Serenata Strings - Bios

Jay Smith, guitar

Jay Smith has extensive experience as a private lesson instructor and director of various ensembles.  Smith began teaching professionally during his senior year in high school and has continued full time for the past 17 years.  In addition to teaching independently and at Music Starz Studios, Smith has also taught at the university level.  He spent 5 years teaching at the University of North Texas in Denton, where he gave private lessons and directed the UNT Classical Guitar Ensemble.  Smith also served on the faculty of the Community Music Program while at UNT.
Smith has a Bachelor's degree with a double major in guitar performance and music education from the University of Wisconsin.  He completed his Master's degree at the University of North Texas, focusing on guitar performance and musicology.  In 2006, Smith became Dr. Jay when he graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree at the University of North Texas.  His area of study was again guitar performance and musicology.  Smith's doctoral dissertation consisted of an analysis and performance guide for Mexican composer Manuel Ponce's Guitar Sonata III.
In addition to teaching, Smith has stayed active as a performer by playing in numerous solo and ensemble settings.  Smith grew up playing in many local rock and pop bands, while studying jazz and classical music privately.  In addition to performing with Serenata Strings and giving numerous solo classical guitar recitals, Smith has performed with the Tulsa Opera, playing the guitar solo on their production of the "Barber of Seville."  He has performed for Christopher Parkening, Stephen Robinson, Stanley Yates and Javier Calderon.  In a jazz setting, Smith has performed on bass and guitar with such artists as Frank Mantooth and Neil Harmon.  Throughout his career, Smith has always strived to be versatile in his approach to teaching as well as performing.  As a result, he has a varied background that has enabled him to teach and perform a wide variety of musical styles.

Eric Smith, cello

Currently a student at the University of North Texas, cellist Eric Smith is pursuing a performance degree as a student of Professor Eugene Osadchy.  He has performed with the UNT Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, as well as the UNT Baroque Orchestra, UNT Opera Theatre, and is a member of the NOVA Ensemble, presenting 20th/21st century music.  He was the recipient of the Winspear Scholarship, and now holds the Im Sik Kim Family Scholarship. He has played with the El Paso Symphony, East Texas Symphony, and as a baroque cellist was featured with the Denton Bach Society. As both solo and chamber recitalist, he has performed throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, New York, and at the universities of Oklahoma, North Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Texas at El Paso, as well as at Dallas Museum of Arts Horchow Auditorium. He made his solo debut in Anaheim, California at the age of 15 performing  Vivaldi's Double Concerto, and a year later performed Bruch's Kol Nidrei in El Paso, TX. Born in Germany, Smith later moved to Texas where he started his musical career studying both the trumpet and the trombone.  He began playing the cello at the age of 11 and became a student of Dr. Marcia Fountain, before moving to Denton, TX where he now performs and teaches in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Karen Lim-Smith, violin

Karen Lim-Smith started playing the piano when she was 2 years old.  Five years later, she went on to win her first piano competition.  At age 8, she had also picked up the violin.  When she was 14 years of age, she went on to win her first major violin competition.  Not only did she win the coveted first prize at the Mozart National String Competition, but also a free trip to Amsterdam to study with Theo Olof, former concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.  Lim-Smith won full scholarships to undertake her undergraduate studies, initially at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and later at the Australian National University.  While earning a Bachelor's degree in Australia, she was selected as the only Malaysian delegate to participate with the World Youth Orchestra.  The orchestra toured in 1995 the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia as well as Denmark and Germany in 1996.  Lim-Smith graduated with a Bachelor's degree with honors from the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. 
She graduated in 2003 with a Master's degree in violin performance as well as a Master's degree in journalism from the University of North Texas (UNT).  At UNT, she studied with Igor Borodin.  From 1997 - 1999, Lim-Smith was a member of the University of North Texas Graduate String Quartet under the sponsorship of the Liberace Foundation Scholarship. 
Over the years, she has also studied with Amadeus Heutling (member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), Emanuel Borok (concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra) and Susan Demetris (concertmaster of the Dallas Opera).  
Lim-Smith is a very active performer and teacher.   In 2000, she toured with Andrea Bocelli and Diana Ross and the Supremes throughout the United States.  She also appears frequently with the Dallas Opera Orchestra and the Tulsa Opera Orchestra during the operatic seasons.   She also performs on baroque instruments with the Forth Worth Early Music and the Orchestra of New Spain.

