Matthew Cataldi (Violin | MM Northwestern University, BA Indiana University) has been actively performing for over 20 years.  Degrees from Indiana and Northwestern University, he has made solo, chamber, and orchestra performing appearances in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark and Holland.  A recipient of numerous solo awards, Mr. Cataldi performs regularly with the Elmhurst, Rockford and Green Bay Symphony Orchestras and has also performed with the Lancaster Festival, Columbus, Springfield, Westerville, Richmond, and Mansfield Symphony Orchestras. 

Mr. Cataldi founded Caprice Music Ensembles in 2000 in Columbus, Ohio with the vision of bringing high quality art to audiences of all types.  He has helped staff many local and professional Chicago-based orchestras and chamber ensembles that have received critical acclaim from presses across the mid-west.

A guest artist with San Francisco Summer Music Festival, Sung-Shin Women’s Symphony, Seoul National Symphony, and New Seoul Philharmonic Symphony, Grace Ko (Violin) has won many awards for her interpretation in violin literature. Her education stems from studies with teachers such as Nam-Yoon Kim, Ho-Young Pi, James Buswell, Henryk Kowalski and Yuval Yaron.  Mrs. Ko obtained her performance degree from New England Conservatory and has been actively performing violin since her early days at Seoul Private Arts Academy.  She has performed professionally with the Arizona National, Phoenix, Rockford, Northbrook, and Lancaster Festival Symphony Orchestras.

A 6-category Grammy nominated artist, Shawn Maxwell (Saxophone) is one of the foremost musicians in the field of jazz.  A clinician for numerous artists, he has given many performances in the States and throughout Europe.  His high energy style has earned him many devoted audience members and a trademark voice amongst other performers.  His latest album "Originals" was reviewed with critical acclaim as a "fresh-sounding brand of jazz" and "excellent."  Shawn currently maintains a studio of private students and is one of the honored Performance & Educational Artists with the Conn-Selmer Company.  The Shawn Maxwell Quartet is the resident jazz group for Caprice Music Ensembles.

Samuel Nordlund (Cello | MM, Northwestern University, BM, University of Alabama) is an active teacher and professional cellist in the Chicagoland area. He currently plays with the Northwest Indiana and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra while simultaneously maintaining a private studio of about 15 students.  In addition, he is a substitute player with the Chicago, Milwaukee, and the New Philharmonic Symphony Orchestras.  Previous public performances have included the Music Institute of Chicago’s ‘Faculty and Friends’ series, ‘Sundays at Sherwood’ (Sherwood Conservatory), and performances at Preston Bradley Hall (Chicago Cultural Center), the Meadowmount School of Music, Northwestern University, and with the Chinese Fine Arts Society of Chicago.  Samuel was the Teaching Assistant of Hans Jensen at Meadowmount (2006), and is an alumnus of summer festivals including the Music Academy of the West, Blossom Music Festival, ENCORE, Tanglewood, Brevard, and Interlochen Arts camp. He has also been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a coach for the Chicago Youth Orchestras, National Finalist in the 2003 MTNA competition, winner of the 2003 Evanston Music Clubs Scholarship, and soloist with the Huntsville (AL) and Huxford (AL) Symphonies. Previous teachers include Hans Jensen, Carlton McCreery, Richard Aaron, Alan Stepansky, and Steven Geber.

Chicago-based cellist Ellen O'Hayer is at home in a variety of musical settings. She has performed in numerous venues, from LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall to the David Letterman Show.  While on scholarship at the Henri Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, Ellen appeared in pop legend Burt Bacharach's live orchestra. In 2007, as a member of the touring band for the Bright Eyes world tour, she performed throughout North America, Europe, and Japan, and appeared in the band's "Hot Knives" music video. Ellen is also a member of the Chicago indie-rock ensemble Gabardine, and she played on the self-titled 2007 album by the Chicago chamber-rock band The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir.  Ellen currently serves as Principal Cellist with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra and has also played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra.  Ellen received her Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from the DePaul University School of Music, where she studied with Stephen Balderston, former Assistant Principal Cellist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  She continued her music education at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of the Performing Arts with CSO cellist Richard Hirschl and the CSO’s Assistant Principal Cellist, Ken Olsen. 

Maria Ritzenthaler (Viola) is an accomplished chamber and orchestral musician, with extensive experience in musical outreach programs.  She received her undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison under the study of Sally Chisholm of the Pro Arte String Quartet.  During her time in Madison , Ms. Ritzenthaler also participated in the “Up Close and Musical” outreach program as violist of the Hunt Quartet.  She recently completed her master’s degree at Roosevelt University where she studied with internationally renowned violist, Roger Chase.  Throughout her career, Maria has received many honors, including the Richard Blum Viola Award in 2002.  Some highlights in her professional experiences include performing as a tenured violist of the Madison Symphony, participating in the Aspen Summer Music Festival, and international solo and chamber music performances as part of the Casal Maggiore Summer Music Festival in Italy .  She is currently a regular member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago where she has been privileged to work with conductors such as Bernard Haitink and Pierre Boulez.  Ms. Ritzenthaler also enjoys teaching privately, performing outreach concerts through the Civic Orchestra’s MusiCorps program, and guest lecturing at Columbia College.

