Diane Nicholeris has been a member of the SFS since 1984. She studied violin with Joseph Silverstein and Sylvia Rosenberg and graduated from the Eastman School of Music. Ms. Nicholeris has appeared as soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Esplanade Orchestra, and the Monterey Symphony Orchestra, where she was also concertmaster. She has served as an SFS Youth Orchestra coach for many years, and she has also coached at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, UC Berkeley, the New World Symphony, and the Greater Boston Youth Symphony. She was previously on the faculty of San Jose State University. Learn more about Diane Nicholeris at sfsymphony.org/dianenicholeris.

(February 2019)

Florin Parvulescu joined the San Francisco Symphony first violins in 1998. A native of Romania, he was previously a member of the St. Louis Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, won the 1993 Marbury Competition at the Peabody Conservatory, and was a prizewinner in the 1994 Yale Gordon Concerto Competition. He also attended the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival.

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)

Jonathan Vinocour joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Viola in 2009 and was previously principal viola of the St. Louis Symphony and guest principal of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Chicago Symphony. He has frequently soloed with the SF Symphony and has also played concertos with the St. Louis Symphony, La Jolla Music Society, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and New World Symphony. With NWS, he is also a frequent coach and was a featured artist at their Viola Visions Festival alongside Tabea Zimmerman, Kim Kashkashian, Roberto Diaz, and Cynthia Phelps.
 
As a chamber musician, Mr. Vinocour is a regular guest of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, Marlboro Music Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Salt Bay Chamberfest, and ChamberFest Cleveland. His chamber music partners have included Yefim Bronfman, Yo-Yo Ma, Augustin Hadelich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Igor Levit, and James Ehnes, among others. He also performs frequently on the SF Symphony Chamber Music Series and as a recitalist around the country.  
 
Mr. Vinocour graduated from Princeton University with a degree in chemistry and from New England Conservatory, where he studied with Kim Kashkashian. An active and dedicated teacher, he serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as the Aspen Music Festival and School. He plays on a 1784 Lorenzo Storioni viola on loan from the SF Symphony.
 
(1/2024)

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)

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)

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)

Peter Wyrick was a member of the San Francisco Symphony cello section from 1986–89, rejoined the Symphony as Associate Principal Cello from 1999–2023, and retired from the Orchestra at the end of last season. He was previously principal cello of the Mostly Mozart Orchestra and associate principal cello of the New York City Opera. He has appeared as soloist with the SF Symphony in works including C.P.E. Bach’s Cello Concerto in A major, Bernstein’s Meditation No. 1 from Mass, Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major, and music rom Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Concerto.

In chamber music, Wyrick has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yefim Bronfman, Lynn Harrell, Jeremy Denk, Julia Fischer, and Edgar Meyer, among others. As a member of the Ridge String Quartet, Wyrick recorded Dvořák’s piano quintets with pianist Rudolf Firkušný on an RCA recording that received the Diapason d’Or and a Grammy nomination. He has also recorded Fauré’s cello sonatas with pianist Earl Wild for dell’Arte records. Born in New York to a musical family, he began studies at the Juilliard School at age eight and made his solo debut at age 12.

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.

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.

Daniel G. Smith was appointed Associate Principal Bass of the San Francisco Symphony in 2017. He previously served as principal bass of the Santa Barbara Symphony, and he was a member of the San Diego Symphony. He has served as guest principal and associate principal bass with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and guest principal of the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, MN. Mr. Smith received his Bachelor of Music from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Timothy Pitts.

Russ de Luna joined the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra as English Horn in 2007 and holds the Joseph & Pauline Scafidi Chair. In the 2022–23 season, he appears as soloist with the orchestra in the US premiere of Outi Tarkiainen’s Milky Ways, and he was previously featured in Aaron Copland’s Quiet City and Jean Sibelius’s The Swan of Tuonela under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He appears regularly on the San Francisco Symphony chamber music series.

Mr. de Luna has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic, where he soloed in The Swan of Tuonela. He spent three summers as a member of the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Japan under the direction of Seiji Ozawa and is now the English Horn for the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.

A graduate of Boston University and Northwestern University, Mr. de Luna now teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and coaches the oboe section of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra.

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)

Nick Platoff was appointed to the position of Associate Principal Trombone of the San Francisco Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2016, at the age of twenty-three.  

He enjoys a multifaceted career as a composer/arranger/producer, soloist, vocalist, improviser, recording artist, educator, conductor, chamber musician, and concert producer. He loves creating in genres ranging from classical, pop, jazz, funk, and Hip Hop to sound healing and music for multi-tracked trombone.  

In addition to his faculty positions in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division and San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, Mr. Platoff is a sought-after guest educator, having recently taught at Stanford, Yale, Juilliard, the National Orchestral Institute, Miami Music Festival, and Amateur Music Network. He is a proud alumnus of New Haven’s Neighborhood Music School, Northwestern University, and the New World Symphony. 

Chen Zhao joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2000. At ten, he entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and in 1987 he moved to the US with his parents to study at the Crossroads School in Santa Monica, studying with Heiichiro Ohyama. He went on to study with Felix Galimir at the Curtis Institute of Music and with Camilla Wicks at the SF Conservatory. In 1999 he joined the New World Symphony in Miami. Currently a violin coach for the SFS Youth Orchestra, Chen Zhao is a violin professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

(May 2018)