MEET THE MUSICIANS
STEPHANIE LINDSAY VIOLIN From Broadway to gourmet chef to music teacher to the Jacksonville Symphony – those are all stops along the way for Stephanie Lindsay. Raised in Southern Illinois, Stephanie studied classical music and played both the violin and the flute. After a year at University of Miami, where here she met her future husband, she completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University under legendary violin instructor Roman Totenberg. She took her musical talents on the road with national Broadway tours and eventually to the big lights of Broadway. She has also performed with artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Stevie Wonder. Stephanie now calls the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra home where she performs across the stage from her husband, bassist Jason Lindsay, D.M.A. A strong believer in the importance of music education, Stephanie has been a teacher with the Jacksonville Symphony’s Jump Start Strings program, Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra (JSYO) and Prelude Chamber Music Camp, in addition to teaching privately. At home, music is a central part of her family. Daughter Audrey plays violin in the JSYO while younger son James studies piano. When she’s not performing or teaching, Stephanie uses her culinary skills as a trained chef with The Natural Gourmet Institute, for fundraising efforts benefiting the Prelude Chamber Music Camp and spoiling her friends and family. By Amy Rankin Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to renovate the historic Marble Bank Building and transform it into Jacksonville’s newest hot spot for lunch and dinner, featuring sophisticated Southern cuisine by acclaimed chef Scotty Schwartz.
MEET THE MUSICIANS
JULIAN KAPLAN TRUMPET You might not think of music as a career path when your dad worked with the NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace and owned a NASCAR memorabilia store. Yet Julian Kaplan of Charlotte, N.C., decided to follow in his sister’s footsteps. She plays flute and went on to a degree in music education. His mom managed a music store and sold musical instruments. The Lincoln County public schools offered a great music program. Growing up he joined his sister playing in the marching band and concert band, and now they play together in the Coastal Symphony of Georgia. Julian attended the University of Kentucky. Upon graduation he has served as principal trumpet of the Lexington Philharmonic and has performed with the Atlanta Symphony and Asheville Symphony. Though he loves Strauss and Mahler, he’s a big jazz aficionado and has recorded a jazz album. His life’s goal, other than becoming a scratch golfer, is to play with the Zac Brown Band. By Amy Rankin | Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to renovate the historic Marble Bank Building and transform it into Jacksonville’s newest choice for dinner before a performance. Acclaimed chef Scotty Schwartz presents sophisticated Southern cuisine in an elegant setting fit for night on the town.
MEET THE MUSICIANS
Philip Pan concertmaster
Isabelle Davis Endowed Chair It’s hard to believe that Philip Pan has been cuing the tuning note for 30 years as the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster. He began making music in Jacksonville after earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay. With so many musical interests outside of the concert hall, this virtuoso fiddler’s musical journey sees no signs of slowing down. He performs and records many styles of music including classical, folk, country, jazz and rock. He plays on a variety of acoustic and electric violins, like the one pictured, a five-string fiddle made from exotic African shedua wood by Barry Dudley. He and his wife, Rhonda Cassano, are curators of classical music at the Cummer Museum and give frequent recitals there and at other local venues. Philip says: “The more I bring from one genre to the next, the better each one gets... they are mutually beneficial in terms of freedom of expression.” Philip’s band, Canary in the Coalmine, performs at many clubs, festivals and events including Freebird Live, the Cummer Gardens, One Spark, Magfest and the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. He’s involved in many local organizations including the Cultural Council, Art Ventures, Youth Leadership Jax and We Are Straight Allies. Philip enjoys many sports, particularly skiing, hiking and running.
By Rachel Hanauer Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to renovate the historic Marble Bank Building and transform it into Jacksonville’s newest choice for dinner before a performance. Acclaimed chef Scotty Schwartz presents sophisticated Southern cuisine in an elegant setting fit for night on the town.
MEET THE MUSICIANS
JORGE PEñA VIOLA By the time Jorge Peña finished high school, he had already completed a Bachelor’s degree in music. It was around then that he discovered a piece of family history about his grandfather. “He was the town musician at the turn of the century in little Santa Rosa de Copan,” said Jorge. “He composed and arranged pieces for schools, national holidays and other occasions.” Jorge has some original copies of his grandfather’s manuscripts, and he himself has written arrangements for his own performances. Jorge’s involvement in many projects has earned him the “Renaissance man” title. He founded the St. Augustine Music Festival with his cellist wife Jin, now the nation’s largest free classical music festival. Celebrating its ninth year, the festival will be part of St. Augustine’s 450th anniversary. He is also the general manager of the Coastal Symphony of Georgia and the conductor and music director of the Golden Isles Youth Orchestra in Brunswick. Early in his career, after a year of playing in the Kennedy Center orchestra, the Honduras native needed to win another job to obtain a green card to stay in the States. When he came to audition for the Jacksonville Symphony, Jorge was taken by the beauty of the bridges, water and Spanish moss. The auditions started at 9 a.m., and by 1 a.m. the next morning he won the position. Fast forward about 20 years, and Jacksonville has proven to be a great home for Jorge and Jin – now both U.S. citizens – and their three wonderful daughters. By Rachel Hanauer Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to renovate the historic Marble Bank Building and transform it into Jacksonville’s newest hot spot for lunch and dinner, featuring sophisticated Southern cuisine by acclaimed chef Scotty Schwartz.
