About
John Etsell
Based in Southeastern Michigan, pianist John Etsell collaborates with musical artists from all around the world. His playing has been described as “well-balanced and sensitive” (Cleveland Classical) and “gorgeous, and heart-rending” (CASA Magazine).
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He currently works with Detroit Opera, the University of Michigan, and Adrian College, and has been a pianist and vocal coach at the Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy, and The Institute for Young Dramatic Voices in Reno, NV.
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In addition to performing, John is also a passionate teacher, having taught at the Santa Barbara Music and Arts Conservatory, and Adrian College.
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Education​​
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John holds degrees in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Nevada, Reno, and received his D.M.A. in Collaborative Piano at the University of Michigan, where he studied with Martin Katz.
He espouses a creative, open-minded, and improvisatory approach to performance informed by scholarship, personal sensibility, and intuition.
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Sonia Lee
Violinist Sonia Lee, a Detroit native, made her concerto debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic while still in high school. While still an undergraduate, Sonia won an audition with the Toronto Symphony and was promoted to Principal Second Violinist the following year. Sonia has also appeared as concerto soloist with the New York Chamber Orchestra at the 92nd Street Y, the Toronto Symphony, the Saginaw Bay Symphony, the Grosse Pointe Symphony, and the Michigan Sinfonietta.
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Also active as a chamber musician, Sonia has concertized across the U.S., Canada and in Europe. She was a featured artist at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio with Marc-Andre Hamelin, Amanda Forsyth, and Martin Beaver and performed with the AVANTI Saraste Chamber Winds and Strings, at the Scarab Club, on the Cranbrook Artist Series and the Schoolcraft Recital Series.​
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Education​
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Sonia studied at The Juilliard School, where her teachers included Paul Kantor and Dorothy Delay.
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Sonia Lee is a dedicated violin pedagogue, teaching privately and coaching members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Youth Ensembles Honors Program. Many of her students have gone on to be accepted at top tier schools of music and conservatories, win positions with major orchestras and place in international competitions.
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Lisa Raschiatore
Clarinetist Lisa Raschiatore is a freelance musician and teacher in Southeast Michigan, and currently serves as Bass Clarinetist with the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared as a substitute musician with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Detroit Opera (formerly Michigan Opera Theatre), Windsor Symphony, and Naples Philharmonic on clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, and basset horn. She has also toured the country with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, has appeared in the pit of nationally touring Broadway shows in Detroit, and has served as principal or substitute for Michigan orchestras in Dearborn, Plymouth (Michigan Philharmonic), Ann Arbor, Traverse City (Traverse Symphony), Adrian, Flint, Birmingham-Bloomfield, Jackson, Oakland, Macomb, Saginaw Bay, and Warren.
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Education​
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Dr. Raschiatore is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Music at Madonna University where she teaches clarinet performance, chamber music, music history, and music appreciation. She held previous appointments as the Interim Professor of Clarinet at Central Michigan University, as Instructor of Clarinet at Alma College, as Adjunct Professor of Music Theory at Adrian College, and as director of the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts Clarinet Workshop. She maintains a private clarinet studio in Livonia, MI, and is an assistant in the orchestral library at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She completed her undergraduate degree at Pepperdine University under the tutelage of Mary Gale, and earned both her Masters and Doctoral degrees at the University of Michigan with Fred Ormand, Dan Gilbert, and Monica Kaenzig.
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