Matthew Young joined the SFS viola section in 2012. He was a founding member of the Verklärte Quartet, which won grand prize in the 2003 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. He currently performs as a member of Ensemble San Francisco. Winner of a 2007 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians and the Robert Vernon Prize for Viola Performance, he attended the University of Kentucky, Yale School of Music, and Cleveland Institute of Music. 

(November 2019)

Gina Cooper joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section in 1992, having served previously as a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic. A native of Ardsley, NY, she began her musical studies on piano and holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. 

(September 2019)

Yun Chu joined the SFS violin section in 2002. He received his early training at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and served as concertmaster on two concert tours with the Asian Youth Orchestra under Sergiu Commissiona, where he also performed as soloist with Yo-Yo Ma. While a student at the University of Southern California (where he received the Jascha Heifetz scholarship), he was selected to participate in the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany, and was subsequently appointed concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra. Learn more about Yun Chu at sfsymphony.org/yunchu.

(September 2018)

Wayne Roden, a native of Alabama, attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and Northern Illinois University, where he studied with Scott Nickrenz. Following induction into the military, he studied viola with Karen Tuttle and also played frequently at the White House as a member of the Strolling Strings of the US Army Band. He joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1974. With the San Francisco Chamber Soloists, he performed with Janos Starker, Jaime Laredo, Stephanie Chase, and Jerome Lowenthal. 

(September 2019)

Helen Kim joined the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Second Violin in 2016. A member of the Saint Louis Symphony from 2011 to 2016, she made solo appearances with that orchestra in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. She has spent her summers teaching and performing at festivals including Aspen, Yellow Barn, Luzerne, and the Innsbrook Institute. Ms. Kim received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, where she was Presidential Scholar, and a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. 

(September 2019)

Sébastien Gingras joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2010 and was previously a member of the New World Symphony and the Saint Louis Symphony. Mr. Gingras grew up in Chicoutimi, Québec, where he was educated at the Conservatoire de Musique. After graduating, he moved to Boston to study at New England Conservatory, where he received his master’s degree in 2005. He has participated in the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute and Yellow Barn.

POLINA SEDUKH, a native of Saint Petersburg, Russia, joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2007. She was previously a member of the Boston Symphony and made her solo debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Liepaya in Latvia at age of seven, followed by recital tours in US, Germany, and Austria.

Amos Yang joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2007 as Assistant Principal Cello and holds the Karel & Lida Urbanek chair. He was previously a member of the Seattle Symphony and a member of the Maia String Quartet. 

Born and raised in San Francisco, he was a member of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra and San Francisco Boys Choir. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School and now serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

Dan Carlson joined the SFS in 2006. He currently serves as Principal Second Violin, occupying the Dinner & Swig Families Chair. He previously served as rotating concertmaster for the New World Symphony and he has made solo appearances with the Phoenix Symphony, Chicago String Ensemble, New World Symphony, and the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he has performed chamber music extensively throughout New York. Mr. Carlson performs and teaches with the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

Scott Pingel became Principal Bass of the SFS in 2004, having previously served in that position with the Charleston Symphony. Prior to that, he was a member of the New World Symphony. He has also served as guest principal with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada. Mr. Pingel received degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the Manhattan School of Music. Also a jazz musician, he has worked with artists including Michael Brecker, Geoff Keezer, and James Williams. For more on Scott Pingel, visit sfsymphony.org/scottpingel.

Catherine Payne joined the San Francisco Symphony as piccolo player in 1996. She previously performed with the Boston Symphony as acting second flute and served as principal flute of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston and associate principal flute and piccolo player with the Portland Symphony. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Ms. Payne graduated from New England Conservatory and Tufts University. She is currently a flute coach for the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra.

James Button was appointed Associate Principal Oboe of the San Francisco Symphony in September 2017. A native of Australia, he made his solo debut with the Melbourne Symphony at the age of 17. He later attended Temple University and the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jonathan Blumenfeld and Eugene Izotov respectively. He has also studied with John Mack, John de Lancie, and Joseph Turner. Mr. Button was previously a member of the Nashville Symphony, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, New World Symphony, and has appeared as guest principal with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Melbourne Symphony. He has performed at the Verbier, Edinburgh, and Tanglewood festivals, as well as Italy’s Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. His live recording of Jennifer Higdon's Oboe Concerto with the Nashville Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2018.

Jerome Simas joined the San Francisco Symphony as bass clarinet in 2012. Prior to that, he was principal clarinet with the California Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Monterey Symphony, and IRIS Orchestra. He has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony, and Naples (Florida) Philharmonic.
 
Mr. Simas is a member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and performs with the Sierra Chamber Society and on the SF Symphony chamber music series. He won grand prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, first prize at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, and first prize at the International Clarinet Association’s Young Artist Competition, and participated in the Marlboro Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and Tanglewood Music Center. Previously a fellow at the New World Symphony, he is featured in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto on the New World Symphony’s RCA Victor Red Seal recording New World Jazz with Michael Tilson Thomas.
 
A dedicated music educator, Mr. Simas is professor of clarinet and chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is a coach with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinet Franklin Cohen.

Rob Weir joined the SFS in 1991. Born and raised in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada, Mr. Weir trained at the Curtis Institute of Music. Prior to his appointment with the SFS, he served as principal bassoon of the Chamber Symphony of San Francisco and the California Symphony. Mr. Weir has served on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and was previously a coach for the SFS Youth Orchestra.  

(September 2019)

Chris Cooper began his career with the Empire Brass Quintet out of Boston, and then joined the Canadian Brass with whom he made several recordings. He is Grammy-nominated solo artist on Take the A Train and received an ECHO Klassik award from Germany for his work on the Goldberg Variations, both with the Canadian Brass. Following his time with the Canadian Brass, Mr. Cooper became an acting member of the San Francisco Symphony for nine years, currently holding the Guest Associate Principal Horn position. During the summer he serves as Principal Horn of the Carmel Bach Festival. Mr. Cooper is very active in studio recording and solo and chamber concerts, and he also ran the horn studio at UCLA for four years and was co-principal of SF Opera for two years. He studied at Boston University and the San Francisco Conservatory.

David Goldblatt, occupant of the Christine & Pierre Lamond Second Century Chair, joined the SFS cello section in 1978, having previously played in the Pittsburgh Symphony. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Mr. Goldblatt has also been a cellist with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia (now the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. He is currently a coach for the SFS Youth Orchestra.