Fine Violins

“I fell in love with Op. 12 the moment I opened the case. Op. 12 is just such a gorgeous instrument that I was attracted to it right away, but besides its looks I fell in love with the warmth of its sound. Moreover, Op. 12 made violin playing so much easier and enjoyable. Its warm resonant sound was truly captivating. When I was trying Op. 12, I had the opportunity to show it and share it with professional violinists so I could hear their opinion as well. Among these violinists were international soloist Stefan Milenkovich, Nelson Lee from the Jupiter String Quartet, and Andres Cardenes former concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony. All of them enjoyed playing Op. 12 and highly encouraged me to purchase the instrument. But, what really made it possible for me to purchase Op. 12 was your willingness to make it work for me however I could. I sincerely appreciate your kindness, and your patience through all the installment payments.  I am really happy to be the owner of Op. 12.”

Erika Zelada began her musical training at the National Conservatory of Music of Paraguay. In 2004 she joined the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay as a founding member. Thanks to an award granted by the FONDEC (Paraguay’s National Fund for the Arts) Ms. Zelada recorded her album “Experimento,” becoming the first female violinist to release an album in Paraguay.

She earned her Bachelor of Music at the Louisiana State University, where she studied with Dr. Lin He (violin) and Dr. Elias Goldstein (viola). She has recently finished her Master of Music in Violin Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying with Prof. Nelson Lee (violin) and Liz Freivogel (viola).

Her orchestral experience includes the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Sinfonietta, Sinfonia da Camera, Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay. She has taught at the National Conservatory of Music of Paraguay and at the University of Illinois as a teaching assistant.

“The very first instrument I auditioned was one of Mr. Finck’s. After about a year of trying many different violins, I came back to try out more of his violins. I am thrilled to have purchased his Opus 30, a dual personality violin. Its sweet personality and its dark personality blend together to make Op. 30 a versatile and powerful instrument!”

Luke Lee studies violin with Renée Jolles at the Eastman School of Music.

“I couldn’t be happier with your violin. It is letting me express myself in so many wonderful ways.”

Sean Elliott is the Principal Second Violinist of the West Virginia symphony after serving as Associate Concertmaster of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. He earned his DMA at the West Virginia University School of Music in Morgantown, WV. His instructors include William van der Sloot, Sunmi Chang, Mikylah Myers, Ellen-Maria Willis, and Mary Wilson.

A native of Morgantown, he began private lessons at the age of five through the WVU Community Music Program and has earned a B.A. in Music from WVU and a Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Sean is the recipient of several awards, including the Valerie Canady Charitable Trust Foundation Scholarship Award and was a winner and performer of the WVU School of Music Young Artist Competition as an undergraduate in 2016 (with Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5) and again as a doctoral student in 2021 (with Vivaldi’s “Spring” and “Summer” from the Four Seasons). Sean has also led the Round Top Summer Festival Orchestra in Texas as Concertmaster during the 2017 season and participated in violin/ viola chamber music workshops with faculty members Sharan Leventhal and Lila Brown from the Boston Conservatory from 2018-2019. He was Concertmaster of the WVU Symphony Orchestra and a violinist of the WVU Graduate String Quartet.

Willa Finck is a member of the second violin section of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She won her position in this world-renowned ensemble in April 2023 and began performing with them that September.

Willa’s time with the orchestra began with a whirlwind four-week tour; two weeks traveling through Europe with the whole ensemble followed by two weeks in China as a part of a 14-musician delegation returning for the 50th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s first visit to China in 1973.

(photo credit – Mike Herschell)

Prior to her appointment in Philadelphia, Willa was a member of the first violin section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 2017-2023. She joined the orchestra while completing her undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music.

She served as a concertmaster in both the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra and the Eastman Philharmonia, starting both positions in her sophomore year. During and after her time at Eastman, Willa performed with faculty members, Steven Doane, Rosemary Elliot, Masumi Per Rostad, Alexander Kobrin, George Taylor, and her own teacher, Mikhail Kopelman.