Jason Lim, violin and viola

Jason Lim received his formal training in viola performance when he won a music scholarship to study at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with Alice Waten. The following year, Lim commenced his studies at the Australian National University and earned his Bachelor's degree with honors from the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. 
While in Canberra, he began his conducting studies as an apprentice with the Canberra Youth Orchestra and served as assistant conductor with the Ku Ring Gai Philharmonic Orchestra in Sydney.  Lim added to his awards and achievements the New South Wales Ministry of Arts Conducting Scholarship, the South Carolina Conductor's Institute Fellowship Award, and the Australian Opera and Arts Scholarship Award.  Lim has also attended the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Maine. While a pursuing a Master's degree in conducting at the University of North Texas, Lim led the NOVA Ensemble in its first commercial recording in 2000. Under the auspices of the "Equilibrum" label, Lim conducted the world premier performance of Brian Bavelander's Distant Visions for orchestra and pre recorded tape. Lim held the position of music director and conductor of NOVA for two years.  Lim dedicates a majority of his time conducting new music and has been invited to conduct in conventions such as the SEAMUS Y2K (the acousma tex conference) and the North American Saxophone Alliance.  In 2004, Lim conducted the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra Classical subscription concert and conducted the Abilene premier of Michael Remson's opera, Sibanda.   Lim also conducted Seymour Barab's Little Red Riding Hood with the Hardin-Simmons University Opera. 
In recent years, Lim has dedicated his talents to working with young musicians, conducting orchestra workshops in Asia and the United States. He served as conductor and educator for three years at the Abilene Summer Music Festival in affiliation with Hardin-Simmons University. Lim remains an active performing violist.  Lim has performed with the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, Amarillo Symphony Orchestra, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony of Malaysia, Australian National Opera Orchestra and the Texas Baroque Ensemble.  Lim was a member of the University of North Texas Graduate String Quartet, under the sponsorship of the Liberace Foundation Scholarship. 

Affiliate Members:

Jocelyn Hund, violin & viola

Jocelyn Hund grew up here in Dallas, and began violin lessons at the age of 4.  At age 7, she joined the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestras (GDYO), where she took classes from members of the Dallas Symphony over the next twelve years.  When she was 11 years old, Hund began performing professionally in an elite chamber ensemble of the GDYO called Sinfonietta.  Also with the GDYO, she performed as concertmaster and soloist at age 13 for concerts held in the Meyerson Symphony Center.  After high school, Hund went on to the University of Colorado with six scholarship awards to study performance and chamber music.  Her sophomore year, she was selected as finalist in the university's concerto competition. Hund has since attended the elite Aspen Music Festival and School, and participated in the famous Park City, UT and Crested Butte Music Festivals as both student and professional musician.  She graduated from The University of North Texas with a Master's degree in performance on the violin, with minors in music theory and jazz studies.

Joel Adair, trumpet

Sarah Sproul, flute and bass

A native of New Jersey, Sarah Sproul is currently the Orchestra Director at Shadow Ridge Middle School in Flower Mound.  A graduate of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, she earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in both music education and flute performance where she studied with principal flutist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jean Larson.  Sproul also holds a Master of Music degree in conducting from SMU where she studied under Dr. Jack Delaney, Director of Bands, and Dr. Paul Phillips, Director of Orchestral Activities.
While pursuing her degrees, Sproul held principal chairs in domestic and international tours, and performed in six recording projects, including two world premieres.  Sproul has also been a participant in a number of conducting workshops in New York City, North Carolina, and Aspen, Colorado. In addition to her work in Lewisville Independent School District, Sproul is in her sixth season as conductor and music director of the Lone Star Youth Orchestra of Las Colinas.  Sproul's additional conducting duties include serving as assistant conductor to the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, the Garland Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Arlington.  In her spare time (ha ha!), she performs across the Metroplex as both a freelance flutist and bassist and teaches private flute, bass, and piano lessons.  Recently, Sproul has been included in the Marquis 2006 and 2007 editions of Who's Who of American Women.

