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Daniel Jordan
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Daniel Jordan performs on the ex Humphreys 1695 Peter Guarneri of Mantua violin using either a Dominique Peccatte or Joseph Fonclause bow, all on loan to the Sarasota Orchestra from the Steinwachs Family Foundation.
- Hometown:
Athens, GA
- Year Joined:
1998
- Education:
Bachelor and Master of Music – Cleveland Institute of Music; Graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy
- Passions and Interests:
Daniel is married to another violinist in the Sarasota Orchestra, Chung-Yon Hong, and they are the proud parents of their son Spencer. He really enjoys hiking with his family!
- Career Highlights:
Daniel's favorite musical memory was playing as concertmaster for a European tour with the New World Symphony, playing in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna!
Concertmaster
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Christopher Takeda
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Chris plays on a 1784 Joseph Gagliano violin.
- Hometown:
Albuquerque, NM
- Year Joined:
2001
- Education:
Bachelor of Music and Master of Music – The Juilliard School of Music
Associate Concertmaster
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Jennifer Best Takeda
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Jennifer performs on a 1697 Giovanni Battista Rogeri violin, generously donated to the Sarasota Orchestra by Ernest and Alisa Kretzmer.
- Hometown:
Goldsboro, NC
- Year Joined:
2005
- Education:
Bachelor of Music – North Carolina School of the Arts; Master of Music – Manhattan School of Music
- Passions and Interests:
When not busy performing or practicing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her greatest achievement to date, her young son Carter.
Assistant Concertmaster
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Michael Turkell
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Michael plays on a violin made by Enrico Marchetti in Cuorgnè in 1895, which he acquired in 2016.
- Hometown:
Los Angeles, CA
- Year Joined:
2022
- Education:
BM - San Francisco Conservatory of Music; MM - Cleveland Institute of Music; MM - Cleveland Institute of Music
- Passions and Interests:
Michael tells us: "I'm passionate about biking, and I can't wait to bike the entire Legacy Trail. I also love going hiking, and I one day hope to hike the cables on Half Dome in Yosemite NPS I also hope to one day visit every single park in the US National Park System.
"I'm also a huge pizza fan—I once spent 18 days in New York City, and every single day I was there, I tried a new pizza place...some days, I had pizza for lunch and dinner (mercifully, never breakfast).
"Since the summer of 2020, I've been very involved with committees, projects, and causes geared toward making our art form more accessible, equitable, inclusive, and reflective of our ever-changing society, and I'm looking forward to continuing that work here in any way that I can help."
- Career Highlights:
At the New World Symphony: Being concertmaster for Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade with Marin Alsop on the podium in December 2021; being concertmaster for Michael Tilson Thomas' final concert as Artistic Director of NWS, performing Mahler's Fifth Symphony; going on tour with NWS to perform two different concerts at Carnegie Hall, Michael's first time at the legendary venue.
Chamber music: Performing string sextets with some of his closest friends in Chicago and Miami Beach in 2021; performing piano quintets on Holland America Line cruise ships from 2017-2019, including recording Brahms' Piano Quintet in Juneau, AK, in August of 2018; performing Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello with a dear friend, Victor Minke Huls; performing sonatas with another dear friend, Maria Parrini.
Michael adds, "Performing Mahler 1 at the Berlin Philharmonie with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2012 was a hugely inspiring moment for me and everyone else in the group."
Principal Second
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Meghan Jones
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Meghan plays on a Carl Becker Sr. violin manufactured in 1919 and a Eugene Sartory bow.
- Hometown:
Edina, MN
- Year Joined:
2002
- Education:
Bachelor of Music - Northwestern University; Master of Music - Boston University
- Passions and Interests:
Meghan has a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do!
- Career Highlights:
One of Meghan's career highlights is performing the Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello with her little brother in his junior year undergraduate recital.
Assistant Principal Second
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Katherine Baloff
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Katherine currently plays a 2004 Benjamin Ruth violin made in Boston.
- Education:
Bachelor of Music – DePaul University; Master of Music and Professional Performance Certificate – Lynn Conservatory of Music
- Passions and Interests:
Aside from orchestra and chamber music, Katherine loves traveling to new places and especially trying new foods! She also loves to cook and play tennis.
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Felicia Brunelle
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Felicia plays a beautiful Jean Baptiste Vuillaume of Paris violin made in 1856. This is the Sarasota Orchestra's violin generously donated by the late David Cohen. Felicia feels honored to continue the legacy of playing this violin with the Sarasota Orchestra.
- Hometown:
1989
- Year Joined:
Minneapolis, MN
- Education:
Bachelor of Music – University of Minnesota; Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts – State University of New York at Stony Brook
- Passions and Interests:
Felicia enjoys working with patients on their health using acupuncture. She received training in Sarasota at the East West College of Natural Medicine with a Bachelor of Professional Health Sciences and a Master's degree in Oriental Medicine.
- Career Highlights:
One of Felicia's most cherished memories was when she played under Leonard Bernstein as principal second at Tanglewood. The orchestra played Copland's Third Symphony with Copland himself in the audience. Felicia says of the experience: "The first thing he said when we started rehearsals was, 'Who is Felicia?' Apparently his wife was named Felicia, but it really shocked me! The concert was so incredible for me that I cried when it was over and the audience cheered for 20 minutes."
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Léna Cambis
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Léna plays a handcrafted violin specially made for her by Italian luthier Vittorio Villa in his Cremona workshop in 2016. Despite being so new, her violin already sounds like velvet, yet is very powerful as well.
- Hometown:
Montpellier, France
- Year Joined:
2000
- Education:
1er prix Conservatoire National de Montpellier, France; Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance - Royal College of Music, London, United Kingdom.
- Passions and Interests:
Léna enjoys teaching, cooking, baking, gardening, traveling the world with her children.
- Career Highlights:
One of Léna's career highlights is competing in her first International Violin Competition in Rome, Italy. She prepared intensively for four months and learned some of the most difficult violin repertoire. This experience helped her acquire self-discipline to a level she never knew existed. She won 2nd place after three very stressful rounds. Since she was still very young, her older brother Romain chaperoned her, and sharing this incredible experience with him made them very close.
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Anne Chandra
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Anne plays on a Paul Bailey French violin made in 1903.
- Hometown:
Dayton, OH
- Year Joined:
2002
- Education:
Bachelor of Music - University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; Master's Degree - Rice University
- Passions and Interests:
Anne and her husband, Sarasota Orchestra principal clarinetist Bharat Chandra, run a non-profit called, KAETA (Kids and Elders through Arts). Some of Anne's most rewarding experiences have been witnessing the connections that happen when people of two different generations spend time together, people who too often aren't given the chance to meet.
- Career Highlights:
Anne's fondest musical memory is her Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall in 2001.
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Yen-Ling Chen
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Yen-Ling performs on an Italian 1926 violin.
- Hometown:
Kaushuing, Taiwan
- Year Joined:
2003
- Education:
Bachelor of Music – Manhattan School of Music; Master of Music – SUNY Purchase
- Passions and Interests:
Yen-Ling's interests include cooking, hiking, going to museums, and having a great time with her dear friends!
- Career Highlights:
Some of Yen-Ling's career highlights include: being invited to perform for the mayor of Chiayi city, Taiwan the end of this summer 2019, and receiving an excellent music review from Robert Coleman for her Beethoven solo in Utah:
"Beethoven included a violin solo in the Sanctus movement, intended to portray the Holy Spirit descending to Earth. Concertmaster Yen-Ling Chen played the part with glowing tone and faultless technique. Chen created a transcendent and subliminal feeling, and the combined musical forces made this section the concert's highlight."
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