Artists

Greg Ewer, hailed by The New York Times for his “refinement and spirit,” has been a member of the Oregon Symphony since 2001. Greg is also well known to Portland audiences for his regular appearances with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, and Pink Martini. He is also the founder and artistic director of 45^th Parallel, a highly acclaimed chamber music series founded in 2009, featuring musicians of the Pacific Northwest.

Jennifer Arnold is a founding member of mousai REMIX. Jen performs as a member of the Gateways Festival Orchestra, Sphinx Symphony and is on faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy. Jennifer joined the Richmond Symphony (VA) as Director of Artistic Planning and Orchestral Operations in the fall of 2019 to further her work in increasing representation on orchestral stages.

Joseph Berger is Associate Principal Horn of the Oregon Symphony, a position he has held since 1988. He has performed with many orchestras throughout the country including the Honolulu Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Seattle Symphony.

Violinist Ron Blessinger is an Oregon native and a proud graduate of Hermiston High School. He received his degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and the New England Conservatory of Music, and in 1990 joined the Oregon Symphony.

Sergio Carreno joined the Oregon Symphony as a member of the percussion section in 2012. Hailing from Miami, FL, Sergio developed an eclectic musical taste which has led to extensive collaboration with symphony orchestras, theater productions, dance companies, chamber music ensembles and latin, rock, and jazz bands.

Emily Cole joined the Oregon Symphony in 2011. An avid chamber musician, Emily is a member of the Mousai Remix string quartet with fellow Oregon Symphony musicians Shin-Young Kwon, Jennifer Arnold, and Marilyn de Oliveira. She has also performed locally with Third Angle Ensemble, fEARnoMUSIC, 45^th Parallel, and Northwest New Music.

Jon Greeney has been principal timpanist of the Oregon Symphony since the autumn of 2010. He is also an adjunct professor of percussion studies at Portland State University. Jon holds a B.M. from the Peabody Conservatory, and an M.M. from Cleveland State University. His teachers at Peabody included percussion virtuosos Robert van Sice and Jonathan Haas, and at Cleveland State he studied with Tom Freer of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Shin-young Kwon has been a member of the Oregon Symphony orchestra since 2004. She joined the Arnica String Quartet in 2005, and is a founding member of the Portland-based string quartet mousai REMIX since 2011.

Martha Conwell Long joined the Oregon Symphony as principal flute at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season. Previously she held the same position with the Fort Collins Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony. Martha received her Bachelor of Music degree from The Colburn School in Los Angeles, where she studied with Jim Walker.

Charles Noble has been assistant principal viola of the Oregon Symphony since 1995. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Oregon Symphony, as well as with the orchestras of the Cascade and Sunriver music festivals in central Oregon.

Brazil native Marilyn de Oliveira is the Assistant Principal cello in the Oregon Symphony, founding member of Mousai Remix and cellist in the Pyxis String Quartet. Prior to joining the OSO, Marilyn served as Acting Assistant Principal cello and section member of the San Antonio Symphony and was a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami, FL.

James Shields joined the Oregon Symphony as Principal Clarinet in the autumn of 2016. Before relocating to Portland, James served as principal clarinet of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, as well as the New Mexico Philharmonic in Albuquerque. A graduate of The Juilliard School, James studied with Ricardo Morales, principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Since 2000, Steve Vacchi has been professor of bassoon at the University of Oregon, where he also coordinates the chamber music program. He holds degrees in performance from the Eastman School of Music (B.M., high distinction/Performer’s Certificate), The Hartt School (M.M.), and Louisiana State University (D.M.A.), where he held a Board of Regents Fellowship. He also studied at the Yale School of Music.

Karen Wagner joined the Oregon Symphony as assistant principal/second Oboe in 1999. Before moving to Portland, Karen was a fellow with the New World Symphony and played with the Louisville Orchestra. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Oboe Performance from the State University of New York at Buffalo…