JOEL LINK

(Violin) is the newly appointed Concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra, and is the first violinist of the internationally acclaimed Dover Quartet, Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. As a soloist, Link has earned top prizes at the Johansen International Competition in Washington, D.C., and the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in England, where he was featured in The Strad magazine. As a member of the Dover Quartet, Link won first prize and all special awards at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, as well as the gold medal and grand prize at the 2010 Fischoff Competition. The Quartet’s many accolades include the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award. Their recordings have received two GRAMMY nominations for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: The Schumann Quartets (Azica Records) and Beethoven Complete String Quartets, Volume 2 – The Middle Quartets (Cedille Records). Link has performed with many of the most distinguished artists of recent decades, including Emanuel Ax, Marc-André Hamelin, Peter Serkin, Leon Fleisher, Leif Ove Andsnes, Edgar Meyer, Michael Tree, Avi Avital, and Ray Chen, appearing in major concert halls around the world. He has also been featured at leading festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Rosendal Chamber Music Festival, Schwetzingen Festival, and Rheingau Musik Festival, among others. A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Link studied with renowned violinists Joseph Silverstein, Pamela Frank, and Frank Huang.

ISABEL TRAUTWEIN

(Violin) joined the first violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra in 2002 after serving as principal second violinist of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, a concertmaster of the New World Symphony Miami, a member of the Houston Symphony and of the Pacifica String Quartet, which held a residency at the University of Chicago. Ms. Trautwein has served as an adjunct at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and coaches frequently at the New World Symphony in Miami. Isabel is in her third year as Artistic Director for Lake View Cemetery’s Classically Lake View chamber music series. 

JOANNA ZACKANY

(viola) enjoys a mosaic-inspired life as a musician, yogi, and entrepreneur. She joined the viola section of The Cleveland Orchestra at the age of 21 years old. In addition to performing with this marvelous group, she has been Guest Principal of the Detroit Symphony and has performed with the All-Star Orchestra. She also has an active chamber music career as a founding member of the Omni Quartet and has been a successful teacher at Cleveland State University and Kent State University since 2008. Outside of the performing world, she is a certified yoga instructor, and after training at Duke University during the quiet days of the pandemic, she launched her well-being coaching business, Mindful Opus. Her mission is to help classical musicians find physical and mental wellness so they can enjoy a balanced and thriving life, both on and off stage. 

Tanya Ell Woolfrey

(cello) joined the cello section of The Cleveland Orchestra in February 2007. Ms. Ell was previously a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, where she was appointed acting assistant principal cello in 2004. She holds a B.M. degree from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Aldo Parisot, and an M.M. degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where of Music, where she studied with Richard Aaron. Ms. Ell has participated in a number of summer music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Sarasota Music Festival, and Spoleto USA. She has won first prize in several concerto competitions, including Aspen, Interlochen, Lansing Symphony, and the University of Toronto.

Katarina Elise

(cello) is an emerging cellist currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Michigan. Katarina has performed with artists such as the Shanghai Quartet, Telegraph Quartet, Philip Setzer, and Steven Banks. She spent two years in China as a fellow of the Tianjin Juilliard School, where she presented concerts across the country, including her solo debut at the Shanghai Opera House, presented recitals at the U.S. embassy, and worked as a chamber coach in Juilliard's Pre-College School.