Violin & Viola
Agnieszka (Victoria) Peszko
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A native of Poland, Agnieszka Victoria Peszko, is an active recitalist and a devoted teacher residing in the United States. She has appeared as a soloist at renowned venues in her home country, such as the President’s Gallery, the Warsaw Music Society, and the Warsaw Philharmonic. In Europe she has performed in Poland, Finland, Germany, and in the United States she has given concerts in New York, New Jersey, and Colorado. In addition to performing solo repertoire, Ms. Peszko is particularly fond of chamber music. She has been a founding member of The Cali Piano Trio.
Ms. Peszko won several prizes at national and international competitions, including second prize at the Concerto Competition at Montclair State University, second prize at the J. Garscia International Competition, the First International Young Violinist Competition, the First Regional Chamber Music Competition, fourth prize at the G.F. Telemann Competition, and first distinction at the G. Bacewicz Competition. Ms. Peszko believes that every student has the ability to grow musically and technically and it is teacher’s responsibility to inspire, encourage and provide professional guidance to each student individually. As a teacher, she enjoys working with all her students and she takes great pride in her students’ success. Many of her pupils has participated and received First Class Honors at the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program as well as performed in seasonal concerts and recitals. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities such as camping and rock climbing. |
Shaina Pan
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Born in Yangzhou, China, Shaina Pan immigrated to the United States at age 5 and began taking violin lessons at age 7. Soon after, she began playing in local youth orchestras as a way to make friends. From there, she developed a love for orchestral playing that has stayed with her to this day. Currently based in San Francisco, Shaina is completing her graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Ian Swensen. She holds a Performer Diploma in Solo Performance, a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance, and a Bachelor of Arts in English (summa cum laude) from Indiana University.
Shaina has served as concertmaster and assistant concertmaster of the SFCM orchestras, as well as principal violin of the Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra. She has been a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy and the Aspen Music Festival and School, and is the recipient of an Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Mendocino Music Festival, as well as fellowships from the Contemporary Performance Institute at Wellesley College and the Atlantic Music Festival. Passionate about playing music by living composers, Shaina has premiered dozens of new chamber works and has worked with artists such as Kate Soper, Augusta Read Thomas, Ken Ueno, Terry Riley, and the Kronos Quartet, among others. She has performed with the IU New Music Ensemble, the Atlantic Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. In 2018, Shaina performed in Mexico City with the IU New Music Ensemble as part of the grand opening of the IU Mexico Gateway at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Shaina teaches students of all ages and levels and is trained in Mimi Zweig's String Pedagogy Method. She taught group violin classes and private lessons at the IU Jacobs School of Music String Academy, as well as Fairview Elementary School in Bloomington, Indiana. Her teaching method is tailored to each student’s individual technical needs, but above all, it prioritizes physical freedom and a positive, non-judgmental environment. |
Constance Millecan
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Ms. Constance Millecan discovered her love for music when she began learning piano at age six and violin at age eight. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2013, where she studied under the tutelage of Wei He. She earned her Master of Music degree from California State University, Long Beach in 2015, where she studied under Lorenz Gamma and Moni Simeonov.
Constance currently freelances in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to teaching at Amabile, she taught for Art and Soul Music Studios as well as her own private studio. Constance is passionate about helping her students learn in a positive and inspiring environment. Her main goal is to help her students achieve their musical ambitions and find happiness through music. |
Gaga Won
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Gaga Won was born in South Korea. Started piano at age 8, she moved to violin as her primary instrument at age 10. As a violinist, Gaga has a warm, full sound and fearless playing that unleashes the expressive qualities of music. Moving to the United States when she was 12, she studied violin with Jose Delgado in Michigan and with Carla Trynchuk at Andrews University. She was the Full Emerson Scholarship Recipient in 2010 and 2011 at the Interlochen Arts Summer Festival and was also a finalist in the concerto competition at the Interlochen festival. She was the assistant principal in the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. She attended Interlochen with a Merit Scholarship from 2010-2012 and was Concertmistress in IAA (Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra) under conductor Jung Ho Park. She studied undergrad in San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Wei He, receiving the Sergei Barsukov Scholarship for violin in 2015.
Most recently, she studied with Hyo Kang at Yale School of Music (class of 2018), where she also served as a Teaching Artist. She did master classes with Bill Vander Sloot, Time for Three, Paul Kantor, Catalyst Quartet, and Annie Chalex Boyle. Gaga also loves to play in Art Exhibitions, she performed at the third Annual high school visual Art touring exhibition and Harry Ahn’s Painting Exhibition. Internationally, she performed at the Castle in Courmayeur, Italy in 2015; recently performed with her previous teacher, Wei He at LiShui Theater in China. |
Natalia Badziak
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Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Natalia Badziak is a graduate of the Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music and holds Bachelor's degrees in viola performance and comparative literature. She has been a student of Roland Vamos and Peter Slowik, and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in the studio of Dimitri Murrath at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Natalia has taught both violin and viola in the Oberlin Conservatory String Preparatory and secondary lesson departments, and also has experience coaching chamber music. She has 18 years of performance experience and has attended many prestigious festivals including the Spoleto Festival USA, the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Natalia particularly enjoys playing music by living composers and has commissioned new works for the viola.
As a teacher, Natalia is dedicated to helping each student develop their individual voice at their own pace; she finds it especially rewarding to watch her students grow over time. |