About Mid-Valley Prelude Sinfonia

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Isaac Andrew is a performer, educator and conductor.  He holds music education and performance degrees from Azusa Pacific University and Cal State Long Beach.  Isaac teaches tuba and euphonium at Oregon State University and Linn Benton Community College and is a founding member of Chintimini Brass.  For over a decade he directed bands at South Albany High School and Calapooia Middle School in Albany, Oregon, also in southern California.  He currently performs and teaches low brass, electric bass and ukulele.  You can find him around the Willamette Valley playing in groups from praise bands to swing bands, symphony orchestras to acoustic trios.  He enjoys sharing the joys of music with others, training for triathlons and video games! 

Sharon teaches violin, viola, voice, flute, piano, and beginning composition.  She is fluent in Spanish and teaches our bilingual classes at South Shore.

 I am Julie Ritchey and I have taught elementary music in public schools since 1997. I received my bachelors degree from BYU in 1996 and my masters degree from OSU in 2005. This will be my 5th year teaching strings at South Shore Elementary School.I love teaching music and inspiring kids. I believe music creates an opportunity to help students see that they can do hard things. The confidence they gain can also help them in their future.  I am excited for the new virtual ability we will have to work with students.  

Rosanne C. Smith has been a successful music educator for over 30 years, teaching in the Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri; in Orange County, California; and Corvallis Public Schools in Oregon. She currently teaches at Liberty Elementary School, Albany School District in Oregon. Rosanne maintains a vibrant private music studio teaching violin, viola, cello and piano. She has performed with symphonies, chamber ensembles, quartets, soloist and as a strolling violinist throughout the USA and Europe.

Denver Speelman graduated summa cum laude from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. At Oregon State he studied violin with Jessica Lambert and was the recipient of the Homer Maris Music Scholarship. He has performed with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony, the OSU
Opera Workshop, the Corvallis Repertory Singers, and the Eugene Ballet. Denver is currently the assistant concertmaster of the Willamette Valley Symphony and teaches violin privately in Corvallis. 

Born in Lahaina, Hawaii, my path toward music education began in Las Vegas, Nevada, with playing violin in 6th grade orchestra. Through tremendous support from music teachers, I solely learned violin through public school education rather than private lessons; my first real private lesson began in 2016 as a first-year transfer student with Dr. Marlan Carlson at Oregon State University. Opportunities arose as I developed into a music educator, such as conducting the OSU Symphony and leading the OSU Chamber Orchestra. I currently hold a Master of Arts in Teaching with an emphasis in Music Education, hoping to instill the joy of participating in music and encouraging lifelong musicianship to my future students. 

Heather has been a parent with our program from the very beginning and we are very happy to have her join our organization as a board member. Her career in small business makes her the perfect fit for a small, community-led nonprofit like MVPS.

Carrie Falotico has two children involved in MVPS, beginning in 2016.  She joined the board in 2019, and was elected Secretary in June 2020. She believes  learning to play an instrument has many positive effects on children's  development that benefit many areas of their lives, and that access to music programs should be available to all children.

Nicole is a mom of three who joined our board in 2019. Her son has been in our program for two years and soon her daughter will be starting. 

 Logan is the first student to have a position on the MVPS Board. He has been involved with the program for four years, starting with the cello in fourth grade. He moved up to the double bass in sixth grade, because that was what he had wanted to play from the beginning. He has learned quite a lot from the program and recommends it highly to anyone who is interested in playing string instruments. 

Scott has been with the MVPS board for six years and has had two children in our program. He has previously held the president and treasurer positions. He owns the Browsers' bookstores in Albany and Corvallis.

A scientist by training, John has been a longtime supporter of MVPS, first as a parent and then transitioning to the board when his daughter finished our program. John is an ultramarathoner and novelist in addition to his career in public land management.

 Nancy founded Mid-Valley Prelude Sinfonia in 2007 with Cheryl French and Sandra Byers.  Nancy's sons were interested in learning the violin and cello and since Albany schools had no youth orchestra program available, Nancy, Cheryl, and Sandra decided to start MVPS to fill the gap. 

Gaby has been with MVPS for six years, first as a parent of two daughters and volunteer, now as a board member. Gaby is bilingual and many of you have seen her at concerts providing our Spanish communication. A small business owner, she is also a fundraising genius for MVPS.

Ron joined our board in 2019. He comes with strong family ties to music and a dedication to providing Albany youth with musical education. Ron is an accountant who brings financial expertise to our organization.

 Interested individuals are encouraged to contact us at info@albanystrings.org. Become a part of a vibrant and growing youth program!