Coaches & Mentors

Classical Coaches

The Classical Coaches in the Classroom program serves more than 1,000 6th through 12th grade students each school year, placing professional musicians from the Rogue Valley Symphony in middle and high school orchestra and band classrooms to work with students in sectionals and large group configurations.

Through this program middle and high school students who are focused on music as a course of study have the opportunity to hone their skills and improve their understanding of their instrument and the music they are performing.

Musical Mentors

Musical Mentors education program provides individual students free private music lessons with a member of the orchestra. Check back soon for an updated list of music teachers in our community. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact our Education Coordinator Andrew Zucker at education@rvsymphony.org or 541-315-7076.

Strings

Name	Instrument	Email
Ai Devore	Violin	aidevore@gmail.com
Ben Gardner	Violin	gardnerben94@gmail.com
Sofie Yang	Violin	sofie.y.yang@gmail.com
Michael Sorensen	Viola	msorensen6288@gmail.com
Lisa Truelove	Cello	stephent@ashlandnet.net
Manon Robertshaw	Cello	manonrobertshaw@yahoo.com
James McWhorter	Cello	mcwmusj@msn.com
David Miller	Double Bass	davidl.miller@yahoo.com
Carlos Valdez	Double Bass	cvaldez9014@gmail.com

Woodwinds

Name	Instrument	Email
Sherril Wood	Flute	sherrilkw@gmail.com
Kristin Kessler	Oboe	koboekessler@aol.com
Lorin Groshong	Oboe	lgroshong@gmail.com
Lori Calhoun	Clarinet	loridcalhoun@msn.com
Rhett Bender	Saxophone	bender@sou.edu
Daryl Fjeldheim	Saxophone	daryl.fjeldheim@gmail.com
Karalyn Soffer	Saxophone	karalyn.aprill@gmail.com
Jeff Soffer	Saxophone	jdsoff@gmail.com

Brass

Name	Instrument	Email
Jenifer Carstensen	Horn / Brass Sectionals	jenifer41409@gmail.com
Margarite Waddell	Horn / Brass Sectionals	mgwaddell@gmail.com
Cynthia Hutton	Horn	hutton@sou.edu
Bruce Dresser	Trumpet	bdresser@charter.net
Mark Jacobs	Trombone	jacobyte@gmail.com
Will Scharen	Trombone	william.scharen@gmail.com
Mike Knox	Tuba	mikeknox@bisp.net

Percussion

Name	Instrument	Email
Reed Bentley	Percussion	reed.b.bentley@gmail.com
Hal Davis	Percussion	drmhed@charter.net

Testimony

Lynn Gervais – North Medford High School Orchestra Teacher

I wanted to share my sincere gratitude with you all on your willingness to help out my students at North Medford.  What an awesome program for RVSO to offer to augment current school music programs!  Your time spent of the behalf of my students and myself is greatly appreciated.

When I first arrived in Medford I often lamented the fact that very few of my students (probably less than 3%) take private lessons.  Having grown up in Corvallis, a community in which everyone in my orchestra took individual lessons, I had always anticipated that I would work in a similar situation.  This created frustration early on, but I soon discovered that I love working with these Medford kids and seeing them get excited about their instrument and music, something they might not be exposed to without my class.  I have come to the conclusion that I am more effective in a community such as Medford rather than somewhere like Corvallis where kids will thrive regardless due to a different set of circumstances relating to clientele, education, finances, and level of musical awareness among parents and community members.

While I have the students “hooked” in orchestra, so to speak, your individual expertise is so valuable because I am not able to focus on specifics of instrument technique in a group setting.  For the vast majority of my students, the time you share your knowledge with them is the closest they will ever come to a “private lesson”.  This is priceless for these kids.

Thank you SO much, and I hope we will be able to continue this for future years!

Most Sincerely,
Lynn Gervais

---

We would like to acknowledge the support of the following for our Classical Coaches Program:

Lead Sponsors

Donors