Margaret studied music at the Eastman School of Music while pursuing a bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Rochester. She has been published in peer reviewed journals and was a Fulbright recipient.
Margaret grew up in northern New Mexico and performed for a season with the Santa Fe Symphony before moving to Spokane in 2000 to try out a career in music. Her music teachers have included Masao Kawasaki, Oleh Krysa, Leonard Felberg, and Ron Patterson.
Working part time with the SSO has enabled Margaret to immerse herself in gardening, cooking, reading, and most recently, chamber music with the Selkirk String Quartet.
David began the study of violin performance at the age of 5 in Seattle under the instruction of Rebecca Lowe and continued his instruction over the years with Walter Schwede, Charles Avsharian, and Almita Vamos. In 2006 he received a Bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and later attended Northwestern University where he received a Master's degree with an emphasis in chamber music and orchestral literature. While studying at Northwestern, David was awarded a fellowship with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and served as the 1st violinist of the Lyrica String Quartet. In 2009 David won the position of assistant principal 2nd violin in the Spokane Symphony. Since moving to Spokane, he has performed frequently as a founding member of the Selkirk String Quartet as well as in collaboration with other members of the symphony and has served as the assistant concertmaster of the Northwest Bach Festival Orchestra since 2010. While not performing, David is an avid tango composer and arranger and also enjoys exploring the produce of Washington’s viticulture.
Angela has been a member of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra since 1982. She received Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and Bachelor of Arts in Education degrees from Eastern Washington University. She also earned a Master of Arts in Music Theory from the University of Oregon. In addition to her work in the symphony, Ms. Mitchell maintains a large private lesson studio working with elementary through high school viola and violin students. Her son, Chris, is a middle school student who participates in football and plays the tuba and trombone. Angela and Chris are both die hard science fiction fan, particularly fond of Star Trek and Dr. Who, and are waiting for the next season of Falling Skies. Angela is also a fan of all things British, and is a life long follower of the royal family.
I arrived in Spokane in 2000 after 23 years abroad and raising two children, ready for the exciting challenge of focusing on my career and playing lots of great music. Many wonderful people here have become close friends! I even have the best neighbors in the world. When I'm not doing the average musician thing of practicing, teaching, coaching, rehearsing, performing, arranging, or listening to someone else do something similar, I enjoy family activities, cooking, reading, gardening, yoga, walking, camping, volunteering, Scrabble, French, travel, and the occasional carpentry project. My father taught me how to use tools when he renovated the house I grew up in near Rochester, NY, and I begged fruitlessly to became a tree surgeon's apprentice when I was a teenager. Our neighbor across the street, who played harp in the Rochester Philharmonic, started me on piano when I was three, I think because my mother needed a break once a week, and knew I could tell the white notes from the black notes from upstairs while she was playing downstairs. (I was not allowed to touch the harp.) I began private cello lessons the summer after second grade through the public school system. During my growing-up years my family had exchange students from Uganda, France, Holland and India; three of my four siblings lived abroad for a year at a time. We all learned an instrument (or two) and with one sister I went on the city bus to Eastman School of Music every Friday after school, for lessons and theory classes, for what felt like endless years. Eventually I attended a music high school in Buffalo, NY then went on to Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and later, while in Brussels, served briefly as the assistant cello professor at the Conservatoire Royale. My teachers have been Dorothy Amarandos, Ronald Leonard, Alan Harris, Dodia Feldin, Benjamin Zander, David Soyer and Ana Dritelle. I feel infinitely grateful for the people and circumstances in my life that have allowed for my musical education and experience.