Music Staff

Matthew Salvaggio is the Music Director of the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director and Founder of the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra.

At the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, Salvaggio leads a flagship orchestra of 100 musicians, managing eleven ensembles and more than 60 teaching artists. The Bridges Initiative, launched in fall 2025 with a $200,000 grant from 4Culture, brings free instruction to three school districts and every Boys & Girls Club site in Bellevue. Auditions have climbed 40 percent over three seasons, from 750 to more than 1,050, and BYSO’s upper orchestras reached capacity for the first time. Alumni have gone on to Eastman, Curtis, Juilliard, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

He founded the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra in 2021 to challenge the conventions of orchestral programming, presenting free concerts across greater Cleveland with annual support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Cleveland Classical’s Stephanie Manning wrote that his “love for the material was evident.” The ensemble commissions and premieres new work, including the world premiere of Griffin Candey’s Double Aviary for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra in November 2023. The 2025–26 season brought Legacy of Light: In Tribute to Michael Tilson Thomas and the Spirit of American Music, performed April 11, 2026 — eleven days before MTT’s death on April 22.

Before these appointments, he served as Music Director of the Euclid Symphony Orchestra, where he expanded the season from four programs to five, broadened the repertoire with regular commissions, and established both the Tom Baker Young Artists’ Competition and an assistant conductor mentorship program. Earlier appointments include Music Director of the Erie Junior Philharmonic and the University Heights Symphonic Band, along with professorships at Mercyhurst University, Hiram College, and Lakeland Community College.

In October 2025, he made his debut with the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra, conducting the “Bellevue Festa Latina” concert, and has conducted at Severance Hall in Cleveland and Benaroya Hall in Seattle. His work has brought him to the podium alongside Alan Baer (Principal Tuba, New York Philharmonic), John Rautenberg (former Associate Principal Flute, Cleveland Orchestra), John DiCesare (Principal Tuba, Seattle Symphony), Joshua Lauretig (Second Oboe, Buffalo Philharmonic), and Ken Johnston (former Concertmaster, Erie Philharmonic).

The American symphonic tradition sits at the center of Salvaggio’s artistic practice; he programs Hanson, Creston, and Diamond alongside new and underrepresented voices. In November 2023, he conducted the premiere recording of Robert Gross’s Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Nine Instruments on Penumbra (New Focus Recordings). Michael Tilson Thomas shaped much of how he understands that tradition; attending MTT’s final concert with the San Francisco Symphony in April 2025 led directly to the CRO’s 2025–26 tribute program.

A second-prize winner of The American Prize in Conducting, he has been covered by Cleveland Classical and Erie News Now and spoken on programming and leadership on the ClassicalQueer, Podium Time, and Everything Band podcasts. He holds a Master of Music in Conducting from Kent State University, with additional study in symposia with Mallory Thompson, Donald Hunsberger, and others.

Learn more at www.matthewsalvaggio.com

Joseph Kempisty holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The Ohio State University and a Master of Educational Leadership degree from the University of Washington. Around the Northwest, Mr. Kempisty has performed as principal violist or principal double bassist for several area ensembles, including the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lake Union Civic Orchestra, and the Northwest Mahler Festival Orchestra.

As a clinician and guest conductor, Mr. Kempisty has worked with middle and high school musicians in regional large group festivals, small ensemble festivals, and honor orchestras. He has taught elementary, middle, and high school orchestras in the Midwest as well as in the Bellevue School District, where he was also a school administrator for fourteen years.

Mr. Kempisty joined BYSO in 1999 as the founding conductor of Sinfonia and became the conductor of Philharmonia when it was established in 2012. Contact Mr. Kempisty at  philharmonia@byso.org.

Barney Blough brings a wealth of experience from a wide-ranging background. Mr. Blough is currently Music Director of Evergreen City Ballet, Conductor of the Sinfonia Orchestra with the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, and a teacher in the Bellevue School District, directing the award-winning Newport High School Orchestra. As Music Director of Evergreen City Ballet he has conducted well over 50 performances of standard ballet repertoire such as Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Giselle. He is in his 15th year as a conductor with the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he has conducted over 50 concerts of diverse repertoire with Premiere and Sinfonia. As an educator Mr. Blough has been teaching for over 20 years in Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue. His orchestras have won numerous awards at the Northwest Orchestra Festival, WWU-ASTA Orchestra Festival, World Strides, and Ictus Music Competition.

Mr. Blough studied conducting with Larry Gookin and Nikolas Caoile at Central Washington University; Vilem Sokol, Director Emeritus of the Seattle Youth Symphony; and Stewart Kershaw, Principal Conductor of the Pacific Northwest Ballet; and Gunther Schuller, Pulitzer Prize winning composer, President of New England Conservatory, and Artistic Director of the Tanglewood Music Center. While studying with Mr. Schuller at the Festival at Sandpoint, he was invited to perform as an Active Conductor with the Spokane Symphony. Other guest conducting appearances include Harmonia, Emerald City Philharmonic, and the Garfield High School Orchestra. Mr. Blough was formerly Music Director of the Seattle Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Rainier Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Lake Union Civic Orchestra. ​

Mr. Blough received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Central Washington University, a Teaching Certificate from Seattle Pacific University, a Professional Certificate from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Masters in Music from Central Washington University.

