Faculty & Staff

Katherine Bormann joined the first violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra in 2011. She completed degrees at Rice University and the Juilliard School, studying with Kathleen Winkler, Joel Smirnoff and Ronald Copes, and subsequently became a member of the New World Symphony in Miami, where she performed as soloist and concertmaster.

Ms. Bormann has participated in the Strings Music Festival, Mainly Mozart Festival, Aspen Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Festival, where she was also a member of the contemporary music ensemble, New Fromm Players. She has appeared on the Wednesdays at One concert series at Alice Tully Hall, taught and performed as part of the annual Kent Blossom Music Festival, and served for four years as concertmaster of Northeast Ohio's Suburban Symphony Orchestra. 

Violinist Ivan Chan is a professor of violin and chamber music at the Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts and Shanghai University School of Music. As a visiting artist, Mr. Chan has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Meadowmount School of Music, Western Michigan University, Central Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Kent Blossom Music Festival.

From 1995 to 2010, Mr. Chan was the first violinist of the acclaimed Miami String Quartet. Winner of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, the Miami Quartet appeared regularly on premier series and festivals throughout the United States such as Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Cleveland Chamber Music Society, as well as Santa Fe, La Jolla, Music@Menlo, Angel Fire, and Kent Blossom music festivals among others. 

Wesley Collins joined The Cleveland Orchestra as principal viola with the start of the 2016-17 season.  He previously served as a member of the viola section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra beginning in 2012 and was promoted to third chair viola there in 2014.  Before joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he was a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 2008-12.

Wesley Collins completed his bachelor of music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music in May 2007, where he was a student of Robert Vernon (principal viola of The Cleveland Orchestra 1973-2016).  While in Cleveland, Mr. Collins played as a substitute musician with The Cleveland Orchestra, played in the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and City Music Cleveland, and served as assistant principal viola with the Akron Symphony Orchestra.  His summer activities have included the Tanglewood Music Center, Sarasota Music Festival, Encore School for Strings, and the Pacific Music Festival.

Alan DeMattia joined the horn section of The Cleveland Orchestra in 1984, after serving as principal horn of the Canton (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra and principal horn of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra. Mr. DeMattia earned a bachelor of music education degree as a horn major at Kent State University and a master of music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His major teachers were Roland Gamble, Samuel Gindin, and Richard Solis.

Mr. DeMattia is currently on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has been an instructor at music camps internationally, and he served as a clinician at the 34th International Horn Symposium of the International Horn Society, held in Lahti, Finland. Joined by his colleagues from the horn section of The Cleveland Orchestra, he appeared at the 40th International Horn Symposium in Denver in July 2008. Mr. DeMattia is a former member of the New Cleveland Chamber Players, Cleveland Lyric Brass, and the Cleveland Octet.

Mary Kay Fink joined The Cleveland Orchestra’s flute section in 1990 and made her Cleveland Orchestra debut as piccolo soloist in Vivaldi’s Concerto in A minor (RV445) at the 1994 Blossom Festival. She has since performed as piccolo soloist with the Orchestra at Severance Hall and at the Blossom Festival. Mary Kay Fink holds a bachelor of music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Robert Willoughby and a master of music degree from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Julius Baker and Paula Robison. Ms. Fink has also studied with avant-garde flutist-composer Robert Dick. She was awarded first prize in the 1986 National Flute Association Young Artist Competition. 

Before coming to Cleveland, Mary Kay Fink was a member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; the Madison Symphony, where she was principal flute; and the New York Philharmonic, where she was acting piccolo. She has appeared as a soloist with the Bismarck Symphony, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Madison Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (as a youth soloist), New Jersey Symphony, and the Ohio Chamber Orchestra.

David Alan Harrell joined The Cleveland Orchestra in 1995. Prior to this appointment, he was a member of the Virginia Symphony and the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and served as assistant principal cellist of the National Repertory Orchestra. He has also performed with the Erie Philharmonic, the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and Sir Georg Solti’s Carnegie Hall Project.

Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Mr. Harrell received his bachelor of music degree from the University of Alabama, where he studied with Carlton McCreery and was named one of the university’s most outstanding undergraduate scholars. Mr. Harrell received his master of music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with former Cleveland Orchestra principal cellist Stephen Geber and was awarded the Cello Prize in 1994. Mr. Harrell has been the winner of numerous competitions, including the Phi Kappa Phi National Fellowship, the top prize at the Birmingham Music Clubs, the Alabama Federation of Music Clubs, and the MTNA National Scholarship. In 1998, he received the Alabama Society for the Fine Arts Emerging Artist Award.

Internationally known and acclaimed violinist Benny Kim has performed as soloist with the orchestras of Chicago, Boston, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Hong Kong, and South Africa to name a few. In recital, he has performed in virtually every major city including two critically acclaimed recitals at the 92nd St. Y in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has collaborated with many of today's leading artists including Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Jaime Laredo, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Ida Kavafian. With Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg he appears on two recordings for EMI, Bella Italia and Night and Day. He was a winner of the 1983 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and received his bachelors and masters degrees from the Juilliard School in 1986. Mr. Kim has given countless masterclasses around the world and has been on the UMKC Conservatory faculty since 1995.

