CLASSICAL MUSIC
Hosted by Christina
Ida Steadman was the director of the Coronado High School Orchestra for 37 years and taught orchestra for EPISD for 50 years. She was also principle cellist in the El Paso Symphony.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Ray Arreola is a professional musician and music educator in the Southwest region. Arreola performs with the El Paso Symphony, Las Cruces Symphony, Roswell Symphony, and Texarkana Symphony. He has served as the Artistic Director / Conductor of the Las Cruces Youth Orchestras, Orchestra Director of Franklin High School, Viola Sectionals Coach with the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras, and Orchestra Director of J. Paul Taylor Academy.
Andrew Griñé is a student at Coronado High School. Along with being a member of the band and orchestra at Coronado, he is an active participant in the El Paso music community.
Michael Way is a cellist, teacher, and publisher living in El Paso, Texas. He is the cello professor at the University of Texas at El Paso and maintains a high level private cello studio where students regularly place in the highest levels of the region and state levels. He is the owner of My Way Editions, a digital sheet music publishing company based in El Paso, Texas. In his free time, Michael enjoys watching TV shows, eating Indian food, and spending time with his lovely wife, Leslee and their two dog children, Doctor and Toby.
Dr. James O. Welsch is in his fifth year as Music Director and General Manager of The El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras and Associate Conductor of The El Paso Symphony Orchestra. A highlight concurrent with his appointment in El Paso has been his appointment as the first Music Director and Conductor of Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil México-USA, “The Bridge.” Dr. Welsch is committed to nurturing and mentoring musicians at varied stages of development and he encourages young musicians to learn and perform in ways that help them fulfill their individual goals and talents while they contribute to the success of the entire orchestra, which works to embody diversity in the organization and in programming always.
Susan Hernandez is the former orchestra director at Coronado HS in El Paso ISD. She has built award winning programs at elementary, middle, and high schools throughout El Paso. She is also the assistant-principal violist with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra a position she has enjoyed for many years.
Vanessa Cedillos is the Lundy Elementary orchestra director who is certified in Suzuki Violin pedagogy. She graduated from UTEP with a Bachelor's in Music and received a Master's in Violin Performance from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. As a performer, Vanessa is a member of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra and the Sónitus String Quartet.