Mr. Blough joined BYSO in 2008 as the conductor of Premiere Orchestra and became Sinfonia conductor in 2012. Contact Mr. Blough at sinfonia@byso.org.

David Drassal holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Central Washington University. Since moving to the Seattle area in 2007, Mr. Drassal has performed as a freelance violinist with several area orchestras and chamber groups, including the Federal Way Symphony and Sammamish Symphony, and is an active member of a local string quartet. Mr. Drassal also works as a clinician and adjudicator for orchestra and solo festivals across the state. 

Mr. Drassal currently teaches orchestra at Tyee Middle School in the Bellevue School District. Having also played trumpet, he is a good fit for BYSO’s Premiere Orchestra, where young wind players get their first orchestral experience. 

Mr. Drassal joined BYSO in 2007 as a violin coach, became Cadet String Orchestra conductor in 2010, and became Premiere Orchestra conductor in 2013. Contact Mr. Drassal at premiere@byso.org.

Anna Linde holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a teaching certificate from Washington State University. Ms. Linde’s passion for teaching, performing, and conducting sparked while she was a young musician in the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra as an oboist under Dr. Metzger Howe. 

Ms. Linde has a wealth of experience in the classroom and on the podium. She began her career teaching high school band and orchestra at Mountain View High School in the Bay Area of California. There, she established an introductory course to band and orchestra for high school-aged musicians and led award-winning ensembles including the MVHS Chamber Orchestra in their Command Performance at the Pacific Basin Music Festival. Most recently, Ms. Linde taught Junior High and High School Band and Orchestra at Bellevue Christian School, growing the ensembles and participating in local festivals and tours. Ms. Linde is currently teaching K-8th grade music at Holy Family School in Kirkland. 

On the weekends, Ms. Linde plays oboe and handbells in her church’s choir and enjoys the outdoors with her family. Ms. Linde deeply believes that she is a teacher first, and is thrilled to work with young musicians and the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra team.

Ms. Linde joined BYSO as Overture Ensemble Conductor in 2024. Contact her at overture@byso.org.

Mollie Ewing holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Educational Leadership degree from the University of Portland. She taught orchestra in the Issaquah School District from 2001 to 2010 and is currently teaching orchestra at Risdon Middle School in the Renton School District.

Mrs. Ewing is a freelance adjudicator and clinician for school districts around the region and has been a guest conductor for both the Elementary and Junior High Honor Orchestras in the Lake Washington School District and for the Olympic Music Educators Association. Previously, she performed and toured the United States with many Northwest indie bands as an electric violinist. She continues to perform on both violin and viola with various local string quartets. 

Mrs. Ewing joined BYSO as a coach in 2001 and became Debut String Orchestra conductor in 2012. Contact Mrs. Ewing at debut@byso.org.

Stephanie Hellekson holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Puget Sound. She has taught in Tacoma Public Schools, Bethel School District, Peninsula Youth Symphony, private violin in the Seattle area and is currently the orchestra director at TOPS K-8 in the Seattle Public Schools, where she has taught and grown the program over the last 10 years.

Stephanie is a professional violinist in the Seattle area, currently performing with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in the 1^st violin section. She has performed with the Tacoma and Olympia Symphonies and various string quartets in the area.  Stephanie is an active in coach for Seattle Youth Symphony, Seattle Public Schools Summer Music, Sonic Pops NW Camp, and guest clinician and adjudicator around the PNW, she has served on boards for Washington Music Educators Association and Washington chapter of American String Educators Association.

Stephanie is passionate about the community and connections that music can create in young musicians. She seeks to build community, inspire, and grow the student as a whole through music. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, her giant goldendoodle Finchley, making sourdough bread, and being near or on the water!  She is particularly into listening and jamming to the 90’s and 00’s at the moment. Stephanie is thrilled to be joining the BYSO family and working with the new Intermezzo Orchestra.

Stephanie Hellekson joined BYSO as Intermezzo String Orchestra Conductor in 2024. Contact her at intermezzo@byso.org.

Andrew Kam received his BM in Music Education from the University of Miami and an MM in Violin Performance from the University of Oregon. Mr. Kam currently serves as the Orchestra Director at Bellevue High School and conductor for the Cadet String Orchestra with Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Kam regularly adjudicates for both small and large ensemble festivals and has served as guest conductor for honors orchestras in the Puget Sound region.

As a professional violinist, Mr. Kam is a violinist with Symphony Tacoma. He is one of the recording violinists heard on Kesha’s 2018 Grammy nominated single “Praying,” and has performed on other movie and popular music productions. Each year, Mr. Kam and his wife Angie (violin) tour with Trans Siberian Orchestra during the band’s stops in Seattle and Portland.

