Samantha Woehrle graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music with a Master’s Degree in Viola Performance in 2019. Her principal teachers include Christine Rutledge-Russell (University of Iowa), Mark Jackobs (The Cleveland Orchestra), Basil Vendryes (Colorado Symphony), Helen Callus (Former Viola Professor at University of Santa Barbara), Andrew Pickens (The Colburn School), Aimée Kreston (The Colburn School), and Michael Lieberman (Westmont College).

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  Samantha is the former Principal Violist of the Denver Philharmonic during the 2016-2017 season while completing her Performance Certificate studies at the University of Denver.  Afterwards, she moved to Cleveland and performed with the Canton Symphony Orchestra and Akron Symphony Orchestra during her Master's degree.

 

  Having over fifteen years of orchestra experience, Samantha spent two summers performing with the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado where she had the opportunity to work with members of the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, and others. She has attended the Aspen Music Festival and Center Stage Strings where she studied with renowned teachers Masao Kawasaki (The Juilliard School), Caroline Coade (University of Michigan), and performed in masterclasses by John Dunham (Shepherd School of Music). During her Masters degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, she performed under the baton of world-renowned conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, JoAnn Falletta, and Brett Mitchell.

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  With a heart for teaching and outreach, Samantha has volunteered at El Systema after-school music programs including ICAN in Santa Barbara, California which brought hope and creativity to children who needed it most in the community. She also presented numerous performances at retirement communities in the area during her undergraduate studies. Samantha’s extensive orchestral training has taken her internationally almost a dozen times to destinations including Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Austria, and Salzburg (where she also played side-by-side with local orchestras). In college, she toured in Italy and Vancouver with the orchestra and college choir.

 

  In high school, Samantha performed with The Colburn Youth Orchestra under the baton of Maxim Eshkenazy as well as the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Orange County Youth Orchestra (with both violin and viola), and the Southern California Youth Philharmonic.

   After beginning piano lessons at age five, she began begging her parents for violin lessons and finally started lessons at age eight. She had one career in mind growing up to be a musician and teacher, and later in her junior year of high school, she switched to viola as her main instrument. Her desire for teaching also took her to Taiwan and South Korea in 2014 where she spent six weeks traveling and teaching English in local schools there.

 

  Mrs. Woehrle (formerly Samantha Wilson), was born and raised in sunny Southern California and currently resides in Lonsdale, Minnesota near the Twin Cities with her husband Vince and young children. She is passionate about her faith, family, hiking, dogs, and amazing coffee!