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.
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.
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.
