Cello
Katherine Schultz began her musical journey as a violinist at age 3 in her local Suzuki program, but after 11 years of whining about having to practice while standing up her mother finally let her switch to the cello (she would now give anything to be able to practice while standing up.) In attempts to learn to sound less like a violinist playing the cello, she attended Interlochen Arts Academy and earned her BM and MM in Music Performance from Northwestern and Rice Universities. Along the way she played with groups such as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Houston Symphony, and was awarded a fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA.
Katherine moved from Houston to the Pacific Northwest in 2001, and to this day still maintains an intimate relationship with her Light Therapy Lamp. Her first job was as assistant principal cellist of the Tacoma Symphony. She tired of the drive immediately and thus resigned 12 years later. Katherine currently serves as the principal cellist of the Portland Chamber Orchestra, assistant principal of the Oregon Ballet Theatre orchestra, and a member of the Portland Opera orchestra. She can be found playing with many other local ensembles (some of whom even actually invited or hired her) such as Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Eugene Symphony, and Cascadia Composers, and music festivals such as Siletz Bay, Sunriver, and Oregon Coast.
Katherine’s first chamber music experience was attending a live performance of the Beaux Arts Trio as a 6-year-old, during which she got the hiccups 3 times. She has since developed a passion for the repertoire and camaraderie of small ensemble performance. In addition to being a featured chamber musician at the Siletz Bay Music Festival, Katherine has performed on the All-Classical radio show Thursdays @ Three with various groups such as the Lovejoy Trio. She plays with the WildWood and Stumptown string quartets and the viola/cello combo Atomic Duo.
Katherine’s interests include forcing her students to record themselves practicing, hunting for her frisbee in the woods at the disc golf course, and traveling to places that don’t require sleeping outdoors.
Katherine Schultz’s chair is sponsored by Gresham Center for the Arts Foundation.
The Cello section is sponsored by Cliff & Karen Deveney.
Kyle joined the cello section of Orchestra Nova Northwest (formerly Portland Columbia Symphony) in 2015. During the day, he is a practicing attorney with an emphasis in real estate law, making sure to leave time for practicing and performing on the side. Born and raised in Portland, Kyle performed with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and was cello section leader in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony his senior year of high school. During that time, he benefited from his studies with Hamilton Cheifetz. He went on to earn a degree in cello performance at Brigham Young University – Idaho, studying with Robert Tueller. He was the winner of the music school’s concerto competition in 2007 and a quartet competition at Boise State University. He attended the Aspen Music Festival and School in the summer of 2008, and later earned his law degree at Brigham Young University law school. Scarcely a year has gone by since starting the cello at age 11 that Kyle has not been performing with an orchestra of some kind. In addition to ONN, Kyle performs with ARCO-PDX and welcomes the opportunity to perform in chamber and orchestral settings. He lives in Sherwood, Oregon with his wife, Kellie and two children, Wesley and Ella.
Kyle Grant’s chair is sponsored by Eugene & Janet Grant.
The Cello section is sponsored by Cliff & Karen Deveney.
Isaiah Hsu’s chair is sponsored by Jessica Chou & Tom Chau.
The Cello section is sponsored by Cliff & Karen Deveney.
Born in Xinjiang, China, Quinn Kun Liu began her cello studies at age of eight and won her first cello competition at ten. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China and Master’s Degree from University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where she received a full scholarship.
As an orchestra musician, Quinn has played in a variety of orchestras such as San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Inland Valley Symphony, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra in China. Quinn is an active chamber musician and she has been invited to perform in several music festivals in the U.S. and Asia. In addition to music performance, Quinn is very experienced in teaching cello as well as working in music administration. In 2013, she was nominated to coach the cello section in Kurt Sassmannshaus’ Starling Foundation in Cincinnati. In the area of administration, Quinn has been the executive assistant of the Great Wall International Music Academy since 2012. In February 2015, she was the administrative assistant in the Virtuoso Music Academy.
Quinn moved to Portland, Oregon in 2017 and joined Portland Columbia Symphony in 2019. Currently, Quinn manages her home studio in the Bethany area, and has worked as the executive assistant at the Bravo! International Music Academy since 2016.
Aside from music, Quinn has a great interest in fashion, travel, and fine food, and she also works as director of operations at Abroad & Future Inc. for International Education Programs.
The Cello section is sponsored by Cliff & Karen Deveney.
A Midwest native, Anne has made Portland her home since 2015. She began her cello studies at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Wisconsin, and completed her B.M. in Cello Performance at DePaul University in Chicago. There, Anne studied with her beloved Gilda Barston, both in applied cello and in long-term Suzuki Pedagogy. Additional Suzuki training was completed with many prominent teachers at the both the Chicago and Oregon Suzuki Institutes. Studio teachers also included Joseph (Sam) Sciachitano, and in master class with Lynn Harrell.
In addition to her role with Orchestra Nova Northwest, Anne has played summers with the Breval Music Festival Orchestra (NC), the Chicago Civic Symphony, the Idaho State Civic Symphony, and the Green Bay Symphony. She has also performed extensively in the Chicago area with many chamber ensembles.
Anne has pioneered and taught for numerous Suzuki cello programs, including the Chicago Music Institute, Chicago Waldorf School, Baker Demonstration School, Univ. of Wis.-Oshkosh, American Suzuki Institute, Idaho State University, Rose City Music Academy, and many wonderful Suzuki programs in the Chicago area. She served as director of the Idaho State Summer Music Camp, and has maintained private cello studios in Wisconsin, Illinois, Idaho, and now with her own Sato Cello Studio in Beaverton, Oregon. She is an active member of the OSA (Oregon Suzuki Association) and the SAA (Suzuki Association of the Americas).
In Chicago, Anne had an additional 15-year career as a massage therapist, and in Portland studied at the School of Traditional Western Herbalism. She adores gardening, loves cooking, and revels in the abundant nature of Oregon while hiking and gathering medicinal herbs. Her adult children and husband are the joys of her life.
Anne Sato’s chair is sponsored by Pamela Schossau & Tom Trainor.
The Cello section is sponsored by Cliff & Karen Deveney.
The Cello section is sponsored by Cliff & Karen Deveney.