In the summers she has participated in the Verbier Festival as associate concertmaster and principal second violin of the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Madeline Island Center for Chamber Music Fellowship Program, and the National Youth Orchestra of the USA.

Willa attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts her senior year of high school, where she studied with Ida Bieler and Sarah Johnson.

A North Carolina native, Willa grew up playing Celtic and American folk music with her family. For over a decade she played with her father, sister, and friend in the Celtic group The Forget-Me-Nots, who performed across western North Carolina, most notably at the roots music festival, Merlefest.

The Forget-Me-Nots released three albums, the third of which, (“Blooming” 2010) is comprised of all original music.

In November 2019 Willa released an impromptu live-recording solo album entitled “Ask Me Why” with pianist Sterling Cozza and trumpet player Nathan Kay.

Willa was a founding member of Copper Hill, a Rochester-based folk band that performed from 2017-2020. Copper Hill released one album during their tenure, “Once Around the Sun”. This and “Ask Me Why” marked her vocal and songwriting debuts.

From 2020-2023 Willa played in an Irish duo with guitarist and trombonist Brendan Lanighan

Ledah Finck is a violinist, violist, improviser, and composer based in NYC. A passionate performer, creator, and curator of contemporary classical and experimental music, she is a co-founder of the Bergamot Quartet, as well as Tropos (collective of composers and improvisers) and earspace ensemble (contemporary music ensemble based in Raleigh, NC). As a composer, she has been commissioned by Imani Winds, Alarm Will Sound/Now Hear This, Ayane and Paul, the Bridge Ensemble, and The Peabody Community Chorus among others. Her music embodies a desire to create and share a sound-world in which the classical tradition, the folk music with which she grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and an extensive improvisatory sensibility can be in productive dialogue.

In 2019 she was invited to perform as part of the Sitka Summer Music Festival and the Lucerne Festival Alumni tour. With the Bergamot Quartet, she participated in the Ensemble Modern Chamber Music Academy in Innsbruck, the Quatuor Diotima Academy in France, the Next Festival of Emerging Artists, the Banff Centre Evolution of the String Quartet program, and the Young Artist Development Series in El Paso, TX. Ledah has also participated in Ensemble Modern’s Klangspuren Academy, the Bang on a Can summer institute at MASS MoCA, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in violin performance and composition from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Herbert Greenberg, Oscar Bettison, and Judah Adashi, and studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a Kenan Scholarship, a full fellowship for musical and academic merit.

“I have played some decent violins in my life. I had no idea really what a great violin could sound like – well, certainly not under my own chin. I have played violins by other U.S. craftsmen in Mr. Finck’s price range. I was not impressed. David had made me a guitar many years back. It is still an amazing instrument. I knew his furniture work. I knew he was even an official judge of other craftsmen at prestigious shows. It is no wonder that his violins would reflect the years of wisdom and skill he had accumulated from his father’s techniques and from his own countless hours refining his craft. Truthfully though, I was still stunned at the magnificence of sound coming from the instruments I tested. Finally, after hours of playing several, I settled on one that fit my temperament. And I have become a better player because of it. Or should I say, I at least sound like a better player. And the richness of the instrument seems to grow with time, as I suppose any superior instrument does. Close your eyes and play one of his creations. You will undoubtedly agree with me that the richness you hear is equal to any instrument five times the price. Mine is a treasure.”

Brian Whaley is a life-long multi-instrumentalist and singer song writer. He began violin studies at the age of eight and continues to play professionally over five decades later. He has played violin, electric violin, guitar, keyboards, upright bass and sung in a variety of bands spanning, folk, rock, country rock, and Americana as well as released two albums of his own faith-inspired music. His faith and desire to serve others has been central to his music and work expressed in his job as music director at the Baltimore Catholic Church Our Lady of Fatima and teaching music and recording to emotionally disturbed teens at R.I.C.A, a state school. Brian plays a 2018 violin made by David Finck modeled after the Guarneri “del Gesu” instrument known as “The Plowden”.