The St. Thomas Orchestra was co-founded by Bernard Tamosaitis and Peter Arike in 2002. Among its ranks today can be counted a broad spectrum of professionals in the arts, sciences, law, finance, medicine, and business. Members in the orchestra range in age from 15 to 85 and are united by a common commitment to the pursuit of musical excellence. Over the years, we have evolved into a uniquely diverse organization of remarkable depth and it is our privilege to perform great symphonic music for our community.
Our Mission
The power of music is to transport us outside of day-to-day concerns and into an unfettered realm of communal epiphany. It is our hope that the orchestra will serve as a bridge to make great symphonic music more accessible to our community.
Personnel Roster
1st Violin
Lori Horowitz ***
Joshua Berrett
Claire Cohen
Megumi Kobayashi
Namiko Martin
Joyce Nakamiya
Kaori Saimaru
Tai Ping Tan
Antje Wilmer
2nd Violin
Rebecca Eckfeld *
Karen Chow
Jay Dweck
Judith Grand
Ted Kesler
Nancy Mariani
Lieven Nuyttens
Yoko Sato
Gabriel Tan
Sarah Zemel
Viola
Monica Gerard *
Kate Branch
Katie Callaghan
George Drapeau III
Jane Klemmer
Gabriel Tevan
Cello
Enrique Orengo*
Jacqueline Bergson
Howard Cohen
Jonathan Kantor
Michael Kellas
Davis Knobloch
Benjamin Lebwohl
Normearleasa Thomas
Angelina Woltmann
Bass
William Eckfeld*†
Thomas Bastone
Robert Durante
Michael Maino
Flute
Jennifer Pyne*
Martha Binder
Terry Wager
Piccolo
Terry Wager
Oboe
Heidi Chisholm Wolfgang *
Hilda Ramirez
Clarinet
C. Winfield Swarr
Tim Porter
Bass Clarinet
Bill Young
Bassoon
Mary Olsson
Jonathan Stark
Winnie Swarr
Horn
Marcus Shaw
Igor Sherbakov
Marc Wager
Barbara Zacheis
Alto Saxophone
Art Sine
Tenor Saxophone
Uma Karkala
Baritone Saxophone
Karl Watson
Trumpet
Jack Binder
David Marchiony
Glen Oxton
Trombone
Doug Denniston
Sam Riss
Robert Stattel
Tuba
Josh Mandel
Tympani
Danielle Weinberg
Percussion
Christine Mangiamele
David Wilson
Keyboard
Chia-Li Sung
*** Concertmaster
** Assistant Concertmaster
* Principal
† Assistant Conductor
Music Director
William Eckfeld served as orchestra director at White Plains High School from 1987 until his retirement in 2013. He is a prolific composer whose works have been performed by STO and his own chamber group, Trio D'Été. Skilled at piano and organ, he serves as organist at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New Rochelle, N.Y. He studied composition with Samuel Adler at the Eastman School of Music, with Karl Haidmeier in Austria, and John Corigliano, Jr, in New York. He has served as president of the Greater Westchester Youth Orchestras Association and the Westchester County School Music Association. In the 1970s, Eckfeld played double bass in the Rochester Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony.