Our Musicians

Below is a list of the musicians who played during the 2018-19 season.

First Violin

Jody Crafford

Kristen G. Price

Ueli Schweizer, concertmaster

Ardene Shafer

Wendy Steslicke

Debbie White

Kim Whitney

Second Violin

Miriam Bryant, principal

Jessica J. Davis

Hannah Hendricks

Emily Rubio

Destiny Schneider

Anne Marie Schwankl

Nia Smith

Eve Snyder

Judy Spivey

Viola

Richard Hoyle

Karen Huey, principal

Karla Perez-Hernandez

Emily Troutman

Cello

Elisabeth Crandall, principal

Jessica Dunham

Bill Hall

Matthew Holt, substitute principal

Alexa Hughes

Manly Lucas

Bass

Mark Snyder

Reinette S. Stephenson, principal

Flute

Kayla Brockhoff

Paula Rolka

Jessica T. Simmons, principal

Gloria Steslicke

Robin Whitten

Oboe

Zydae Joyner

Aria Milsap, co-principal

Janna Steinson

Thomas Turanchik, co-principal
 

Clarinet

Lecia Cecconi-Roberts

Kyle Kostenko

Lauren Winkens, principal

Pat Wright

​

Bass Clarinet

Melissa Mitchell

Bassoon

Cooper Blackley

Kathy Mathis, co-principal

Margaret Lawrimore

Jan Streifer, co-principal

​

Horn

Liz Hasty

Eric Keith, principal

Wilson Mericle

Robert Stagg

Robert Thomas

Denise Wallace

Pruette Wells

Trumpet

Frank Barlow

Ryan Elliott

John Enloe

Cole Merricks

James Old

Daniel Simmons

Isabella Taylor

Larry Wells

Trombone

Emily Armstrong

Scott Davis

Van Groce, Jr., principal

John Haas

Rob Keith

Josh Randolph

Bethany Wagner

Don Wazenegger

Tuba

Ian Dunham

Timpani & Percussion

Tony Buzzella

Jim Grant

Melissa Mitchell

Jeff Neal

Destiny Schneider

Tony Waller

Harp

Joe Hanna

​

Keyboard

David Almond

Melissa Mitchell

Concertmaster

​

Ulric (Ueli) Schweizer is in his eighteenth season as concertmaster of the LCCO.  A native of Georgia, Ueli began playing violin at age ten when his family moved to South Carolina.  With a B.A. in music from UNC-Greensboro, he is an active performer, playing regularly in a myriad of venues and for a variety of occasions in the Piedmont region.  As concertmaster, he has been highlighted as a soloist in several LCCO concerts, including performances of Dvorák's Romance and Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending. One of his interests involves acting and playing in Let Your Children Tell, a play produced by the Touring Theatre of North Carolina about children who were sent to concentration camps in WWII. He lives in Greensboro with his wife, pianist Dr. Mayumi Osada, and repairs string instruments at Moore Music Company.

Music Director

Tara Villa Keith is in her eleventh season as the LCCO's music director and in her seventeenth season as music director of the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra (DCSO) in North Carolina where she is an associate professor of music. With the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, she has served as a cover conductor and pre-concert speaker for several seasons, and was the premiere instructor for their Symphony 101 adult education program. Tara was a two-time assistant conductor for the Hot Springs Music Festival (Arkansas) and has guest conducted the Northwest School of the Arts Symphonic Orchestra, North Carolina All Eastern Regional Strings Orchestra, Union Symphony Orchestra (North Carolina), Macon Symphony Orchestra (Georgia), and Opera at USC (South Carolina).

In response to her music directorship in the Davidson Community Player's 2015 production of Chicago, the Charlotte Observer  “…[hadn’t] heard a better community theater orchestra in a long time.”  Tara has won several awards for her work with both the Davidson and Lee County Orchestras. Most recently, the DCSO was the national winner of The American Prize 2018 for Orchestral Performance in the college division. In 2012, 2013, & 2018, Tara was the national second place winner of The American Prize Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming for LCCO’s “The Elements” and “An Orchestral Bouquet” programs, as well as the DCSO's 2016-17 season. As a grant recipient and competition winner, Tara has also had the fortune of working with orchestras abroad such as the Campos do Jordão Music Festival Orchestra (Brazil), Das Kritische Orchester (Germany), the Vidin State Philharmonic (Bulgaria), and the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic (Czech Republic).

Off of the podium, Tara enjoys competitive ballroom dancing, practicing yoga, golfing, kayaking, free-lancing as a percussionist, playing with her many cats, and birding with her husband and principal horn, Eric (and yes, he was already principal horn before Tara began directing the group, in case you were wondering!) Tara and Eric are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their baby girl in October!