CMISC 2010 Faculty
Chamber Music Institute
Southern California
Chamber Music -- Private Lessons -- Composition -- Improvisation
10711 Ashworth Circle, Cerritos, CA 90703 ---- 562.804.2725 ---- 562.858.5593

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Music Teacher-Violin teacher-Viola Teacher- Cello Teacher
Kay Pech
, violinist and violist, is the founder/director of the Chamber Music Institute/Southern California. She retired in 2005 as the music director of the Cal Poly - Pomona University Chamber Players. She performed throughout the 90s with Trio Sirena, a piano trio dedicated to the performance of chamber music written by women composers.

Currently the Principal Violist of the Disneyland Orchestra, she has been the Principal Violist of the Downey Symphony and the Assistant Principal Violist of the Pacific Symphony. She has performed as a violinist and violist with the Long Beach Symphony, San Gabriel Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, Oklahoma City Symphony, Sioux City Symphony and was the Concertmaster of the Wichita Falls, TX, Symphony Orchestra.

She received the Bachelor of Music Education degree in violin performance from Morningside College and the Master of Arts degree in viola performance from the University of Iowa.

She taught chamber music for 21 years at Saddleback College, 10 years for the ASTA-Summer Institute of Chamber Music, and 8 years for California State Polytechnic University, Pomona chamber music groups.

Richard Anshutz, violinist and violist, is a symphony orchestra conductor, having led orchestras in Sioux City, Santa Barbara, Cedar Rapids, Grass Valley-Nevada City, Fairfield and Cheyenne.

He was the guest conductor of the All State Orchestra in South Dakota and he has taught on the music faculties of Sierra College, Westmont College, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was an assistant to world renowned music historian Karl Geiringer.

He has received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Morningside College and the Master of Music from the University of South Dakota, with additional conducting studies at the Aspen Music School and doctoral studies at the University of California - Santa Barbara.

Charles Baker, cellist, is currently a member of the Roselle and the Palo Verde Trios. He has performed solo recitals in the United States and in Western Europe and with Community Concerts of Columbia Artists Management.

He has done symphonic performing with the Rochester Philharmonic, Glendale Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Ojai Festival and Joffrey Ballet orchestras.

Teaching positions include the Eastman School of Music, University of North Texas, U.C.Santa Barbara, California State University, Fullerton, Southern Illinois University, and the Camp de Musique International in Neuchatel, Switzerland.

He received the Bachelor's, Master's and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees plus the Performer's Certificate in Violoncello from the Eastman School of the University of Rochester.

He has performed with numerous chamber groups over the years and has over forty years experience in coaching chamber music.

Donald Ambroson, violinist, has had an extensive career as a performer, giving recitals throughout Southern California, the Midwest, and in Norway, where he performed at the home of the eminent 19th century Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull. He has performed in many symphony orchestras, including the Pacific Symphony for many years, and has been active as a freelance musician in Southern California.

Dr. Ambroson received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in violin performance at USC, where he studied violin with Eudice Shapiro and conducting with Daniel Lewis. At the Claremont Graduate School, he earned the Master of Arts degree in performance, studying violin with Israel Baker. His undergraduate studies were with Leo Kucinski and Lauren Jakey at Morningside College.

He has been Artist in Residence at California State University, Fullerton, and has taught at other colelges and universities in the Midwest and California. For many years he has been a professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is currently teaching chamber music at Saddleback College.

In addition to his work as a violinist, he has undertaken self-directed studies in ethnomusicology, focusing on musics of Norway, India, and Norwegian-Americans. He studied the hardingfele (a folk fiddle from Norway) and Karnatic (south Indian) classical music.

Sarah Wallin Huff, violinist & composer, has been playing the violin since 1989, having studied under several different teachers, including Kay Pech. Additionally, she has studied Baroque violin technique with Los Angeles Musica Angelica violinist, M. Anne Rardin, and has performed on both Baroque violin and Baroque viola with the Claremont Graduate University Early Music ensemble Collegium Musicum.

She has also been a regular performer on four-, five-, and six-string electric violins with the Cal Poly Pomona MIDI Band since 2003, and she toured with the Continental Ministries from 1999 to 2002, performing as a singer, dancer, and violinist/fiddler across the continental U.S. and throughout eleven European countries. Within her touring groups, Ms. Wallin Huff has held several authoritative positions, including Assistant Director, by which she has gained experience in leadership, organization, scheduling, public relations, excellence in show production, individual counseling, rehearsal technique, and both choreographical and musical instruction. As of 2008, she is a member of the Orange County Symphony, has performed with other numerous orchestras and ensembles throughout California, and performs as a soloist for a variety of events and concerts, as well as participating on violin and viola on various recording projects. Some performance highlights include: performing and collaborating with pianist/composer Denise Young, accompanying Christian-artist notables Michael Card and Twila Paris, and collaborating with classical/hip-hop/rock artist Jake “ONO” Bhattacharya on his latest upcoming album.

Sarah Wallin Huff has been teaching music and violin technique privately throughout Southern California since 1998, offering personalized instruction at every level. As of September 2005, she is currently a violin teacher at the Claremont Community School of Music, as well as teaching from her own home studio. Wallin Huff was awarded her Bachelor in Arts in Music Education from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona in 2006, and her Master’s degree in Music Composition from Claremont Graduate University in 2008.

Sarah Wallin Huff has studied composition privately with Dr. Peter Yates (of California Polytechnic University of Pomona), Dr. Mark Carlson (of UCLA), and Dr. Edward David Zeliff (of Claremont Graduate University), and she has had her compositions performed in several concerts encompassing Southern California, including the prestigious Zipper Hall in Los Angeles. She has also arranged a wide variety of pieces for the MIDI Band at Cal Poly Pomona since its inception in 2003, as well as offering arrangements and transcriptions for students and professional colleagues. Her compositions range from solo works to chamber ensembles, to orchestral concert pieces and film and theater works. Her general style draws from such diverse sound-worlds as early and modern Classical (encompassing such composers as Bach, Beethoven, Ravel, Bernstein, and Glass), new age and electronica, world, and folk.

© 2010 Chamber Music Institute/Southern California, Inc.

Richard Anshutz & Kay Pech

Dr. Charles Baker



Dr. Donald Ambroson

Sarah Wallin Huff