Second Violin

Luke Santonastaso

Principal

Sponsored by Patty Lockett

Hailing from Los Angeles, Luke Santonastaso is a versatile musician, instructor, and mentor active across the United States, presently based in Orange County, CA. He currently serves as the principal 2nd violin for the Santa Cruz Symphony as well as section member of the New West Symphony and the Sarasota Opera Orchestra. His musical engagements extend to various orchestras on the west coast, including the Long Beach Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, and Fresno Philharmonic, among others. Luke has had the privilege of collaborating with renowned artists such as Midori Goto, Maxim Vengerov, Osmo Vänskä, Lynn Harrell, Gilbert Kalish, Kim Kashkashian, and Augustine Hadelich.

He has been a fellow at prestigious institutions including the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, and Incontri in Terra di Siena music festivals. Beyond his performance commitments, Luke is dedicated to nurturing emerging talents in his private studio along with serving as coach and instructor with institutions such as Junior Chamber Music, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, and the Crowden School.

Luke holds degrees from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he was under the tutelage of Movses Pogossian and Guillaume Sutre, member of Quatuor Ysaÿe. Outside of classical music, Luke is a member of the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles and enjoys folk music in all its forms. He is a loving cat dad and technophile.

SaraH Biagini

Asst. Principal

California-based violinist Sarah Biagini is a multi-faceted performer with a wide range of professional experience spanning from orchestral playing and recordings to performing alongside rock bands. Sarah regularly performs with multiple orchestras in the Bay Area including California Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, and Modesto Symphony. She currently serves as Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Santa Cruz Symphony which she began with their 2023-24 season.

Sarah was born and raised in Los Angeles and has been surrounded by musicians her whole life. She has played music all over the world from Cleveland, Ohio to Havana, Cuba and Cambridge, England. Sarah has participated in multiple professional recording sessions for Telemundo News Channel, the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, and most recently for the singer-songwriter, Tessa Violet’s upcoming album. Sarah has played music for musicals, operas, jazz groups and even played violin as background characters in music videos such as Paris Jackson’s “let down” and in TV shows like “Glee”. In 2022, Sarah was honored to be a featured musician in Netflix’s “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience” in San Francisco.

Summer studies have included multiple years at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Roundtop Institute Festival, Cambridge International String Academy, Madeline Island Chamber Music, and National Repertory Orchestra where Sarah performed “Summer” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as soloist under the baton of the acclaimed Michael Stern. Learn more about Sarah at sarahbiagini.com.

valerie Bengal

Sponsored by Richard and Diane Klein

Valerie Bengal has lived and worked in the Monterey Bay Area since 1981 and joined the Santa Cruz Symphony in 1988. She has also been a member of Sacramento Symphony, Monterey Symphony, Monterey Bay Symphony, Bayshore Lyric Opera, and Orchestre de la Cathédrale de Versailles. She is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley and Northwestern University. In addition to orchestra and chamber music studies at University of California (Davis and Berkeley), her teachers have included Julius Salner, Geoffry Wharton, Maryvonne Le Dizes, Felix Khuner, and the Turtle Island String Quartet. As a freelancer, she has also participated in numerous performances with regional orchestras, local chamber ensembles, and choral groups, as well as with Ensemble La Campanella in international music festivals, and community outreach.

Valerie is also a family physician and was for many years Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, Family Medicine Residency Program, based at Natividad Medical Center, Monterey County's public safety-net hospital. She retired from clinical practice in 2023. Her principal interests are international health, integrative medicine, medical ecology and the climate crisis, social justice, and health care reform. She is the chairman of the board of directors of Capacitar International (www.capacitar.org).

