Season Schedule

MUSICIANS' BIOS

Violinist Victoria Moreira, founding member of the Kaia String Quartet (WFMT 2017 Ensemble-in-Residence) has performed extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Asia and South America. First Prizewinner of Viva El Tango Agustin Carlevaro Competition and Music Director of the American Tango Institute, Moreira’s diverse musical background keeps her involved internationally in the Tango scene.

Her latest recording projects include Quartango, an album of tango for string quartet; Latinoamerica, a CD of all Latin-American works and a co-production with Mark Sonksen Vicisitudes with Tangata Ensemble. Previous projects include Sonksen’s Postales del Sur and Argentina Tango on Stage, with Carlos Marzan and his ensemble in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Moreira has been involved as a solo, chamber and orchestral musician in Chicago as concertmistress of Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Concertmaster of Northbrook Symphony. She has also performed in the Chicago Latino Music Festival since 2007 and at the Chicago Tango Festival since 2006. She performs as a soloist with West Suburban Symphony in Illinois yearly.

In addition to her membership with the Kaia String Quartet, she has also collaborated with Rush Hour Concerts, Ondas Ensemble, Intersection from Nashville, the MAVerik Ensemble and the national Chamber Ensemble of Uruguay. She was also winner of the 2010 DePaul Concerto Competition.

Moreira is a faculty member at DePaul University Community Music Division and has a private studio in the Chicago area. She is a passionate Suzuki teacher and devoted educator through her string quartet, including KAIA KIDS, an initiative through WFMT and PBS Kids. Other projects include Tango workshops for violinists at Old Town School of Folk Music, outreach concerts through Ravinia, Evanston in School Music Association, and Promotora de las Bellas Artes in Mexico.

Moreira studied at Escuela Universitaria de Musica, Montevideo Uruguay under Jorge Risi, received her Bachelor of Music at Roosevelt University under Vadim Gluzman and her Master of Music and Artist Certificate at DePaul University under Ilya Kaler. She also did a residency at Northern Illinois University with the KAIA String Quartet under the tutelage of the Avalon String Quartet.

Violinist of the Kaia String Quartet, Naomi Culp is a dedicated performer, collaborator, and educator in the greater Chicago area. As an experienced chamber, orchestral and solo artist Ms. Culp has performed extensively throughout the United States, Russia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. She was awarded first prize in the National Fine Arts Festival Competition, Washington, D.C. in 2003 where she gave a performance in front of the Capitol Building.

In 2011 Ms. Culp was invited to perform Schubert’s Cello Quintet with Yo-Yo Ma for Chicago Symphony’s Citizen Musician’s Week at the Fortnightly Club of Chicago.  As a current member of the KAIA Quartet, she has worked with the Muir String Quartet and renown composer, Joan Tower, during her residency at Utah Symphony’s Deer Valley Music Festival.

With an extensive orchestral career, Ms. Culp has served as Concertmaster of the Chicago Composer’s Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster of Harper Symphony and Guest Performer as Assistant Concertmaster of Miami Symphony.  In addition, she is an alumna  of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and currently performs with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra.

Outside the classical world, Ms. Culp enjoys collaborating with other ensembles and artists in  jazz, independent rock, folk, and world music projects.  She has also performed with touring and local musical theatre productions in the Midwest area.

Currently Ms. Culp is a faculty member at DePaul University’s Community Music Division. In addition, she maintains a private studio in the Barrington and Chicago area.

Ms. Culp holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Roosevelt University’s Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree from Northern Illinois University.  Her principle teachers have included Betty Haag, Desiree Ruhstrat, Yang Liu, Ilya Kaler and Mathias Tacke.

Violinist and violist Amanda Grimm enjoys a versatile career as a freelance artist in the greater Chicago area.  A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and Carnegie Mellon University she has performed as a soloist, recitalist, and concertmaster in both the United States and abroad.  Making her concerto debut at age fifteen with the Parma Symphony Orchestra, she has also soloed with the Baldwin Wallace Youth Orchestra, the Blue Lake European Orchestra, the Carnegie Mellon Baroque Ensemble, and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic as the winner of its concerto competition.  Also an active chamber musician, she has been a member of the Cerberus Piano Trio, the Logan Piano Quartet, and the Petar Jankovic Ensemble.  In 2017, she joined the KAIA String Quartet, a Chicago-based ensemble that advocates for the music of Latin America.

The current Principal Violist of the Elgin Symphony, Ms. Grimm has performed as a violinist and violist with the Milwaukee, Elgin, and Wheeling Symphonies, as well as the Chicago Philharmonic, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Illinois Philharmonic, of which she is assistant principal.  From 2009-2011, she held a position as a violinist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.  In 2012, she was appointed a member of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic viola section as well as selected as a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center where she also served as Principal Viola. She also served for three years as the Principal Violist of Orchestra Iowa.

Ms. Grimm is featured regularly on WFMT as a member of the KAIA String Quartet, performed on WQED Pittsburgh as the first violin soloist in a performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins, and was regularly broadcast on Iowa Public Radio as a performer in Orchestra Iowa’s Chamber Music Series. She was also heard live on WCLV Cleveland as concertmaster of the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra in a performance of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony under Sir Simon Rattle.

As an instructor, Ms. Grimm has maintained a private studio for fifteen years and has been on the faculty at the Merit School of Music, Chicago Opera Theater Education Division, Chicago School of Music, and Birch Creek Summer Music Academy. Dedicated to music education, she also regularly performs outreach concerts and programs in the Chicago Public Schools and at various schools, colleges, and universities throughout the country.

Cellist Hope Shepherd DeCelle is an active chamber musician, teacher and orchestral musician. As principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra Chicago and as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, she has played under renowned conductors such as James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Jaap van Zweden, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Sir Andrew Davis.

Ms. Shepherd performed with cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a number of outreach events as part of the Chicago Youth in Music Festival, Story Catcher’s Theater at the Illinois Youth Center and the annual Depauw University Discourse.

A dedicated teacher, Ms. Decelle has maintained a private studio for the past fifteen years and is currently a Suzuki cello teacher at the Merit School of Music and DePaul University’s Community Music Division.

Hope holds a Master’s degree from Rice University where she studied with Brinton Smith and a Bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University with Thomas Landschoot.