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. |
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. |
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. |
Junghee Lee
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Violinist Junghee Lee has achieved great success as an active soloist,
orchestral and chamber musician. Born in Seoul, Korea, Ms. Lee received the Bachelor of Music from Yonsei University, Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, Doctor of Musical Arts from Rutgers University and Artist Diploma from San Francisco Academy Orchestra. The First Place Winner of the International Competition of Romantic Music in New York, Ms. Lee has received awards and honors from the Sungjung Competition, Strad Competition, The Journal of Music Competition, Korean- American Association Music Competition and the Rutgers Chamber Music Competition. She is a top prize winner in the Korea Philharmonic Orchestra Competition and has performed with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra. Recently, she made her debut recital at Carnegie Weill hall. Also, she made her Austrian debut with the Vienna International Orchestra. For the 2014-2015 season, she has been selected as one of five apprentices for the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa led by Pinchas Zukerman. Ms. Lee has studied with Hyo Kang, Dong-Suk Kang, Ko-Woon Yang, Sung- Won Yun and Dan Carlson. Additional studies have been with Cho-Liang Lin and Masao Kawasaki at the Aspen Music Festival, Zakhar Bron at Lisbon Music Festival. Currently, she is a member of California Symphony, Oakland Symphony and Santa Cruz Symphony. Besides, she is teaching many students in bay area. |
Lucia Pontoniere
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Lucia Pontoniere plays violin, guitar, sings, and writes songs. She graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in violin performance, where she studied with world-renowned fiddle players and violinists such as Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky, and Matt Glaser. Lucia began playing violin at the age of six and has always seen violin as her first musical love, but also enjoys songwriting and singing as a creative outlet.
Lucia grew up in the Bay Area, and after spending five years on the East Coast is excited to call it home again. She tours the country with her band called The Ladles, an indie-folk singer-songwriter group. In addition, she enjoys freelancing with different bands, teaching music, and doing studio work. Lucia has played on many band’s albums, and for a couple TV shows as well! Music is her greatest passion in life and she is so excited to share that passion with as many people as possible. Lucia has seen first hand how music can change lives, as well as be a fun and creative way to learn and grow. She has experience teaching all ages, both group classes and private lessons. Lucia has taught classical violin as well as fiddle, guitar, and voice. |
Luke Chiang
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Luke Chiang is an avid chamber musician with a passion for teaching. As a teacher, he
looks to nurture and unleash his students’ passion for music, allowing his students to further spread the great power of music. His pedagogical methods are based on what he has learned from working with today’s leading performing artists and violin professors. Although his teaching style is tailored to fit each student’s unique talent and personality, he believes that a versatile technique is built upon a strong foundation. This, in turn, allows the musician to fully express the composer’s intentions in their playing, while also expressing themselves. Luke acquired his knowledge of violin basics from the teachings of Ian Swensen, which echoes the teachings of the legendary Dorothy DeLay. From William van der Sloot and Michael Frischenschlager, he has learned exercises that build upon violin basics to create great technical ability. Luke has a diploma from the University of Sherbrooke, and Mount Royal University. He has won many awards in Canadian music festivals, and was a finalist in the Canadian Music Competition in 2018 and 2017. Currently, he is a student of Ian Swensen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under the Sergei Barsukov Scholarship for Violin. Luke is a proud Canadian-Taiwanese musician in San Francisco. |