Priscilla Whitcomb

Sponsored by Dan and Vickie Rutan

Priscilla Whitcomb grew up playing violin in Southern California with a Suzuki program, and toured Japan when she was 12 years old with a group of American children where she received instruction from Dr. Suzuki and his finest teachers. She coaches the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony, conducts private lessons, and goes into classrooms each year with a docent from the Symphony to demonstrate her instrument, speak to the kids about the concert they will attend, answer questions and engage with them about music. She also performs with the Cabrillo Stage Professional Theater, the White Album Ensemble and the Peninsula Scottish Fiddlers. Priscilla attended Cabrillo College and San Jose State University, where she majored in music with a jazz concentration.

Josephine gray

Sponsored by Catharine and James Gill

Josephine Gray is currently a contracted member of the Modesto Symphony and the Santa Cruz Symphony. In the past she has played with Monterey Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Napa Symphony, Sacramento Choral Society, Stockton Symphony, Fresno Symphony, Golden Gate Opera and the San Francisco Choral Society. In 2010, Jo was appointed Adjunct Faculty at the University of San Francisco teaching Alexander Technique in the Performing Arts Department. Jo earned her Bachelor of Music Performance (Violin) at the University of Auckland New Zealand and is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique.

NANCY KVAM

Nancy Kvam has been a violinist with the Santa Cruz Symphony since 1983. She has performed with the Monterey Symphony for 5 years, served as Concertmaster of the Cabrillo Stage Pit Orchestra for 4 years and as a violinist with Cabrillo College Jazz ensemble as well has her own jazz group for 5 years. She was a violinist with Cabrillo Stage's 2014 production of Oliver! and a violist for their 2012 production of A Night at the Nutcracker. In the past Nancy also served as a violinist with the Western Stage at Hartnell College and with the Antiquarian Funks. Nancy currently is a violin and viola soloist with the Cabrillo College Orchestra and Latin Ensembles and San Jose State Gamelan, and performs for weddings and special occasions with her chamber music group. Nancy is the former Principal Second Violinist with the Missouri Symphony Society, Lawrence Chamber Players and the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra.

Nancy has been an educator at the Cabrillo College Music Department since 1990, teaching private violin and viola lessons, directing the Chamber Music Program conducting the Baroque-Classical and Contemporary Music Ensembles and Administrating for the Cabrillo Youth Strings Program. Nancy has taught strings at the Green Valley Christian School since 2012 and was the past Director/Conductor of the Branciforte Junior High School Orchestra for 4 years. Nancy taught at the Santa Cruz Summer Music Conservatory and the Hartnell Conservatory's Suzuki Music program as a Co-Director for 4 years each. She also was the conductor of the Hartnell Conservatory Orchestra and the director of the Gault Elementary School String Program for 2 years each.

For many years Nancy has visited classrooms with the Santa Cruz Symphony's Youth Education Program for many years and served as an evaluator of String, Violin, Viola, Chamber Music and Orchestra for the Northern California Music Teachers' Association's annual Certificate of Merit program. Nancy has attended many American String Teachers’ Association Workshops Internationally and Nationally as well as many Suzuki Association of the Americas’ String Institutes (Stanford). Nancy is a member of the Santa Cruz County Music Teachers’ Association, where she began the Certificate of Merit Program for Strings at which students participate yearly.

Nancy received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and Violin Performance with Music Teaching Certification (K-12), with an emphasis on Strings/Orchestra at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Nancy later received her Masters of Music Education, with Honors, with emphasis in Violin and Viola Performance, Chamber Music, Suzuki String Training/Pedagogy and Gifted Education at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

Nancy can be contact through Cabrillo College or the Community Music School. More information about the Cabrillo Youth Strings program is available online.

TOSHIYA NISHI

Sponsored by Dr. Yoshio & Miwako Nishi

Rebecca Smith

Sponsored by Dr. Roger Knacke

A “homegrown girl," Rebecca grew up in Santa Cruz and played in the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony. Harold Hauge was her first teacher; he was also the Concertmaster of the Santa Cruz Symphony at that time. To this day, she plays one of his violins. She went on to attend Cabrillo College and San Francisco State University. She received two degrees from San Francisco State, one in education and one in performance. She has also played at the Aspen Music Festival.