Meet the New MinnOrch Musicians

A new season begins, and with it, we welcome a brand-new cohort of Minnesota Orchestra musicians. Three of the five—Cheryl Losey Feder, Jaclyn Rainey and Sabrina Bradford—have appeared regularly on stage at Orchestra Hall before this season began. They have all performed with their MinnOrch colleagues in acting or replacement capacities in the past several seasons—but now we welcome them to the fold officially with their appointments as full-time members. 

For Nora Scheller, joining MinnOrch is a return to her home state after 13 years, ten of which were spent as a violinist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. "I grew up watching this orchestra perform," Scheller said, "and I’ve been coming to MinnOrch concerts since I was around eight years old. I idolized this orchestra and the musicians in it, so it’s kind of bizarre to think that I am one now. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet."

For Will Ramos, joining the Orchestra is a bit of a "Rice Reunion." Not only was he a student of former MinnOrch bassoonist, Benjamin Kamins, at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music; he was also studiomates with Julianne Mulvey, who joined the bassoon section last season. Principal Bassoon Fei Xie is also a Shepherd School alum. "I’m so honored that I get to play in the same orchestra my teacher played in half a century ago," said Ramos, "and I’m excited to join such an amazing bassoon section."

Another fun fact—Bradford's appointment to the second violin section brings us up to seven married couples in the Orchestra; she and Principal Clarinet Gabriel Campos Zamora were married this summer. 

Cheryl Losey Feder, winner of the Alice Rosner Prize at the Munich ARD International Competition, has performed as guest principal harpist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit, and served as principal harp with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Sarasota Orchestra. Her teaching appointments include roles as assistant professor of harp at Michigan State University and faculty positions at a number of festivals, including the National Music Festival, Brevard Music Center and PRISMA Music Festival. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Feder, along with her husband Abraham Feder, assistant principal cello of the Detroit Symphony, recently performed their debut recital for WFMT Chicago and the International Music Society. Feder’s debut solo album is called A Story. 

Jaclyn Rainey won the role as associate principal horn last April, after serving in the acting position for two seasons. Prior to joining the Minnesota Orchestra, Rainey was principal horn of the Atlanta Symphony and associate principal horn with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among other roles. She has also performed with the symphonies of Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit and Vancouver, and spent summers performing at the Tanglewood Music Center and Cabrillo Festival. Rainey has served on the faculty of Emory University and Georgia State, as well as at the Brevard Music Center, Interlochen Arts Camp and the New England Conservatory’s Summer Orchestra Institute. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Rainey is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and New England Conservatory. She will join the faculty of the University of Minnesota School of Music this fall.

William Ramos recently served as contrabassoonist of the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago and has performed with symphonies of Chicago, Houston, Nashville and San Francisco. He has enjoyed considerable success in music competitions, winning the first prize in the Florida Orchestra’s Justine LeBaron Young Artist Competition and second prize and audience favorite in the Texas Music Festival’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Competition. A native of Tampa, Florida, Ramos was a student of Benjamin Kamins at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Sabrina Bradford trained under esteemed teachers such as Carolyn Huebl, Stephen Rose and Paul Kantor, and received degrees from Vanderbilt University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her professional career began during her undergraduate studies when she performed frequently with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has been a regular guest with the Cleveland Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Sphinx Virtuosi. Bradford is a regular performer with the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd and has performed at the Edinburgh International Festival, Musikfest Berlin, and the George Enescu Festival in Bucharest, Romania. 

A native of Minnesota, violinist Nora Scheller returns to her home state from Dallas, Texas, where she held a position with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for 10 years, working under Jaap van Zweden and Fabio Luisi. Before joining the Dallas Symphony, Scheller studied with Alex Kerr at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where, at 19, she was one of the youngest ever to be accepted into the artist diploma program. Scheller has performed nationally and internationally at some of the world’s greatest concerts halls and has been invited to participate in the Aspen, Breckenridge, Verbier, and Bravo Vail music festivals. In addition to her orchestral work, she is also a devoted chamber musician, having performed alongside such musicians as Alex Kerr, Eric Kim, Peter McGuire, Nathan Olson and Jorja Fleezanis. Nora plays a 2005 David Folland violin.