Christopher Williams, violin & viola

Christopher Williams, violist, is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. Williams has been an orchestra performer and recitalist in numerous music festivals including the Baylor University Intensive Chamber Music Program, ENCORE School for Strings, The International Festival Institute at Roundtop, Manchester Music Festival, and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. He has performed in master classes and studied with artists such as Philip Setzer, Nathaniel Rosen, Jorja Fleezanis, Jeffrey Irvine, Anshel Brusilow, and the St. Petersburg and Ying String Quartets. Williams has performed as a soloist with several orchestras including the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth, the Brazos Chamber Orchestra, and the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra. In 2003, he was featured twice on national radio program "From The Top," on which he was accompanied by world-renowned pianist Christopher O’Riley. This was followed by his solo recital debut at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. In recent years, Mr. Williams worked with composer Hsaio-Lan Wang, performing new compositions for viola. Williams received his Bachelor’s of Music from The University of North Texas where he studied with Susan Dubois. Williams is currently pursuing his Masters of Music at Yale University under the tuteledge of Jesse Levine.

Linda-Rose Hembreiker, harp

Linda-Rose Hembreiker performs as a soloist and as an ensemble player throughout the Metroplex.  She has performed with the Las Colinas Symphony, the San Angelo Symphony and the Dallas Wind Symphony.  She is also a member of the Trio Pacifique.  Hembreiker is working on a Doctoral of Musical Arts in Harp Performance at the University of North Texas.  She holds a Master's degree in harp performance from the same institution and a Bachelor's degree in harp performance from the University of Southern California.

Andrew Ding, viola

Andrew Ding holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Sydney Conservatorium and a Masters of Music degree from the New England Conservatorium where he was mentored by the renowned violist and pedagogue Kim Kashkashian. As an orchestral musician he has performed with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Boston Philharmonic and the Richardson Symphony in Dallas Texas. He has toured with orchestras all across Europe and Asia playing in famous venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Windsor Castle and Convent Garden in London, Palace for Foreign Dignitaries in Beijing and also at Theater am Kurfürstendamm in Berlin under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy. As a soloist he has appeared with the Special Broadcasting Station Orchestra in Australia performing the Bartok, Hindemith and Forsyth viola concertos. He is also a passionate chamber musician and has been invited to attend the Yellow Barn Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival and Killington Music festival among others, working with such groups as the Tokyo, Takács, Mendelssohn, Emerson, Boromeo, Shanghai and Juilliard String Quartets. He is currently working towards his Artist Certificate at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas Texas.

Imelda Tecson, viola

Imelda Tecson began her studies in viola at age 11 in Houston, Texas where she studied with Karen Ritscher at Rice University. Since then, she has also studied with many prominent teachers from all over the country, including professors from the University of Houston, the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University.

A versatile musician, Tecson enjoys playing classical music as well as jazz. In the summer of 2005 Tecson attended the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles where she served and played with jazz legends Quincy Jones, Peter Erskine, Doc Severinsen and Bobby McFerrin.  Tecson also served as principal violist of the HMI orchestra as it was conducted by Richard Kaufman, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, and Michael Giacchino. She earned her Bachelor's degree in viola performance from the University of North Texas in 2007 under the tutelage of Dr. Susan Dubois, and is now pursuing her Master's degree in viola performance at Southern Methodist Unversity, studying with Barbara Sudweeks, assistant principal of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Laura Krentzman, viola