Mr. Kam is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii. He enjoys rock climbing, skiing, cooking, and traveling. Mr. Kam also loves hiking with his dog Burt.

Mr. Kam joined BYSO as a violin coach in 2012 and became Cadet String Orchestra conductor in 2015. Contact Mr. Kam at cadet@byso.org.

Dr. Merrie Siegel Parmley holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Rice University. At age 19, she was awarded the First Prize in the New York Flute Club’s Young Artist Competition and made her debut at CAMI Recital Hall. Her playing has been hailed as “magnificent, jovial and radiant, with purity of tone and great technical command of the instrument.” 

She has performed with the Houston Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Spokane Symphony, and Mozart Society of Philadelphia, among others. She has held the position of Principal Flute with the Boise Philharmonic and with Sinfónica de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Filarmónica del Bajío, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes, in Mexico.

Dr. Merrie enjoys teaching and collaborating with flutists of all ages and abilities in her private studio and performing throughout the Puget Sound area with her adult flute ensemble, Tutti Flutti. Her CDs, Flute Music of the Americas, Vol. I and Vol. II are available on amazon.com and on most streaming services.

During the summers, she performs with former students and colleagues throughout Mexico and serves as Artistic Advisor and Flutist with Cruzando Fronteras, an international consortium of Mexican and German musicians.

Dr. Merrie joined BYSO in 2010 as the conductor of Flute Choir and assumed role of conductor of Flute Orchestra in 2026. Contact Dr. Merrie at fluteorchestra@byso.org.

Praised for his “technical virtuosity and musical sensitivity” and “real flair” (The Well-Tempered Ear), flutist Dr. Timothy Hagen is a laureate of multiple national and international competitions, including the Myrna Brown Artist Competition and Australian International Flute Competition. He is Principal Flute of the Missouri Symphony, and has performed with professional ensembles across the country, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and Dallas Wind Symphony. His award-winning compositions are performed by musicians throughout North America and Europe, and his scholarly writing has appeared in the journals of the National Flute Association (USA) and British Flute Society.

Dr. Hagen is Assistant Professor of Flute and Coordinator of Woodwinds at Central Washington University. He is also an instructor for online conservatory tonebase, where his courses can be found alongside those by faculty members from top musical institutions such as the Juilliard School, Rice University, University of Michigan, Peabody Institute, and the symphony orchestras of Boston, St. Louis, and Detroit. Dr. Hagen has previously taught at Clarke University, Austin Peay State University, Central Michigan University, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Oklahoma State University, The University of Texas-Austin, and Brookhaven College, as well as in partnerships with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lincoln Center Education, and Dallas Symphony. He completed his studies at the UNC School of the Arts, University of Southern California, Colburn School, and University of Texas-Austin, and his teachers include Marianne Gedigian, Jim Walker, Philip Dunigan, Renée Siebert, Tadeu Coelho, Chelsea Czuchra, Felicia McNaught, and Tina Ballard.

Dr. Hagen joined BYSO as the conductor of Flute Choir in 2026. Contact Dr. Hagen at flutechoir@byso.org.

Denali Williams is an in-demand performing and teaching percussionist in a wide-variety of musical styles. Mr. Williams serves as a percussion coach/consultant to several area school districts including Bellevue, Seattle, and Snoqualmie Valley. In addition to these duties he frequently adjudicates band/solo & ensemble festivals throughout the region. Mr. Williams maintains teaching studios in Seattle and Tacoma for both remote and in-person lessons.

As an orchestral percussionist Mr. Williams is a member of Symphony Tacoma, Lake Washington Symphony, and Federal Way Symphony and is a regular “extra” performer for many other orchestral & theatre groups including the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and Auburn Symphony.

Denali Williams joined as BYSO’s Percussion Ensemble Conductor in Fall 2020. Contact Mr. Williams at percussion@byso.org.

Violin: Lin Chen, Annie Drassal, Caroline Faflak, Manchung Ho*, Megan Jancola*, Pamela Liu, Kwan Bin Park, Hannah Reitz*, Anna Silarski, Marianna Vail*

Viola: Camber Charlot, Maren Kilmer, Mariya Ksondyzk, Gerald Liu

Cello: Erika Fiebig, Janice Lee, Shiang-Yin Lee

Double Bass:  Attila Kiss, Ramon Salumbides, Moe Weisner

Flute: Bridget Pei, Rachel Reyes*

Oboe: Yuh-Pey Lin, Kieran Matz

Clarinet: Mary Kantor, Lori Shepherd, Jenny Ziefel

Bassoon: Steven Morgan, Shannon Nelson

Horn: Paulette Altman

Trumpet: Tim Mallette,

Trombone: Elizabeth McDaniel, Allison Martin

Tuba: Seth Tompkins

Premiere Winds: Hannah Ogden*

*Assistant Conductor