Mr. William Hollin was the Music Director and Conductor of the PVYO Philharmonia for 26 years, while also enjoying a distinguished career as a music educator. He most recently served as the Lead Instrumental Music Teacher at The Barbara Ingram School for the Arts in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he retired in 2023. At BISFA, he led a department of seven full- and part-time faculty members and consistently guided student ensembles to superior ratings at district and state adjudications. Before his time at BISFA, Mr. Hollin directed the school orchestras for Missoula County Public Schools in Montana from 2004 to 2009, where his ensembles also achieved top honors. A native of Montgomery County, Maryland, he previously served as Director of Instrumental Music at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, where he was named “Teacher of the Year” in both 2002 and 2004. While at Quince...

Mr. Dahlin is in his seventeenth season directing the PVYO Symphony, returning to the Symphony after directing the PVYO Concert Band for several seasons. Robert Dahlin is the instrumental music teacher at Hallie Wells Middle School in Clarksburg MD. During his tenure with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Mr. Dahlin has conducted award-winning string orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles. Mr. Dahlin’s students consistently earn superior ratings at local, state, and regional music festivals.  His students consistently earn first place and best overall ensemble awards for each of his performing groups at Music in the Parks Festivals.  In the MCPS system, Mr. Dahlin has also taught at Hoover Middle School, Westland Middle School, and Ridgeview Middle School.  Mr. Dahlin has had the honor of conducting the MCPS County Honors Band many times during his career with MCPS. Mr....

Mrs. Michelle Cammarata is a lifelong Montgomery County resident and graduate of MCPS.  She received a bachelor’s degree in music education (instrumental music) and a bachelor’s degree in music performance (bass trombone) from the University of Maryland, graduating Magna Cum Laude.  She taught at Montgomery Blair High School for sixteen years and now teaches at Cabin John Middle School. She earned joint certification from Berkleemusic and Propellerhead Software as a Specialist in “Music Creation Using Reason” software. In 2013 Mrs. Cammarata received the Maryland Music Educators Association Outstanding Music Teacher Award for Instrumental Music. She directed the Montgomery County Public Schools Junior Honors Jazz Band in 2015 and 2016, and she has conducted the Montgomery County Public Schools Junior Honors Orchestra since 2017. A member of NAfME and MMEA, she served on the Maryland...

After graduating in the top five percent of her Seneca Valley High School class, Mrs. Lee went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and her certification in instrumental music education from the Catholic University of America, studying piano with Walter Pate and violin and viola with Jody Gatwood. Presently, Mrs. Lee is a string and band director at Beverly Farms ES, Luxmanor ES, and Candlewood ES. She has also been the string director for Cedar Grove, Clarksburg, Damascus, Rockwell, and Little Bennett Elementary Schools and string and band director at Clearspring ES, Olney ES, and Rock Creek Valley ES. In addition to teaching elementary school, she has served as the John T. Baker Middle School orchestra director for many years. During her years at Baker, Sylvia helped triple the size of Baker’s orchestra program and led her orchestras to superior ratings at district-level...

Dr. Mark Schuppener is the conductor of the Preparatory Orchestra of the Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra program and has also served as a strings specialist and frequent sectional coach. Dr. Schuppener has garnered acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor, arts administrator, and passionate music educator. Since moving to the Washington DC area in 2018, he has served both as the Director of Fine and Performing Arts and Director of Strings and Chamber Music at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, MD. As a music educator, Dr. Schuppener has held appointments as a university professor of music, K-12 music educator, private instructor, chamber music coach, youth symphony conductor, and held faculty positions at prestigious summer music festivals and schools throughout the United States. For the past twenty years, Dr. Schuppener has been involved with youth symphony organizations around...