While still in grade school, Linda Oper (Violin) has made her love for music apparent through performances with Chicago Civic and Elgin Symphony Orchestra.  Degrees with distinction in performance from Indiana and Roosevelt University, her playing experiences have taken her all around countries in North America. Her love for chamber music led her to serve as Concertmaster for the Breckenridge Colorado Festival Orchestra where she also served as first violinist for their quartet in residence.  During the regular year, Linda performs in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic (Concertmaster), Southwest Florida Symphony (Assistant Second Violin), Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Joffrey Ballet, and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra. Her love of teaching has led to appointment position as adjunct faculty of violin at Elgin Community College, Director of the Chamber Music Program with the Elgin Youth Orchestra, and Personnel Manager of Rockford Symphony Orchestra.  As a complement to her traditional ventures, Linda has also performed with many popular musical figures such as Led Zepplin, Burt Bacharach (WTTW Soundstage), Andrea Bocelli, and Amy Grant.

Victor Sotelo (Cello) has been an established performer in the Chicago-area for the past 5 years.  A prizewinning artist, he has won awards from the Sphinx Competition, American Opera Auditions, the Arts and Recognition Talent Search in Miami and the Hellam Young Artist Competition.  Victor has appeared on the WHAS morning show and has given solo performances with Louisville Symphony Orchestra on their regular subscription series.  A finalist in the ASTA National Solo Competition, he was invited to participate in a joint recital at the 2003 American Cello Congress.  In 2004, Victor performed in a masterclass for Joel Krosnick at the Luigi Silva Centennial Celebration in Greensboro, North Carolina.  He has also performed in masterclasses for George Neikrug and Carter Brey.  Victor received his performance degree from Northwestern University where he studied with Hans Jorgen Jensen.

Myron Silberstein is a concert pianist and chamber musician with nearly twenty years of performance experience. His performing credits include a New York debut at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, a gold medal at the Giornate Musicali International Piano Competition of 1991, and a Connoisseur Society recording featuring Franck's Prelude, Choral, and Fugue, which was named to Fanfare Magazine's "Want List" of 1996. Mr. Silberstein's activities as a chamber musician include a wide variety of public performances in the United States and abroad. He has been staff accompanist for the Giornate Musicali Festival and for Tolentino's Festivale Musica e Arte and orchestral pianist for Century Orchestra Osaka (1995 U.S. tour).  Equally at home with classical and popular repertoire, Myron Silberstein has been musical director for numerous community theater and cabaret performances.

Anna Steinhoff (Cello) is no stranger to the field or her instrument.  Originally from Ann Arbor, Anna is an active member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra.  While studying for her bachelor's degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, she studied with Peter Rejto and has recently graduated with from Northwestern University with a Master's in Cello Performance while studing with Hans Jorgen-Jensen.  Anna has a wide range of musical interests from early to contemporary music,has performed with the International Contemporary Ensemble and in the debut performance of Chicago's new period instrument orchestra, Baroque Band. Her cello sounds can also be found on the albums of several rock bands, including Saturday Looks Good To Me and the Function Ensemble.

A veteran performer for many years, Carol Yampolsky (Violin) has carved a name for herself in Chicago and around the world.  A core violinist of Caprice Music Ensembles, she also serves as Principal Second Violin for Elmhurst Symphony, Assistant & Associate Concertmaster positions for the Illinois Philharmonic, and is a core violinist with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.  Her tours have led to featured performances on Wisconsin & Chicago public radio’s and have landed her performances in England, Canada, New England and South Africa.  Carol received her Bachelor’s in Violin Performance from the University of Toronto.

Distinguished Alumni Members
An active performer for most of her life, Er-Gene Kahng (Violin) has taken her talent and vision of music from coast to coast and abroad in the East.  During her studies, she has performed as a core and guest artist with Norwalk, Wallingford, Eastern Connecticut, Waterbury, Lancaster, New Haven and Albany Symphony Orchestras.  Serving as Principal Second Violin in Chicago's world renowned Civic Symphony Orchestra, she received the necessary training to become one of the more distinguished artists in the Chicagoland area.  Ms. Kahng received her Performers Certificate from Yale and her Doctorate in Violin Performance from Northwestern Universities and currently is Faculty of Violin at the University of Arkansas.

Sara Matayoshi (Violin) earned her Bachelor's in Violin Performance from the Northwestern University School of Music.  She has performed with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and the Madison Symphony Orchestra and has participated in various music festivals including Charles Castleman’s Quartet Program, Meadowmount, and Internacionales de Musica de Guimaraes in Portugal. She is currently continuing her studies at the Longy School of Music in Boston.

Alex Stevens (Violin) received his Bachelor's in Violin Performance from Florida State University while studying with Eliot Chapo and Gary Kosloski.  There on full scholarship, he led as Concertmaster of the University Philharmonia and Opera Orchestra his first year out and also performed as Principal Second Violin.  Continuing to perform professionally, Alex appeared in concert with the Tallahassee, Pensacola, Valdosta, Albany, and Orlando Symphony Orchestras.  After his stay in Florida, Alex moved to Chicago to continue developing his performance skills.  He received his Master's in Violin Performance as a Eckenstein Grant Award winner from Northwestern University while studying with Gerardo Ribeiro.  Alex currently is a new member to the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has been playing weddings, dinners, religious ceremonies and various other private functions for the past seven years.