Strings
CASEY BOZELL
VIOLIN Instructor/Chamber Music Lead
Casey is the concertmaster of the Newport Symphony and is also a member of the Portland Opera Orchestra and Oregon Ballet Theater. Recent solo engagements include appearances with the Newport Symphony, Beaverton Symphony, Linfield Chamber Orchestra, and the Central Oregon Chamber Orchestra as well as guest artist recitals at the University of Northern Colorado, Eastern Oregon University, and Linfield College. An adept chamber musician, Casey is a founding member of the Hammers and Bows piano trio and Element String Quartet. Since May of 2020, Casey has been the host of the podcast “Keep Classical Weird,” which has expanded its listenership to over 40 countries. Casey’s greatest mentors include Gerardo Ribeiro, Richard Fuchs, and Harold Wippler. She received her Bachelors of Music Performance from the University of Northern Colorado, and her Masters of Music Performance from Northwestern University. She plays on an 1874 Frederic Diehl violin.
JULIA FRANTZ
VIOLIN INSTRUCTOR
Julia has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral violinist throughout North America and Europe. A native of Eugene, she is Assistant Principal 2nd Violinist with the Eugene Symphony and is also a member of the Portland Opera Orchestra, Oregon Mozart Players, and a principal player with Orchestra Next. Julia completed her Bachelor of Music at Rice University and her Master of Music at the University of Maryland, College Park. Julia has participated in music festivals throughout the United States and Europe, including the National Repertory Orchestra, Round Top International Festival-Institute, AIMS Institute in Austria, Sunriver Music Festival, and Astoria Music Festival. Equally comfortable outside the realm of classical music, Julia has played fiddle since the age of five and regularly performs with country, rock, and hip hop groups throughout the Northwest. In 2021, she joined the acclaimed Eugene-based folk band, Mood Area 52, and as a fiddler, she has shared the stage with country legends Mark O'Connor and Ray Price. Julia maintains a thriving private violin studio and is also the Violin Instructor at Corban University in Salem.
DARIAN TODD
Viola instructor
Darian Todd is a violist, violinist, and educator, who has been performing and teaching in Arizona and Oregon since 2008. Currently the orchestra teacher at Lake Oswego Junior High School and District Program Coordinator for Elementary Strings in the Lake Oswego School District, and conductor of the Portland Chamber Strings with Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Mr. Todd strives to provide students with the tools and skills necessary for an evolving and changing musical world; instill practices that create independent musicians; foster a love of life-long musicianship and sharing; and build a community of musicians who support their colleagues and respect their audiences. Mr. Todd has studied and worked with string pedagogues including David Rife, Dijana Ihas, Fritz Gearhart, Leslie Straka, and Lillian Manis, and holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Arizona, and a Master of Music in Music Performance with an emphasis in Violin and Viola Pedagogy from the University of Oregon. Performing highlights have included master class performances for Larry Dutton, Rebecca Fisher, and the Pacifica String Quartet, as well performing in musical pit orchestras for the Arizona Repertory Theatre. Through partnerships with Young Musicians and Artists, the Oregon Music Educators Association, and local symphony orchestras, Mr. Todd works to initiate more active involvement of students and parents in the artistic communities where he teaches, and advocates for the importance of music in our schools.
Eric Schatz Alterman
CELLO Instructor
Cellist Eric Schatz Alterman has led a varied musical life that has spanned continents and roles as a chamber musician, orchestral performer, and soloist. Residing in Rio de Janeiro, he performed for 5 years as a section cellist and assistant principal in the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira. Currently based in Oregon as cellist of the Delgani String Quartet, considered by Oregon Arts Watch "the state's finest chamber ensemble," he has appeared in performances and concert series throughout the state and beyond, including appearances at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Prague's Charles University. Alterman serves as Assistant Principal Cellist of the Eugene Symphony and member of the Oregon Mozart Players, and has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival, Britt Festival Orchestra, Chamber Music Amici, and the Shedd Institute Microphilharmonic. His recitals have been featured at the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, the Rio de Janeiro International Cello Encounter, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Alterman grew up in New York City, where he began music studies at a young age at the Mannes College of Music. Going on to receive Bachelors and Masters degrees at Brandeis University and Boston University, he studied cello with former and current Lydian Quartet members, Rhonda Rider and Joshua Gordon, and the late Vermeer Quartet cellist, Marc Johnson. Eric has consistently explored and pursued other genres of music, since his college days performing, arranging, and composing in an Arabic music ensemble. In Rio, he was a frequent performer of bossa nova at Copacabana’s famed music bar, Bip Bip.
Jason Schooler
BASS INSTRUCTOR
Mr. Schooler has been an active orchestral and chamber musician since 1992. Currently he performs as a string bassist with the Oregon Symphony, the Oregon Bach Festival, 3rd Angle New Music Ensemble, 45th Parallel, Classical Up Close, Lewis and Clark Chamber Players, the Sunriver Music Festival, and others. Past experience includes performing with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the West Virginia Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Ft. Wayne Philharmonic, and others.
Jason is also an active teacher, having his own private teaching studio and holding music faculty positions at Lewis and Clark College and the University of Portland. He is also a music instructor with Portland Youth Philharmonic, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Chamber Music Camp of Portland, and several Portland area schools.
Mr. Schooler received a degree in Music Performance and Music Education at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and for six years attended the Aspen Music Festival and School.