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.

David Gaudry, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, joined the San Francisco Symphony’s viola section in 1982. A graduate of Indiana University, he also studied at the Vancouver Academy of Music and at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Prior to joining the SFS he was a member of the Vancouver Symphony.

(September 2018)

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.

Kelly Leon-Pearce, a member of the SFS since 1990, holds degrees from the Juilliard School of Music, where her teachers included Dorothy DeLay and Felix Galimir. She has served as a regular substitute of the New York Philharmonic and as associate and assistant concertmaster of the Aspen Festival Orchestra. As a founding member of the Persichetti Quartet, she played the cycle of Persichetti quartets at Kennedy Center and a Bartók cycle at MoMA in New York. For more on Kelly Leon-Pearce, visit sfsymphony.org/kellyleon-pearce.

(May 2018)

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)

Barbara Bogatin joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1994. Previously she was principal cello with the Milwaukee and New Jersey symphonies and played as a substitute with the New York Philharmonic for ten years. She studied cello in the preparatory division of the San Francisco Conservatory, and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School. Along with her neuroscientist husband, she has led workshops on meditation and music practice at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, the Esalen Institute, Stanford University, and in Italy and South Africa. She is a proud parent of two University of California graduates.

Katie Kadarauch joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2007 as Assistant Principal Viola. A native of the Bay Area, she was principal viola of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra and earned a bachelor’s degree and graduate diploma from the New England Conservatory. She also studied at the Colburn School, during which time she performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and recorded film scores. She plays on a Peter Rombouts viola ca.1720, on loan from the SF Symphony.

Leonid Plashinov-Johnson joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section at the beginning of this season. Previously a member of the St. Louis Symphony, he is a laureate of multiple competitions, most recently the Primrose International Viola Competition, and has participated in the Yellow Barn, Ravinia, and AIMS festivals. Born in Russia, he graduated from New England Conservatory, where he won the concerto competition.


(11/2022)

Katarzyna Bryla joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section beginning with the 2022–23 season. She was born into a family of musicians and has earned more than two dozen prizes and awards in the US, France, and her native Poland. In 2019 she became a co-principal violist of Orchestra of St. Luke’s and a member of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. She has also been a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the New York Pops. She has performed at Classical Tahoe, Napa Valley Music Festival, and Music@Menlo.

(11/2022)

Christina King, a native of Newport Beach, CA, joined the SFS in 1996. She has been a member of the Tucson Symphony and served as principal viola in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony. Prior to those positions, she played with various orchestras in Mexico City. Ms. King is a graduate of Barnard College/Columbia University, where she pursued a degree in English while studying violin and viola at the Manhattan School of Music. She was later granted a fellowship to Northwestern University, where she earned her master’s degree.

(September 2018)

Mark Wright, a native of Emporia, KS, attended the Interlochen Music Camp as a child and studied bass with Larry Hurst at the University of Michigan. He played in the Detroit Symphony throughout the summer of 1986, joining the San Francisco Symphony in September of that year. For more on Mark Wright, visit sfsymphony.org/markwright.

(September 2018)

Linda Lukas joined the San Francisco Symphony flute section in 1990, occupying the Alfred and Dede Wilsey Chair. She holds degrees from Ohio State University, University of Iowa, and the École Normale de Musique in Paris. She previously served as principal flute with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra and was a member of the San Diego Opera Orchestra. Ms. Lukas has been principal flute of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho since 1996, and she is on the faculty of San Francisco State University.

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.

Stephen Paulson joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Bassoon in 1977, and stepped into the Associate Principal position at the end of 2023. Also a conductor, he has served as Music Director of Symphony Parnassus since 1998. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he studied bassoon with K. David Van Hoesen and Mordechai Rechtman, and composition with Samuel Alder. He has served as principal bassoon with the Rochester Philharmonic and co-principal bassoon of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Mr. Paulson has given masterclasses at colleges worldwide, including the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, and the Shanghai Conservatory. He is longtime Professor of Bassoon at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. For more on Stephen Paulson, visit sfsymphony.org/stephenpaulson.

Bruce Roberts joined the SFS in 1988 and currently serves as Assistant Principal Horn. He studied with George Cable of the San Diego Symphony, with Fred Fox and Lawrence Christianson at California State University Northridge, and with Ralph Pyle at the California Institute of the Arts. He was a founding member of La Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México was previously a member of the Utah Symphony. Mr. Roberts teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, appears regularly at the Grand Teton Music Festival, and has also performed as a soundtrack recording artist.

(November 2019)