Previous 2024 Chamber Concerts

The Celeste String Quartet, formed in the summer of 2023, is an independent quartet of dedicated youth musicians from South Eugene High School. Each member has over 10 years of music experience and is passionate about sharing their love for music with their community.The Celeste String Quartet regularly plays for the public at local events and settings such as the Eugene Saturday Market, Tsunami Bookstore, and various fundraiser events. In addition to their quartet activities, the members of Celeste also participate in school orchestras, youth symphonies, and chamber programs, and have competed at the state level in solo competitions and honor ensembles.

Julian Casas is a cellist from Austin, Texas who is currently studying with Hamilton Cheifetz at Portland State University as a cello performance major. They began playing cello in 6th grade at the age of 12. He then went on to the McCallum Fine Arts Academy where they decided to pursue music. Throughout their middle and high schooling, he participated in TMEA Region and honors orchestras, All-city Orchestra  chamber music groups through Austin Chamber Music Center and ACMC summer festivals, Austin Youth Orchestra, and Encore Chamber music institute for solo young artists. They are a hardworking and highly motivated musician who hopes to share their love for music with every performance.

Charles Dalrymple is from Portland, Oregon. He started playing violin at the age of seven, studying primarily with Lisa Zweben. He’s played in a number of youth orchestras, including the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and participated in masterclasses with David Russell, Yolanda Bruno, and Simone Lamsma. Currently, Charles is working on a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance at PSU, where he studies with Tomás Cotik and Adam LaMotte.

Tyler Slaughter was born and raised in Reno, NV. He began playing violin in 6th grade through his public-school music program and later picked up viola during his junior year in high school. Tyler received his Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of Nevada Reno in 2018 where he continued participating in the University Orchestra. Other performing opportunities Tyler has enjoyed are The Reno Pops Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, Ruby Mountain Symphony, Tualatin Valley Symphony, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Tyler began his teaching career as a middle school orchestra teacher at Yvonne Shaw Middle School in Sparks, NV where he taught a full-time string program for three years before moving to Portland to pursue his Master’s in Music from Portland State University where he is currently attending school and is assistant conductor to the university orchestra.

Allison Parker grew up in Portland Oregon and has recently returned to attend PSU and finish her Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in music after studying in the music conservatory at Bard College for violin performance. She is passionate about multiple crafts in the creative field including acting and film, writing, and singing.

Alliance Charter Academy is a K-12 public charter school and homeschool cooperative in Oregon City. The school offers three levels of skill-based orchestra classes and students in mixed aged groups. Students in the symphony orchestra have been studying their instrument between 4-8 years. This orchestra performs an annual prelude to the Oregon Symphony Concert and other community event such as Armory Theater in Portland, OR and the annual Wine Walk in Oreogn City. Students are given opportunities to embrace the many cultural opportunities at the Portland Art Museum, Portland Baroque Orchestra, and All-Classical Radio. Their director, Mrs. Anna Mersereau, has been leading the symphony since 2016.Ms. Mersereau is a conductor, violinist, and music educator living in Milwaukie, Oregon. Having directed public school orchestras for 15 years, she is currently the director and Music Dept Head at the Alliance Charter Academy, the associate conductor of the Hillsboro Symphony, a private studio teacher. She performs regularly on violin with the Oregon Sinfonietta and the Trillium Baroque Orchestra.

Ms. Mersereau attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her undergraduate studies and is a 2009 summa cum laude graduate from the Masters in Music Education program at Portland State University. Since moving to Portland from Wisconsin in 2003, Ms. Mersereau has played professionally with the Willamette Falls Symphony, Oregon Pro Arte Orchestra, Central Oregon and Vancouver Symphonies.. Ms. Mersereau has served as music director in public school orchestras in the Bend, Lake Oswego and Tigard School Districts in Oregon and is founder of the Sherwood Youth Symphony in Sherwood, Oregon. Her educational focus is to provide young musicians with opportunities which will inspire, enrich and stimulate their appreciation and growth of classical music through travel and performance opportunities.

Castor String Quartet is a Corvallis-based group and was established through the music program at Oregon State University. The quartet has performed throughout Oregon at private events, weddings, and recitals, and was recently invited to play for the OSU Foundation President’s Dinner at the Portland Art Museum. Apart from their involvement in chamber music, the members are active participants in the Corvallis-OSU Symphony.Lucy Lin is from Corvallis, Oregon. She started playing violin at age seven and grew up playing in the Corvallis Youth Symphony and participated in the Interlochen Advanced String Quartet and Tanglewood Young Artists Orchestra summer camp programs in high school. She is currently studying computer science at OSU.

A native Oregonian from Salem, Matthew Zheng is studying Bioengineering and Violin Performance at OSU. He has performed as a soloist with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony numerous times and currently studies with Jessica Lambert.

Viola Stark is originally from Halle, Germany, but grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, and has been involved in music since the age of four. She is pursuing a double major with honors in Mechanical Engineering and Music, with a minor in Viola Performance. Viola has been featured as a soloist with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony and currently teaches violin, viola, and cello through the CYSA Elementary Strings program.

Another Corvallis native, Andrea Pauls was four when she began studying cello with Ann Grabe. Andrea has appeared as a soloist with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony five times, including two performances at children’s concerts as an elementary school student. She currently studies with Anne Ridlington and is getting both a Bachelor of Science in Audio Engineering and a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance.

The members of the Castor String Quartet aspire to continue their musical education, explore new avenues of artistic expression, and share their love for music with a broad audience. As emerging artists, they look forward to contributing to the vibrant world of classical and chamber music.