Dr. Tzu-Ching Tai has established herself as a cellist, music educator, conductor, and researcher. She is a graduate of Hartt School of Music, where she earned a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Music Education from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a music educator and conductor, she has been involved in music teaching from elementary to collegiate levels. She is strings specialist/orchestra director at Fairfax County Public Schools. Previously, she was the orchestra director at Alexandria City Public Schools. During her time at Alexandria City High School, her orchestras received superior ratings consecutively for eight years at the State Assessment. Before ACHS, she was the cello instructor at Holton-Arms School and teaching assistant of the String...

Terry S. Alvey recently retired from Montgomery County Public Schools, where she was the Instrumental Music Director at Walt Whitman High School.  Ms. Alvey received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Trumpet Performance from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and continued her graduate studies in music education at the University of Maryland and Trinity College. She is an active educator, guest conductor, adjudicator, clinician, and performer. Ms. Alvey began her musical career in the D.C. area as a freelance musician and a member of the Monumental Brass Quintet. The quintet performed extensively in the metro area and toured the East Coast. Performances included the Kennedy Center, Lisner Auditorium, the Joseph Meyerhoff Hall, and the White House.  Ms. Alvey is now a member of the M Street Brass Quintet, a Washington, D.C., based performing ensemble. Ms. Alvey has been on the faculties of the...

Jon Eising is the Instrumental Music Department Chair at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. Blake is home to the Signature Program for the Arts and Humanities for Montgomery County Public Schools. While there, Mr. Eising’s ensembles have consistently received superior ratings at both band and orchestra festivals, and he has led The Roaring Bengals Marching Band all over the country to perform at premiere parades, bowl games, and competitions. Mr. Eising received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from The University of Oklahoma and a Master’s Degree in French Horn Performance from The University of Maryland. During his undergraduate studies, Mr. Eising played professionally with The Oklahoma City Philharmonic, as well as various other professional orchestras throughout that region. While at UMD, Mr. Eising studied with Marty Hackleman, Principal Horn in The...

Kristi Licare is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance as a student of David Jones and a Bachelor of Music Education. Before her undergraduate studies, Ms. Licare earned a certificate in clarinet performance from the Juilliard School, Pre-College Division, where she studied with Laura Flax. Ms. Licare is in her ninth year as the Instrumental Music Director and second year as the Content Specialist for the Fine Arts and Technology departments at Westland Middle School. In prior years, she has conducted the MCPS East All County Band and the MCPS Sixth Grade All County Band. Ms. Licare has also served as a woodwind sectional coach for various MCPS and other youth organization ensembles, including PVYO. Ms. Licare has performed with various musical ensembles across the DMV, including the Maryland Band Directors’...

Ceylon Narvelle Mitchell II is a professional flutist, arts entrepreneur, educator, and arts advocate in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska and a graduate of East Anchorage High School, he earned a Master of Music Education degree from Boston University and a Master of Music Performance degree from the University of Maryland, in addition to a Graduate Certificate in Multimedia Journalism. Ceylon will continue his education in the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) flute program at the University of Maryland with Dr. Sarah Frisof in Fall 2019. Recent achievements include the National Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, the Young Alaskan Artist Award, a 2018 Prince George’s County Forty UNDER 40 Award in Arts & Humanities, and a 2019 Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council Artist Fellowship Grant. Ceylon’s mission is keeping classical music alive,...

Ms. Jennifer Mitchell joined PVYO in 2008 as Clarinet Choir Conductor and accepted the position of PVYO Executive Director in May 2009. Ms. Mitchell graduated summa cum laude from James Madison University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. She earned her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Memphis.  As a graduate assistant,  Jennifer conducted the  Varsity Band, assisted with the “Mighty Sound of the South” Marching Band, directed the Lady Tiger Pep Band, and performed with the University Orchestra. While living in Memphis, Jennifer was a woodwind faculty member at the Germantown Conservatory of Music in Germantown, Tennessee, and taught at St. Mary’s Episcopal School. She also worked as a clinician for various high schools, adjudicated Solo Ensemble Festivals, and performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, Jennifer moved to Montgomery...