String Faculty

Odessa Balan, violin & viola

Odessa has a degree in Music Composition with a Violin Concentration from Temple University’s Ester Boyer College of Music and Dance. Ms. Balan is a unique voice in the contemporary music scene. Her musical genres include, but are not limited to, classical, jazz, folk, and adult contemporary rock. Over the past 20 years she has composed music for Group Motion Modern Dance Company, collaborating with Andrea Clearfield and Manfred Fischbeck; she collaborated on classical-jazz fusion projects with jazz pianist and recording artist Dave Burrell; she had many performances in the Philly Fringe Festivals, and performed at the Kimmel Center, the Jazz Clef Club, Chris’ Jazz Café, the Annenberg Theater at University of Pennsylvania, and the Arts Bank in Philadelphia, and at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Her orchestral work Winter Dance was played by the Romanian Symphony Orchestra on their tour of Romania and Italy. Her compositions have been used in independent films and television shows, and have been played on NPR’s Creatively Speaking on 90.1 FM, and UPenn Radio 88.5 FM. She is now a proud mother of two boys, and keeps busy performing, recording, and teaching violin, viola and music theory at CMS, and String Ensemble at Ursinus College.

"I feel that my daughter has really blossomed with Odessa Balan.  I notice a dramatic improvement in her playing over the last year or so, and she has become very successful in her school orchestra, being selected two years in a row for the District 11 orchestra."    



Cynthia Campetti, violin

Ms. Campetti is a former member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Opera Orchestra, Pennsylvania Ballet Company and the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music with a degree in violin performance, Ms. Campetti studied with world-renowned teachers, Ivan Galamian and Jascha Brodsky. For the past 35 years, Ms. Campetti has committed her time to teaching private students in the Philadelphia region. Ms. Campetti is on staff at Eastern University, Darlington Fine Arts Center and the Community Music School in Trappe, PA.

Hsiao-Ming Chen, cello

MM & BM in cello performance, Temple University • Studies with Orlando Cole and Metta Watts

Eric Coyne, cello

Eric has been an active teacher, performer, and chamber musician in the Philadelphia region since 2001. In addition to his work at Community Music School since 2002, he has been a faculty member of the Westminster Choir College Conservatory, the Nelly Berman School of Music, and The Music School of Delaware. He currently teaches music theory and chamber music at The Music School of Delaware, and has been a Master Faculty member of the Community School since 2009. From 2002-2005, he was 'cellist of CMS's ensemble-in-residence, the Mühlenberg Piano Quartet, and is currently 'cellist of CMS's Perkiomen Piano Trio. Other performing commitments include Symphony in C, Classical Revolution Philadelphia, and the Bariolage Improvisation Ensemble. He holds a B.M. in Cello Performance from the University of Iowa, and an M.M. and Performance-Pedagogy Professional Certificate from Temple University.  

John Grillo, double bass

John started playing Double Bass at the age of 11. He attended The Julliard School during high school and was a scholarship student at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana where he studied with Lawrence Hurst. After graduating from IU, he attended the Manhattan School of Music completing his Masters Degree with Timothy Cobb. Mr. Grillo performed at The Tanglewood Music Center from 1994 to 1996. Other festivals include the National Repertory Orchestra, Festival di Due Mondi in Italy, and Pacific Music Festival in Japan. John was a member of the New World Symphony from 1999-2002. His other professional engagements include performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, Wheeling Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and the Sarasota Opera. John was a faculty member with The Pittsburgh Music Academy from 2002-2006. Future engagements include the Iris Orchestra, Philadelphia Virtuosi, Pennsylvania Ballet, The Princeton Festival, The Philly Pops, Opera New Jersey and the Princeton Symphony. John has been teaching bass at CMS since 2010.

Belmary Lorcas, violin

Born in Maracay, Edo. Aragua,Venezuela, Belmary began her musical training in Caracas, Venezuela with the National System of Children and Youth Orchestras of Venezuela. She is a graduate of Conservatory Simon Bolivar (BM) and Carnegie Mellon University (MM) and also holds a Performance Residency Program Certificate from Carnegie Mellon University. Mrs. Lorcas was a member of Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Symphony Orchestra, the string orchestra Jovenes Arcos de Venezuela and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. Since July 2007, Belmary has been an active guest artist of the  Chamber Art Music festival Spain. Also, she has participated and is an active collaborator as a faculty member teaching violin lessons, coaching string ensembles, performance festivals and workshops at the most important conservatories and orchestras in her native country. As a chamber musician, she has participated in recitals and music festivals in different venues in her native country as well as in the Philadelphia area. Since Belmary moved to Philadelphia area she performs actively in different  ensembles throughout the area. Mrs. Lorcas is a Board Member of the Greater Philadelphia Area Suzuki Association, is the Suzuki Coordinator of the Community Music School in Collegeville, PA, member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and American String Teachers Association. Mrs. Lorcas is an active collaborator with Casa de Venezuela, a non-profit organization for the Greater Philadelphia area. Belmary has been performing with the Ensemble Casa de Venezuela since 2004. She is also an active ambassador of traditional Venezuelan music promoting and sharing her love for the folklore of her homeland.

 "We love Ms Belmary who is gentle but just strict enough to keep my kids focused and following her directions."

Janet Pinkow, violin

Janet began teaching at Community Music School’s Vivace Strings Academy in September 2010.  She has completed training for Suzuki Books 1-3 with Linda Fiore and is pursuing further training.  Janet received a Master of Music in Violin Performance at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in May 2007, where she studied with Károly Schranz (Takács Quartet), Jennifer John, and Judith Ingolfsson.  She also studied with Barbara Sonies while attending Bryn Mawr College, where she graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music (at Haverford College). Since moving to Philadelphia in September 2007, Janet Pinkow has been pursuing a career as a freelance violinist.  She continues to study violin with David Arben (Associate Concertmaster Emeritus of the Philadelphia Orchestra) and performs with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and solo recitals.  Janet is a member of the Reading Symphony Orchestra and Lancaster Symphony Orchestra and plays regularly the Kennett Symphony Orchestra.  Between 2008 and 2010, she toured several times with the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra in the United States and Serbia.  Last year she played with the Colorado Music Festival and the Endless Mountain Music Festival and previously attended several prestigious summer music festivals, including the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Valerie Vuolo, violin & viola

Valerie began studying violin at the age of 5, inspired by her mother (and first violin teacher), Diana Vuolo—a former student of the late Dorothy DeLay. Valerie continued her musical studies with her mother through high school and attended the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT on the Louis T. Carabillo scholarship award. Graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance, she returned to the Philadelphia area where she currently enjoys an incredibly diverse and exciting performance career. She is a member of the Avalare String Quartet (www.avalarestrings.com)  a rock quartet based in Philadelphia that performs widely in the tri-state area. She is also a member of Union Suns, an indie-folk rock band based in West Chester that is off to a thrilling start since their inception last November- recently sharing the stage with such national acts as Rusted Root, John Popper and the Duskray Troubadors (formerly Blues Traveler), and Hey Rosetta!, among others. Valerie enjoys a wide variety of musical styles from Classical to Rock, including Bluegrass, Irish/Celtic fiddle, Folk, Jazz etc. She plays frequently with many additional artists/bands in the Philadelphia area and encourages students to come and enjoy live musical performances whenever possible! She has been teaching at Community Music School since 2007.