Strings

Since 2003, Dr. Victor Liva has been the Director of Orchestras at Cleveland State University, where he conducts the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and serves as the coordinator of the String Area and Graduate Music Program. He is privileged to collaborate with a very accomplished applied faculty, which include members of the Cleveland Orchestra and nationally recognized ensembles, such as the Erie Philharmonic, the Canton Symphony, the Akron Symphony and others. He is also the Music Director of the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 2007, and is a member of the conducting staff of the Performing Arts institute of Wyoming seminary since its inception in 1997.

Dr. Liva is a frequent clinician and guest conductor, and he regularly works with youth ensembles. He has conducted several Nation Associate of Music Education sponsored regional orchestra festivals in Ohio, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, and in 2012 he conducted the Connecticut All-State Orchestra festival. He has conducted youth orchestras and coached youth ensembles in Oregon for the Music in May Festival, Pebble Beach, California, for the Music By the Sea Festival, and returns annually to the Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary, where he conducts the symphony and chamber orchestras. He was the conductor of the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra in Oberlin, Ohio from September of 2011 to May of 2013.

Dr. Liva has conducted professional and semi-professional ensembles. He has been a guest conductor for the Mihail Jora Philharmonic of Bacau, Romania, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and served as the Resident Conductor of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra in 2000 and 2001. He has guest conducted the Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra, in Scottsdale Arizona in 1999.

Dr. Liva has been privileged to collaborate with several highly accomplished artists, soloists, and organizations. He has collaborated with Cleveland Orchestra principal oboist, Frank Rosenwein, and associate concertmasters, Peter Otto and Amy Lee. Additionally, he has accompanied solo works with several Cleveland Orchestra members, including cellists, Bryan Dumn, Alan Harrell and Tanya Ell, violists, Art Klima and Joanna Patterson, horn player, Jesse McCormick, and violinist, Alicia Koelz. He has also worked with renowned artists such as pianist, Spencer Myer, Grammy Award winning pianist, Angelin Chang, cellist, Ovidiu Marinescu, and violinists, Odin Rathnam and Andrew Sords. Dr. Liva has collaborated with celebrated regional performing groups, such as the critically acclaimed Verb Ballet, the West Shore Chorale, the Cleveland School of the Arts orchestra, and the Almeda Trio.

Dr. Liva began his musical training as a violinist at the age of six with his Father, Ferdinand Liva, an acclaimed violinist, conductor and teacher of the Northeastern Pennsylvania region. He earned his undergraduate degree and Master of Music degrees in violin performance, and he performed with numerous professional orchestras throughout his career. Upon arriving in Cleveland in 2003, he was an active freelance musician with several of the area’s ensembles, but his increasing engagements as a conductor coupled with his full-time appointment at Cleveland State University and balancing a family life made it difficult to maintain his skills as a violinist. Eventually he turned his attention solely to conducting. Prior to his arrival in Cleveland, Dr. Liva served as assistant concertmaster of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, the Harrisburg Symphony, the Haddonfield Symphony, Augusta Symphony, Augusta Opera, Philadelphia Virtuosi, Wyoming Valley Oratorio Society, and many other orchestras.

Joan received her Bachelor degree in Music Performance from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her Master degree in Music Performance from Kent State University, where she had a graduate assistantship and taught a methods class for undergraduate education majors. After a pause in her music studies, she returned to play cello for Symphony West Orchestra, TrueNorth Chamber Orchestra and Heights Chamber Orchestra. Joan also performed with the Ohio City Cello Choir, as well as various chamber music recitals in the area. Her cello teachers include Maaike Harding, Lauren Dunseath, Robert Nicholson and Trevor Kazarian.

Joan loves to perform chamber music, and has a special love for music from the Romantic period. Her favorite composers include Rachmaninoff, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. When not participating in music, Joan works as a programmer analyst at a major sports team in Cleveland. She and her husband Rick enjoy spending time with their “Mighty Four” Ellie & Luna, and Sophie & Clyde.

Cellist, composer, and educator with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance and Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Kate studied cello technique and performance with Astrid Schween, who is the newest member of the Juilliard String Quartet, and with Edward Arron. She is the composer and music director of Dysfunctioning Just Fine, a new one-woman musical, which premiered at the UMass Curtain Theater (October 2016). The musical will make its NYC debut in June 2017 at the My True Colors Festival in Brooklyn New York. Kate has participated in other musical pit bands including the world premiere of Presto Change-o at Barrington Stage Company (2016), The Last Five Years (2015), Into the Woods (2014), and A New Brain (2014). Kate was a member of UMass Amherst Symphony Orchestra and Opus One string chamber group. Her other chamber music credits include string quartets, piano quartets, piano trios, and a clarinet trio. Kate enjoys playing, listening to, and composing a variety of styles of music including classical, pop, indie, rock, musical theatre and jazz.