MEET THE MUSICIANS
NAIRA COLA VIOLIN A violinist who has been featured on NPR, Naira Cola has been playing with the Jacksonville Symphony for two years now. Naira moved here from New York in 2012 and enjoys living in Jacksonville Beach with her husband Anthony. She loves to cook all different kinds of food and her favorite shows on Food Network are “Barefoot Contessa” and “Chopped.” Born and raised in Pensacola, Naira grew up on jazz, gospel and soul music. Her father is a pastor and organist, both parents are vocalists, and her four brothers and sister are musicians as well, the youngest an oboist for the Utah Symphony. She is an advocate of arts education and a pedagogue herself, and has instructed hundreds of students throughout Brooklyn and the Metropolitan New York area. Each summer Naira teaches and serves as artistic director at the Four Strings Academy in Boston, a four-week intensive program for young musicians enrolling more than 50 students every year. By Rachel Hanauer Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to transform the majestic Marble Bank Building into Jacksonville’s newest restaurant featuring chef Scotty Schwartz and his sophisticated Southern cuisine and artisan cocktails in a relaxed and elegant setting.
MEET THE MUSICIANS ANTHONY ANURCA BASSOON Anthony is the epitome of the hometown guy who made good. He always loved music and danced along to MTV as a child growing up in Jacksonville Beach. He took piano lessons to follow one musical sister and then went on to the violin. He also loved to sing. But life changed in seventh grade when he saw a video about the bassoon and thought it was cool. He describes his love for the bassoon as combining a lot of different talents – you use both your thumbs so being a video gamer helps, being physically fit is key because you have to blow a lot of air, and the sound covers the range of the human voice so it’s almost like singing. A graduate of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra, Anthony received his degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is very involved in the community supporting the We Are Straight Allies program and he recently joined the faculty at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Anthony has collaborated with local talent on Rivers and Lakes, an upcoming album release on Dora Doravitch Records. You’ll be able to hear it on vinyl. By Amy Rankin Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to renovate the historic Marble Bank Building and transform it into Jacksonville’s newest hot spot for lunch and dinner, featuring sophisticated Southern cuisine by acclaimed chef Scotty Schwartz.
MEET THE MUSICIANS STEVE MERRILL PERCUSSION It’s a long way from Texas to Indonesia but Steve Merrill has traveled that distance and then some. With parents who served as a piano teacher and a band director, Steve was able to have fun and hit stuff by playing the drums. He attended Southern Methodist and then received a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music. Somewhere in Boston he discovered gamelan music from Indonesia and was able to spend time in Bali learning about it. He calls the rhythmic tradition of gamelan exciting describing it for the novices as like playing a big metal xylophone. Steve has performed with the Boston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Ft. Worth Symphony, and Detroit Symphony. Summer fun has included the Lyrique-en-mer Opera festival in Belle-Ile, France and Tanglewood. Besides gamelan Steve is a big fan of jazz. For fun he likes to run, hike and pretend not be terrible at golf and tennis. By Amy Rankin Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to renovate the historic Marble Bank Building and transform it into Jacksonville’s newest hot spot for lunch and dinner, featuring sophisticated Southern cuisine by acclaimed chef Scotty Schwartz.
MEET THE MUSICIANS
Ellen Olson Viola Although she’s not really sure why she chose viola, once Ellen Olson began playing it in the fourth grade, she knew it was the right instrument for her. The public schools she attended had an excellent string music program, and as a student she always knew that she didn’t want to major in anything but music. Fortunately for her, she’s been able to pursue her passion. Ellen works alongside her husband, Jacksonville Symphony principal oboist Eric Olson. “I enjoy going to work with Eric. Sometimes I ask him if the violas are loud enough and sometimes he asks me how his solos sound.” Beyond the Jacksonville Symphony stage, Eric and Ellen perform with the San Marco Chamber Music Society, which they founded in 2008. It presents free concerts at St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the San Marco area. In Ellen’s free time, mostly during the summers, she enjoys pursuing many creative crafts. She went through a “Barbie phase” which involved repairing and customizing vintage Barbie dolls. She also attempted to collect and dress French antique reproduction dolls. She refinished some Mid-Century Modern furniture and painted and decorated the couple’s small Zuckerman harpsichord. She also loves making oboe reed cases out of old cigarette cases. By Amy Rankin Photo by Tiffany Manning
ABOUT THE LOCATION - Local developer SouthEast Group is set to renovate the historic Marble Bank Building and transform it into Jacksonville’s newest choice for dinner before a performance. Acclaimed chef Scotty Schwartz presents sophisticated Southern cuisine in an elegant setting fit for night on the town.