Johnathan Spence is a violinist, mentor, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Galatea Chamber Music. Based in Virginia Beach, his work centers on performance, mentorship, and expanding access to chamber music throughout the Hampton Roads community.
He holds a Doctorate in Violin Performance from Stony Brook University, where he studied under Hagai Shaham and participated in the quartet intensive program with the Emerson String Quartet. He is also a graduate of East Carolina University, where he studied with Ara Gregorian and performed in the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival.
In 2017, Johnathan returned to his hometown and founded the Spence Academy for Strings, offering private instruction and performance opportunities for musicians of all ages. The concert programming and outreach initiatives that grew from this work became Galatea Chamber Music, now a nonprofit presenting free concerts and community-based programs throughout Hampton Roads.
His path in music began at the age of ten, following the loss of his father, when he discovered his father’s violin. With the support of his mother and surrounding community, he pursued his training through scholarships, gaining access to mentors who shaped both his artistry and his sense of direction.
As both a performer and mentor, Johnathan approaches music as a collaborative and lived practice, grounded in attentive listening, clarity of intention, and shared responsibility. He believes in cultivating strong artistic agency, where musicians are not only technically capable, but fully engaged and willing to bring their whole selves into the music they create.
He is often found swimming in the Atlantic Ocean year-round, drawn to its rhythm, depth, and force—an ever-present influence on his perspective as an artist and the way he leads Galatea’s artistic vision.
Cellist
Timothy Paek is an enthusiastic chamber musician and dedicated teacher. Recent highlights of Timothy’s career include an appearance at the Brookline Library Music Association as founding cellist of the Meadowlark Piano Trio, and numerous concerts with Symphony NOVA. He has also performed as a guest on numerous faculty recitals at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Timothy completed degrees at Carnegie Mellon University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Nebraska—Lincoln; his primary mentors include Anne Martindale Williams, Melissa Kraut, and Gregory Beaver.
As an educator, Timothy has worked at the St. Margaret’s School for the Art’s summer music programs as a chamber music coach, private cello instructor, and eurhythmics professor. His prior teaching engagements include the Dedham School of Music, while occasionally subbing at the Chamber Music Connection. He currently teachers at the Community Music Center Boston and the Josiah Quincy Orchestra Program. He also completed Suzuki teacher training and certification at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
As the founding cellist of the Meadowlark Piano Trio, Timothy has performed in concert venues and outreach programs throughout the nation. A recent honor includes the semifinalist of the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition as Cellist of the Meadowlark Trio. Summer festivals include: Avaloch Farm Institute, Garth Newel Music Center, Round Top Festival Institute, Mimir Chamber Festival, St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, and the Caroga Lake Music Festival. Aside from music, Timothy loves to pursue culinary interests, dancing, basketball, and playing board games.
From classical to video game music, orchestral to chamber music, teaching small children to collegiate and pre-professional students, “Jake” has a varied career and expertise in performance, music education, and music administration. After completing his music degrees at JMU and MSU, as well as some years in Virginia, Jake has settled in the Greenville, NC area while continuing to perform and travel domestically and internationally. Jake is the second violinist of the Triforce Quartet, as well as Principal Second Violin of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. He has previously served as President of the Charlottesville chapter of the Music Teachers National Association, and Associate Concertmaster of the Waynesboro Symphony. Other passions include video games, food, dogs, piano, and bringing classical music to unlikely audiences.
viola
Hailed by the Strad Magazine for his ‘warm hearted playing and mellow tone’, Philadelphia based violist Andrew Gonzalez lives a fulfilling career as both a soloist and chamber musician, performing in prestigious venues throughout the United States, as well as halls all over Asia and Europe. As a sought after chamber musician, his playing has allowed him to collaborate with respected ensembles such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Sejong Soloists, as well as members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Tokyo, Orion, Borromeo, and Vermeer quartets. Also an accomplished teacher, Andrew served as a fellow of Carnegie Hall’s ‘Ensemble Connect’ from 2016-2018 and teaches chamber music in the Heifetz Institute’s ‘Program for the Exceptionally Gifted. In the fall of 2020, Andrew became the new violist of the Jasper String Quartet.
Proceeding performances with Sejong Soloists in China and Carnegie Hall, the Orchestra of Saint Luke's, and fall and winter tours with the Sphinx Virtuosi, Andrew Gonzalez’s recent schedule includes live stream recitals, recordings, and masterclasses. Engagements include livestream solo recitals with Baroquelyn and the Perlman Music Program, recorded performances featured on the Violin Channel, and masterclasses with the New England Conservatory prep program.
