dedicated educator on the faculty at at DePaul University in their School of Music and Community Music Division, as a lecturer at Northwestern University, and in her own private studio. She holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory, Roosevelt University and DePaul University under the tutelage of John De Lancie, Louis Rosenblatt, James Caldwell, Robert Walters, Jelena Dirks and Eugene Izotov. Grace lives in Chicago with her husband and daughters.
Grace plays in the Carlos & Sandy Früm First Oboe Chair.
Joyce Stenzel
Principal Clarinet
Joined 1999
Joyce Stenzel has played clarinet with the Northbrook Symphony since 1999, serving as principal since 2003. Her undergraduate music studies brought her to Wheaton College where as a junior she was winner of the Concerto Competition. She then went to DePaul University for a Masters of Music degree, studying under John Bruce Yeh of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition to freelancing, she has performed in various groups in the Chicago area including the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, the Wheaton Symphony, and the West Suburban Symphony. Joyce teaches private clarinet lessons and also enjoys working part-time as a bookkeeper. Her three adult children and their spouses plus five grandchildren (and counting!) keep her traveling to all corners of the country. Free time is given to running, tending a vegetable garden, and doing Kakuro puzzles.
Lee Kessler
Clarinet
Joined 2003
Lee Kessler, a native of upstate New York, has played clarinet with the Northbrook Symphony since 2003. He is a former member of the Northshore Concert Band and has also performed with several other local orchestras. As an honors graduate with degrees in music and American history from the University of Pennsylvania, he studied clarinet with Ronald Reuben, longtime bass clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
During the day, he is an independent copywriter for the financial industry. In his rare free time, he loves traveling, biking, learning languages, reading, baseball, and following his daughter's softball team. Lee and his wife, Janene, a high school band director and former horn player in the Northbrook Symphony, are residents of Highland Park, where they live with their daughter and occasionally hear from their son in college.
John Schreckengost
Principal Horn
Joined 2012
John Schreckengost has played Principal Horn for the Northbrook Symphony since 2012. A graduate of the Butler University School of Music and the BGSU College of Musical Arts, he was Principal Horn of the Israel Sinfonietta for seven years. After returning to the US, John was named Principal Horn of the Northwest Indiana Symphony and he also holds positions with the Chicago Sinfonietta and Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. He's also played for the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago and The Joffrey Ballet, and has played natural horn for Haymarket Opera Company.
Alexander Love
Horn
Joined 2021
Alexander Love is an Australian horn player currently living and working in Chicago. Born and raised in Sydney, Alex studied at the Sydney Conservatorium and the Manhattan School of Music. Relished his time in New York performing in a wide array of settings, he moved to Miami Beach in 2012 to join The New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. He also spent time as the Acting Associate Principal Horn of the Utah Symphony, and as Guest Principal Horn with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the DePaul University School of Music and is a member of the Northwest Indiana Symphony.
Momoko Hasselbring Seko
Horn
Joined 2024
Momoko Hasselbring Seko is a Chicago based performer, composer and educator, and the 2023 classical wind fellow of the Luminarts Foundation. Committed to artistic integrity with an authentic and personal approach, she is expanding vocabulary on the French horn by drawing repertoire and stylistic, technical, and conceptual principles from world folk and contemporary genres. Besides freelancing variously, Momo nurtures several passion projects, including duo Momo and Alvin. Her performance ethos is described by her friends as inventive, irreverent, and inimitable.
Sarah Carrillo
Principal Trumpet
Joined 2014
Sarah Carrillo, a native of Massachusetts, began her musical training with members of the Boston Symphony. After a bachelor's degree from Boston University, where she studied with the legendary Roger Voisin, she received her master's degree from Northwestern University. Sarah currently serves as principal trumpet with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and Northbrook Symphony, and she also holds positions with the International Chamber Artists, Illinois Philharmonic, and Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. Sarah has appeared as a soloist with the Salt Creek Chamber Orchestra and the Peoria Symphony. Sarah and her husband Oto Carrillo, a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's horn section, have two children who also play brass instruments