Stanley Konopka joined The Cleveland Orchestra in 1991 and has been assistant principal violist since 1993. He was previously a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and was principal violist of the National Repertory Orchestra.

As a chamber musician he was member of the Myriad Ensemble, has performed with the Miami String Quartet, the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio and at chamber music festivals throughout North America such as Taos, Lakes, Pensacola, Banff and the Reinberger Chamber Music Series at Severance Hall. Mr. Konopka has recorded chamber music on the Telarc and Azica labels with John Clouser, Yolanda Kondonassis, Massimo La Rosa and Richard King.

Amy Lee joined The Cleveland Orchestra as associate concertmaster in March 2008. She enjoys a varied performing and teaching career, equally at home in both orchestral and chamber music settings. She also serves as an artist-in-residence at Kent State University in the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music. Ms. Lee spends her summers as a faculty member at the Kent Blossom Music Festival in Kent, Ohio, and performs at various festivals, including Marlboro Music in Vermont.

As a soloist, Ms. Lee has appeared with orchestras world-wide, making her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 15. During her tenure with The Cleveland Orchestra, she has performed as soloist in Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, Luigi Dallapiccola’s Tartiniana No. 1, Franz Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy, and Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. She has also performed with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, National Gallery Orchestra, and Germany’s Baden-Baden Philharmonic, among other ensembles.

Amy Lee holds a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and a master’s degree from the Juilliard School. She is a former first-prize winner of San Francisco’s Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the Corpus Christi International Competition for piano and strings.

Pianist Donna Lee made her solo debut in 1990 with the National Symphony Orchestra.  She has since appeared as a soloist and collaborative artist at Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall and Terrace Theater in Washington, D.C. and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York City. She has also performed in Asia, Europe, and throughout the US, with performances in Wuhan, China; Brno, Czech Republic; and Maui, Hawaii. 

A native of Silver Spring, Maryland, Donna Lee earned her doctorate from Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, master’s from The Juilliard School, and Bachelor of Music from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she studied with prominent artist-teachers Julian Martin, the late Rudolf Firkušný, and Thomas Schumacher, respectively. A highly sought-after teacher and clinician, she has had numerous prize-winning students. She has taught at Peabody Conservatory, Bucknell University, and Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. Presently, Donna Lee is Professor of Piano at Kent State University; during the summers, she serves as artist-faculty at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. Donna Lee is a Steinway Artist.

Scott Lee has established himself as one of the most exciting and unique violists to emerge in recent years. Winner of the 1996 Concert Artists Guild Competition, he became the youngest winner in the Competition’s 50 year history. Some highlights of Mr. Lee’s concert schedule include performances at the Newport Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Chamber Music Festival, New York City’s Bargemusic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Musicians from Marlboro, Merkin Concert Hall, and Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Gardner Museum in Boston and the Metropolitan Museum. He also presented a New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall), and appeared as guest artist with the Miro String Quartet, at the Marlboro Festival and in numerous recital and chamber music venues across the United States. 

His chamber music partners have included such renowned artists as Cho-Liang Lin, Kyoko Takezawa, Paul Neubauer, Ani Kafavian, Fred Sherry, Gil Shaham, Felix Galimir, David Soyer, Peter Wiley, Gary Hoffman and Hilary Hahn. Scott Lee has been a featured soloist at the International Hindemith Viola Festival and at the 22nd and 24th International Viola Congresses. He is a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory and at the Idyllwild Chamber Music Festival and Workshop in California.

Spencer Myer's orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Boise, Dayton, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the Baton Rouge, Indianapolis, Knoxville, New Haven, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Springfield and Tucson Symphony Orchestras, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Mexico's Orquesta Filarmonica de Jalisco and Beijing's China National Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with, among others, conductors Nicholas Cleobury, Leslie B. Dunner, Robert Franz, Bernhard Gueller, Jacques Lacombe, Jahja Ling, Timothy Muffitt, Kevin Rhodes, Lucas Richman, Klauspeter Seibel, Steven Smith and Victor Yampolsky.

Spencer Myer's recital appearances have been presented in New York City's Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y and Steinway Hall, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center and London’s Wigmore Hall, while many of his performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WHYY (Philadelphia), WCLV (Cleveland) and WFMT (Chicago). 

An enthusiastic supporter of the education of young musicians, Spencer Myer has served as a guest faculty at the Oberlin and Baldwin-Wallace Conservatories of Music, and in the fall of 2015, he was appointed Artist-Teacher of Piano and Collaborative Piano at Boston's Longy School of Music of Bard College. Spencer Myer is a Steinway Artist.