Violist Laura Krentzman completed her undergraduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music and graduate studies at the University of North Texas, where she studied with Carol Rodland and Susan Dubois.  While at the University of North Texas, Krentzman studied Baroque viola performance with Cynthia Roberts and was principal viola of the Collegium Musicum.  She has participated in many summer festivals, including the Henry Mancini Institute, Mimir Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Killington Music Festival, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.  Krentzman has performed in masterclasses with Kim Kashkashian, Helen Callus and Michelle LaCourse and has worked with Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson Quartet as well as Danny Seidenberg of the Turtle Island Quartet. In 2004, she was a soloist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and in 2008 with the University of North Texas Collegium Musicum.  Since 2005, Krentzman has premiered and recorded numerous works by Boston-based composer Alla Elana Cohen.  Currently Krentzman is principal viola of the Orchestra of the Pines in Nacogdoches, TX and teaches privately. 

Nien-Hwa Chin, cello and piano

As an active cellist and pianist, Nien-hwa Chin has performed in the U.S., Spain, Italy, Taiwan and China. Her orchestral music credits include Taipei Philharmonic, Yin-qi Symphony & Chorus, Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony. She has won several competitions in Taiwan and Pennsylvania.

A teaching assistant and a studio accompanist, Chin studied with Kim Cook and Ann Williams at Penn State and received her Masters' degrees in music education and performance in 2006. She attended several master classes under the instruction of Yo-Yo Ma, David Finkel (Emerson Quartet) and Antonio Meneses (Beaux Arts Trio).

Chin is currently a doctoral student in cello performance at the University of North Texas and is also a cello instructor in Lewisville ISD and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD.

Janice Fehlauer, piano

Canadian pianist Janice Fehlauer began her musical studies in Chilliwack, British Columbia. After receiving an Associate Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in both piano and violin, she earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of British Columbia, where she studied with Jane Coop and Rena Sharon.

Throughout her training, Fehlauer has been invited to participate in masterclasses with eminent musicians such as Anton Kuerti (Banff Institute), Vadim Monastyrsky (Rubin Academy, Jerusalem), Rudolf Jansen (Franz-Schubert-Institut), Ben Heppner, Malcolm Martineau and Charles Castleman (Eastman).

In 2006 Fehlauer won the UNT Concerto Competition, and appeared as a soloist with the UNT Symphony Orchestra playing the Bartok Concerto No. 2.  In the spring of 2008, she will be performing as soloist with the Lewisville Symphony Orchestra, and with the Little Rock Chamber Music Series in Arkansas.

In addition to her solo performances, Fehlauer is a dedicated collaborative artist, and has performed extensively with members of Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Song Circle, and Brio String Quartet. She worked as a collaborative piano assistant at UBC, and was recently appointed rehearsal pianist for the UNT Opera Theatre.

Her performances have been broadcast and recorded live on Rogers 10, Bravo!TV and NowTV. In 2004-2005, Fehlauer performed regularly for the UBC Learning Exchange, a group of artists who sought innovative and non-traditional ways of presenting classical music to the underprivileged in Vancouver's downtown eastside.

Fehlauer has maintained a private teaching studio since 1996, and was appointed to the faculty of the Chilliwack Academy of Music in 2000. She is currently a graduate piano student at the University of North Texas, where she studies with Dr.Pamela Mia Paul.

Sara Sclamberg, flute

Sara Sclamberg is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in flute performance at the University of North Texas. She is also working towards a minor in Early Music Performance on the Baroque flute.  She earned her Master’s degree from Louisiana State University and her Bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.  In 2005 she performed with the Rapides Symphony Orchestra having won the R.S.O. Concerto Competition Young Adult Division. She had the opportunity to perform the Malcom Arnold Concerto for Flute and Strings in 2006 with the Louisiana State University symphony orchestra, having won the LSU concerto competition. In April, Sclamberg will give a guest appearance at the North American Saxophone Alliance convention in South Carolina on a newly commissioned work for flute, alto saxophone and tape. Her principal professors have included Terri Sundberg, Katherine Kemler, Michel Debost, and Kathleen Chastain.

Maria Harman, flute