Also passionate about historical performance, Andrew Gonzalez frequently performs baroque viola and the violoncello da spalla. A student of Cynthia Roberts from the Juilliard 415 program, Andrew has performed in festivals and series such as the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, American Bach Soloists, the Boston Early Music Festival, Helicon, and many others. Andrew is one of the few people in the world who plays the Violoncello da Spalla, a five stringed mini cello that is played on the shoulder. In 2018, Andrew gave the New York City premiere of the entire sixth cello suite at Barge Music. Andrew is also a founding member of the New Amsterdam Consort, a New York based ensemble that centers around late renaissance and early baroque music.
A grateful native of Chesapeake Virginia, Andrew Gonzalez attended the Governor’s School where he was introduced to chamber music and symphonic music. This led to his affiliation with the Hampton Roads Chamber Players, an ensemble that he has since performed with and given masterclasses, as well as a concerto appearance with the Virginia Symphony. An avid orchestra player, Andrew performs frequently with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Orchestra of Saint Lukes, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, New York Classical Players, and Novus NY.
A recent graduate of the Juilliard School, Andrew holds both a master’s and bachelor’s degree under the direction of renown violists and pedagogues Michael Tree, Heidi Castleman, Steve Tenenbom, and Hsin-Yun Huang. When not performing, he spends his time playing tennis, kayaking, hiking, and playing with his two rabbits. Andrew performs on a 1930 Frederick Haenel viola modeled after a Gaspar da Salo.
Praised by the Boston Globe as a "committed and dynamic" performer, violist Dr. Samuel Kelder's interpretations of contemporary repertoire and virtuosic technique have led him to become a sought after soloist and chamber musician, traveling widely to work with many prominent artists and ensembles of today. In 2024 Sam launched Queer Ensemble Project with co-founder and cellist Mina Kim. Their mission is to uplift and celebrate queer artistry; amplifying the voices of queer artists, and creating concert spaces with the intent of building a stronger community around music. In addition to his faculty appointment at Boston University, he enjoys guiding a large private studio of violin and viola young artists.
Florrie Marshall is an acclaimed violist celebrated for her performances, teaching, and arts advocacy. Founder and artistic director of Sound Bridges International Company, Florrie premiered A Tale of One Viola at the 2022 International Viola Congress and American Viola Society Festival. Marshall has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the United Nations, and the Paax Festival in Cancun. She earned her master’s from the Yale School of Music under Ettore Causa and Steven Tenenbom and is now a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Yale. Her honors include the Graduate Music Award, the Philip Nelson Prize, and the Plank Foundation Artist Residency. She teaches at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Towson University, inspired by lifelong teachers Dora Mullins, Hye-Jin Kim, and Ara Gregorian.
violin
Dr. Leonardo Perez is a violinist, violist, conductor, and educator whose career spans performance, teaching, and artistic leadership. Currently, he is the Associate Professor of Violin and Viola at Dalhousie University, Founder and Artistic Director of the Dalhousie Chamber Music Residency Program, and Director of the Dalhousie Symphony Orchestra. An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, he has performed across North America, Europe, and South America. His performances blend core canonic repertoire with contemporary and lesser-known works, reflecting a dedication to artistic innovation.
Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, Jeff Phelps has performed locally with the Virginia Symphony, Virginia Arts Festival, Harbor Quartet, Virginia Musical Theater, Norfolk Chamber Consort, Stephen Coxe and Friends, and Galatea Chamber Music. Jeff earned degrees in cello and orchestral conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music and recently shifted to professional arts management working with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Jeff completed postgraduate study in cultural policy and arts management in Dublin, Ireland and currently serves as Director of Operations for the York Symphony Orchestra. Jeff enjoys high-altitude hiking, grapefruit, and adventures to live performances in far-off places.
Born and raised in Hickory, North Carolina, Santiago Vazquez-Loredo began his musical studies at the age of 11, through his hometown’s public school system. His orchestral engagements include the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. Santiago is currently on a one-year contract with the Minnesota Orchestra and has appeared as guest musician with the orchestra since 2022. As a chamber musician, he has appeared at Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin International Chamber Music Festival, and the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. Prior to moving to the Midwest, he served as violist and teaching artist with the Newport String Project in Newport, Rhode Island and as violin and viola faculty at the South Shore Conservatory in Hingham and Duxbury, Massachusetts. Santiago’s former teachers include Ara Gregorian, Hye-Jin Kim, and Kim Kashkashian.