Double bassist Charles Paul joined The Cleveland Orchestra in January of 2022, having previously served as a member of the double bass section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Houston Chronicle, and American Public Media’s “Performance Today” as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborator. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Paul holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Double Bass Performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University under the instruction of professors Paul Ellison and Timothy Pitts. Paul has received numerous accolades including 1st Prize of the 2016 TCU International Double Bass Competition, semi-finalist of the 2017 International Society of Basses Solo Competition, Tanglewood Music Center Fellowships in 2016 and 2017, Aspen Music Festival and School Fellowship in 2015, and Spoleto Festival USA fellowships in 2018 and 2019. Mr. Paul performs a wide variety of repertoire, performing as a member of the Teatro Nuovo Bel Canto Orchestra, a founding member of the Kinetic Ensemble, and with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. 

Jeffrey Rathbun became Assistant Principal Oboe of The Cleveland Orchestra in 1990, and served as Principal Oboe from 2001-03.  He was previously a member of the Atlanta, San Francisco, Oakland, and Honolulu symphony orchestras.  In 1988, he won first prize at the Lucarelli International Competition for Solo Oboe Players, held at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; his New York debut recital, in April 1990, was also at Weill.  

A Buffet Artist, Jeffrey Rathbun was the only North American oboist invited to perform in the 190th Anniversary Concert for the renowned instrument manufacturing company Buffet Crampon in Paris in 2015.  In demand as guest principal oboe, he has performed with the Boston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

Mr. Rathbun teaches at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and, since fall 2006, has served as lecturer in oboe at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and as a faculty member of the Cleveland Institute of Music.  He has been a visiting oboe professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Indiana University, and has led masterclasses at the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, and the New World Symphony, among other schools.  He serves as a member of the executive committee of the International Double Reed Society.

Keith Robinson, cellist, is a founding member of the Miami String Quartet and has been active as a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist since his graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music. Robinson has had numerous solo appearances with orchestras throughout the U.S. including the New World Symphony, The American Sinfonietta, and the Miami Chamber Symphony, and in 1989 won the P.A.C.E. "Classical Artist of the Year" Award.

Keith regularly attends festivals across the United States, including those in Santa Fe, Music@Menlo, Kent Blossom Music, Mostly Mozart, Vail Music Festival, Savannah Music Festival and the Virginia Arts Festival. Highlights of recent seasons include performances in New York at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, engagements in Boston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Paul and Philadelphia . International highlights include appearances in Bern, Cologne, Istanbul, Lausanne, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Taipei and Paris.  

Keith hails from a musical family and his siblings include Sharon Robinson of the Kalichstein Laredo Robinson Trio, and Hal Robinson, Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Keith plays a Carlo Tononi cello made in Venice and dated 1725.

Frank Rosenwein joined The Cleveland Orchestra as principal oboe at the beginning of the 2005-06 season.  He made his solo debut with the Orchestra in February 2007, in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, and most recently collaborated with the Orchestra playing Richard Strauss’s Oboe Concerto in September 2013.  Mr. Rosenwein served as principal oboe of the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera from 2002-05.  He has also served as guest principal oboe with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Mr. Rosenwein holds a bachelor of music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with former Cleveland Orchestra principal oboe John Mack, and a master of music degree from the Juilliard School.  An avid chamber musician, Mr. Rosenwein has spent many summers at the Marlboro Festival and has performed with the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and the Seattle Chamber Music Society.  As a teacher, Mr. Rosenwein holds the position of head of the oboe department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, teaches at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and is in demand as a guest artist and masterclass clinician in schools all over the world.

Robert Woolfrey joined the clarinet section of The Cleveland Orchestra in November 2008. Prior to his appointment, he was the principal clarinet of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (2007-2008) as well as a member of the IRIS Chamber Orchestra.

As a chamber musician Mr. Woolfrey has collaborated with Michael Tilson Thomas, Dawn Upshaw, and musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra. In recent summers, he has participated in a variety of music festivals, including Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival. Performances by Mr. Woolfrey have been heard on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, classical music station WQXR, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Two.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Mr. Woolfrey studied with Joaquin Valdepeñas and at Yale University with David Shifrin, where he received a master’s degree in music. Mr. Woolfrey is also an alumnus of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, where he performed as a soloist in Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto.

Afendi Yusuf joined The Cleveland Orchestra as principal clarinet with the start of the 2017-18 season. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he has appeared as guest principal with a number of North American ensembles, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, and the Toronto and Cincinnati symphony orchestras. As a guest musician, he has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, under the batons of Gustavo Dudamel, Edo de Waart, Gianandrea Noseda, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Yehuda Gilad.

A winner of a variety of concerto competitions, Mr. Yusuf has made solo appearances with the Colburn Orchestra, Royal Conservatory Orchestra, and the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has collaborated with performers Charles Neidich, Ronald Leonard, Martin Beaver, and with composers Georg Friedrich Haas, John Adams, and Anders Hillborg. He is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival and School, Brott Music Festival, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and the National Arts Centre’s Young Artists Program. He has been a participant of the Marlboro Music Festival since the summer of 2016.

Mr. Yusuf holds a bachelor of arts degree from Ontario's Wilfrid Laurier University, where he was a student of Ross Edwards, and an artist diploma from the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, where he studied with Joaquin Valdepeñas. He also holds a master of music degree and professional studies certificate from the Colburn School’s Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, where he was a student of Yehuda Gilad.