Venezuelan violinist Laura Herrera began playing at the age of seven in La Casa de la Cultura of Carora. In 2018, Laura completed her high school education at Interlochen Arts Academy graduating with high honors. She was then awarded a scholarship to the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance studying under Almita Vamos and MingHuan Xu, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2022. Laura went on to pursue a Master degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, studying under Benny Kim. During her graduate studies, she was part of the UMKC Graduate Fellowship String Quartet and was added to the Kansas City Symphony sublist.

Laura has had the privilege of studying with world-renowned violinists, including Ilya Kaler, Nancy Wu, and Nurit Patch, and has participated in masterclasses with artists such as Charles Castleman, Robert Chen, and David Chan.

In 2023, Laura was awarded the Kansas City Sigma Alpha Iota Scholarship Competition and during the same year she was awarded a competitive two-year fellowship with the Charleston Symphony. Currently, Laura regularly performs with the CSO and has collaborated with esteemed conductors, while also maintaining an active freelance career in the Dallas area.

A native of Rochester, New York, Gabrielle Monachino began her violin studies at the age of 4. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and many others. Most recently, she was a Violin Fellow at the New World Symphony. While there, she was fortunate to sit principal under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Stephane Deneve, Nicholas Collon, Peter Oundjian, and collaborated with artists such as James Ehnes, Yo-Yo Ma, and Augustin Haedelich. She also served as Associate Principal Second Violin of the Erie Philharmonic, and has held principal positions at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Prague Summer Nights, and the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute.

As a soloist, Gabrielle has performed in esteemed venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the White House, and the di Capo Opera Theatre in New York City. She attended the Eastman School of Music and continued her graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2019, she was chosen to participate in the prestigious Concertmaster Track at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Originally from Havana, Cuba, Ms. Berg has been a member of The Florida Orchestra since September 2023. She previously served as Principal Violist of the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra and was a fellow with both the New World Symphony and the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Program in Japan.

Ms. Berg has performed at international festivals, including the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, the Orchestra of the Americas, Academia de Frutillar in Chile, and the Weimar Bach Festival in Germany. Most recently, she was awarded Second Place in the Sphinx Orchestra Partners Audition.

As an orchestral musician, she has also performed with the Naples Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Sarasota Orchestra.

Outside of music, Ms. Berg enjoys spending time with her family in Florida. She shares her home with their miniature poodle, Louisa, and two clownfish, Adrian and Lucy.

Pedro Mendez is a Venezuelan violist currently serving as the Viola Fellow with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where he performs regularly with the orchestra and takes part in their Educational Programs through the Young Musicians and Young Strings programs.

Pedro recently won a position with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and he will officially join the viola section at the start of the 2025 season.

He also holds the position of Assistant Principal Viola with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed as a substitute with top-tier ensembles including the Nashville Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He also performed with the chamber orchestra A Far Cry, where he took part in the recording of a piece by Jessie Montgomery that later won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. In that project, he played a leading role as Assistant Principal Viola contributing to the group’s collaborative approach without a conductor.

Pedro has been a fellow at several distinguished festivals and training programs, including the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Classical Tahoe, and the Chicago Sinfonietta, and served as Principal Viola of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2021 to 2023.

Pedro was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Pedro began his musical journey through the internationally acclaimed El Sistema. He earned a Diploma in Violin Performance from the Vicente Emilio Sojo Conservatory in 2015 before transitioning to viola and completing his Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he studied with Li-Kuo Chang, Roland and Almita Vamos.

Pedro is also an experienced educator, having taught at the Vicente Emilio Sojo Conservatory, in EL Sistema, the Centroccidental University “Lisandro Alvarado”, and the Academia Latinoamericana de Violin. He continues his educational work in the U.S. through his current involvement with the DSO’s youth and community programs.

Keeon Guzman, of Anchorage, Alaska, currently plays with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as part of its inaugural class of Diversity Fellows. He recently completed his Master’s studies with the highest distinction at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, studying with Enrico Bronzi. During his studies in Europe, Keeon played and toured with various ensembles in Austria, Germany, Croatia and Liechtenstein. Previously, Keeon obtained a Bachelor’s degree and a Performance Diploma at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Eric Kim and Brandon Vamos. He has furthered his studies at the Pacific Music Festival, Music Master Course Japan Yokohama, Domaine Forget Music Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra.

Caleb Edwards is an orchestral double bassist originally from Birmingham, Alabama. He has performed with esteemed ensembles including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under their fellowship program, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Columbus-Indiana Philharmonic and recently won a section bass position with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Caleb’s training includes studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (BM) under Rachel Calin, the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University (MM) under Andrew Raciti, and the University of Cincinnati CCM/Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Fellowship (AD), where he studied under Owen Lee. He has appeared at leading festivals such as Domaine Forget, the Wabass Institute, Texas Music Festival, and the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute, gaining valuable experience and insight from distinguished performers and pedagogues. Caleb also enjoys performing other genres of music, including jazz, R&B, and gospel.