Thursdays @ Three

Charles Noble has been assistant principal viola of the Oregon Symphony since 1995. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Oregon Symphony, as well as with the orchestras of the Cascade and Sunriver music festivals in central Oregon.

Charles holds degrees from the University of Puget Sound, the University of Maryland, and the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where his primary teachers were Joyce Ramée, Joseph de Pasquale, Michael Tree, and Roberto Díaz. Charles has won several prizes and awards, including the C.D. Jackson Award at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Israel Dorman Memorial Award at Peabody, and first prize at the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Frances Walton Competition.

In summer, Charles serves as principal viola of the Sunriver Music Festival. He has also played with the Oregon Bach Festival orchestra since 1996, is a frequent performer at the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival, and was a participant in the 2015 Bang on a Can Marathon in New York City. In 2002, 2004, and 2006, Charles was a featured performer at the International Viola Society’s annual Congress.

In addition to his orchestral work, Charles is an active chamber musician. He is a founding member of both the Ethos and Arnica String Quartets, and has been a member of the Third Angle String Quartet since 2014. In addition to his busy performing schedule, Charles teaches viola at the University of Portland. He plays on a 1997 Gabrielle Kundert viola.

Award-winning and acclaimed as “stunning and emotive” (Eugene Register-Guard), Cameron O’Connor enjoys a diverse career in solo, chamber, and contemporary music. A strong believer in the importance of the accessibility of arts for the public, Cameron has spearheaded several events, such as free concerts at elementary schools and libraries, and has performed at several Classical Revolution Los Angeles events. He is furthermore a prizewinner in many international competitions, including the Frances Walton and Tokyo International Guitar Competition. O’Connor’s teaching experience ranges from the Music Advancement Program at the Juilliard School to the Aspen Music Festival and School, and at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music as a graduate assistant.

O’Connor was a full scholarship recipient at CSU Northridge, where he studied guitar with Ron Borczon and lute with Ron Purcell; the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied with Sharon Isbin; and at the USC Thornton School of Music under William Kanengiser. Upon receiving his degree, the Thornton School recognized him as the Outstanding Doctoral Graduate of his class. He has served on the faculties of Oregon State University, CSU Bakersfield, Riverside City College, and Bakersfield College, and his compositions and arrangements can be found through LACG Editions (lacg.net).

Violinist Sasha Callahan has established a vibrant and diverse career as recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician. She has performed extensively throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Japan and is a founding member of Sheffield Chamber Players and the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival. As an active chamber musician, Sasha can often be heard playing duos with her husband, cellist Leo Eguchi, as well as performances with groups such as the Aurea Ensemble, Walden Chamber Players, the Corigliano Quartet, the Lunaire Quartet, Trio Veritas, and ALEA III, and frequent chamber performances at the New Hampshire Music Festival (even on the occasional mountain top).

Leo Eguchi has been described as “copiously skilled and confident” (New York Times) with performances that were “ravishing” (New Bedford Standard-Times) and “played with passion and vitality” (Boston Music Intellegencer). A native of Michigan, Leo has performed extensively across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.  He enjoys an active and multi-faceted performance schedule – Leo can be heard in myriad chamber music settings, including the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival and Sheffield Chamber Players; in larger ensembles as principal cellist of the New Bedford Symphony, a member of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival and the Portland Symphony; and in frequent appearances with the Boston Pops and Boston Ballet.

Learn more about Sasha Callahan, Leo Eguchi, and the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival here – including more information about WVCMF’s upcoming virtual season!

The Oregon Symphony welcomed Concertmaster Sarah Kwak to the orchestra in August 2012, when she performed as soloist on Carlos Gardel’s Tango on the annual Waterfront Park Bowl concert program. Since then, she has performed to critical acclaim throughout Oregon. Hailed as a “world-class soloist,” Kwak is renowned for her “lyrical depth, thoughtful phrasing, myriad shadings of tone, and easy technical prowess.”

Vali Phillips joined the Oregon Symphony in 2012. Before moving to Portland, Vali was a longtime member of the Minnesota Orchestra, with whom he served as principal second violin for 11 seasons before joining the first violin section in 2008. Vali made his solo debut with Minnesota, performing Bruch’s First Violin Concerto in 2001; during his tenure, Vali also soloed with Dvořák’s Romance, the “Summer” concerto from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and in 2007, Bach’s Double Violin Concerto with then-first associate concertmaster Sarah Kwak.

Pianist Cary Lewis is in frequent demand as a collaborative pianist for soloists and chamber music groups. He joined William Preucil (concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra) and his wife, cellist Dorothy Lewis, to form the Lanier Trio, whose recording of the complete Dvorak Trios was honored by TIME Magazine as one of the Ten Best Recordings in 1993. With degrees from the University of North Texas as well as a doctorate and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, he was a Fulbright scholar for two years in Vienna. In recent years he has participated in festivals in Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Hawaii, St. Croix and Turkey, and has recorded over three dozen albums.