Rosie Weiss
is an eighteen year old Billings native who has been playing violin since she was three. She joined the Billings Symphony at twelve, and has been a guest soloist with the Great Falls, Billings, Glacier, and Battle Creek symphonies, including this February’s performance of Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy in Billings. In 2013, she was selected by Carnegie Hall for membership in the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, which toured to Russia and England with Maestro Valery Gergiev and violinist Joshua Bell. This past summer, she received a scholarship to Boston University's Tanglewood Institute, where she worked with members of the Muir String Quartet, and served as concertmaster of Tanglewood’s Young Artists Orchestra. For the summer of 2015, she will once again tour as a member of NYO-USA, performing at Carnegie Hall and in eight cities across China. Rosie's violin teachers have included Laura Dalbey, Vikki Payne, and currently, Randy Tracy and John Kirk. Besides her music, Rosie enjoys science, hiking and camping, birding, travel, her three gigantic cats, and wild creatures of all kinds.
Last updated April 4, 2015
Ana Strong
started to play the violin at the age of four with Kathy Griffin as her teacher. Soon after, her family moved and Ana studied at the Suzuki Institute of State College, Pennsylvania. Upon returning to Billings, Ana rejoined Kathy Griffin's studio and continued with her for four more years. Now fourteen, Ana studies with Randy Tracy. She has played in the Billings Youth Orchestra, won the junior violinist award at Red Lodge Music Festival, and sat assistant concertmaster of the Concert Orchestra at Marrowstone Music Festival in Bellingham, WA. Ana has played with the Billings Symphony as violin intern since 2014. In addition to playing the violin, Ana loves running cross country, reading, tennis, and traveling. She is looking forward to all the musical opportunities that await her. Ana is excited to visit her sister in Boston the next 3 years.
Last updated May 25, 2015
Taylor Shea is an eighteen year old violinist and violist from Billings, Montana. He picked up his first violin in the fifth grade and began studying the viola after his freshman year of high school whilst continuing his studies on the violin. He is a graduate of Billings West High School. Taylor is a viola student of Amy Letson, but has previously studied the violin with Diane Fossen and Mary LaMonaca. In addition to being principal violist in the Billings West High Philharmonic Orchestra, Taylor has played in the Billings Symphony Orchestra, the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, and Interlochen Arts Camp’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra. Last summer, Taylor sat principal viola in the Young Artists Orchestra at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where he also participated in a two-week string quartet workshop with the world-renowned Muir String Quartet and other distinguished musicians from the Boston area. His non-musical passions include reading, writing, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and last but not least, playing video games. This fall, Taylor will head to Rochester to commence his studies as a viola performance major at the Eastman School of Music, under the tutelage of the renowned pedagogue Carol Rodland.
Last updated May 23, 2015
Rebeca Strong
began her cello studies at the age of five, on a 1/10 sized cello. She has studied under Melinda Payne and Rebecca Jackman, and is currently under the tutelage of John Kirk. Rebeca has been an intern with the Billings Symphony since 2012, and has played with several youth orchestras, including the NafME All-National orchestra in Nashville, TN as well as the Central Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra, Billings Youth Orchestra, All-Northwest Orchestra, and Montana All-State Orchestra, where she has held the principal cellist position for the past two years. In 2013, she spent seven glorious weeks at the Interlochen Arts Camp, where she studied under Astrid Schween and sat principal chair of the Interlochen Philharmonic Orchestra. This year, Rebeca was named a National Merit Finalist and the recipient of the 2015 Uri Barnea Music Scholarship. She is excited to go to Boston University in the fall, where she will study cello performance with Michael Reynolds of the Muir String Quartet. Rebeca spends whatever free time she gets reading, running, biking, and creative writing.
Last updated May 25, 2015