Pictured (l. to r.): John Sullivan, Boris Zapesochny, Jeremy Hill, Nancy Hunt, Liana Koteva, Patricia Sunwoo, Shannon Nance, Ainur Zabenova, Daryl Perlo, David Brickman, Lara Sipols
Photo: Abe Weiss
(Click on photo for enlarged version)
As published in Bravo Book 7, April, 2005
David Brickman, Principal
With RPO since: 1989
Hometown: Albany, NY
First orchestra job: Albany Symphony Orchestra
Earliest musical memory: Hearing my Dad play the piano
Favorite thing about Rochester: Lots of “big city” advantages without a lot of the “big city” disadvantages.
Jeremy Hill
With RPO since: 2003
Hometown: Glastonbury, CT
Favorite composer: Brahms
Earliest musical memory: A violin put in my hands at the age of three by my parents
Favorite thing about Rochester: The RPO
Nancy Hunt
With RPO since: 1977
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
First orchestra job: Dayton Philharmonic
Favorite composers: Brahms and Schubert
Favorite thing about Rochester: The changing seasons!
Liana Koteva
With RPO since: 2001
Hometown: Sofia, Bulgaria
First orchestra job: RPO
Favorite composer or musical period: Brahms/Romantic period
Earliest musical memory: Performing at a concert at age six with my mother at the piano
Shannon Nance
With RPO since: 1993
Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Favorite composer: Bach, most definitely!
Earliest musical memory: My dad playing bluegrass banjo in front of the fireplace in the evenings
Favorite thing about Rochester: All the wooded areas to take walks in.
Daryl Perlo, Assistant Principal
With RPO since: 1984
Hometown: Rochester, NY
First orchestra job: RPO
Favorite musical period: The Classical/Romantic period
Earliest musical memory: Playing violin in an airplane for the pilot
Lara Sipols
With RPO since: 2002
Hometown: Detroit, MI
First orchestra job: San Antonio Symphony
Favorite composer or musical period: Romantic era - Mahler, Schubert, Beethoven and Brahms
Earliest musical memory: Sitting close to our family record-player cabinet and listening to my favorite LPs over and over.
John Sullivan
With RPO since: 1979
Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
Favorite composer(s): Bach, Mozart, Prokofiev
Earliest musical memory: Watching and hearing my parents play in the Grand Rapids Symphony
Favorite thing about Rochester: It has everything I need without the hustle-bustle of a large metropolis
Patricia Sunwoo
With RPO since: 2004
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
First orchestra job: Pit orchestra for HMS Pinafore in 8th grade
Favorite musical period: Early and late 20th century
Favorite thing about Rochester: The small specialty shops
Ainur Zabenova
With RPO since: 2002
Hometown: Almaty, Kazakhstan
First orchestra job: Chamber Orchestra Camerata of Kazakhstan
Favorite composer: Bach
Favorite thing about Rochester: The lilacs
With RPO since: 1979
Hometown: Vorkuta, Russia
First orchestra job: Opera/Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Conservatory
Favorite composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Earliest musical memory: My first public performance was at age seven
