The Stockton Symphony Hires Margaret Gonzalez and Scott McColl for the Harmony Stockton Program

(STOCKTON, CA)-The Stockton Symphony is thrilled to announce the hiring of Margaret Gonzalez as the new Lead Violin Instructor, and Scott McColl as the new Lead String Instructor and Coordinator of Harmony Stockton, the free after-school music enrichment program at Marshall Elementary School.

Scott McColl

Scott McColl graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, concentrating on the upright bass. He studied string bass with Gregg August, Robert Black, Pascale Delache-Feldman and Susan Hagan; and cello with Adrienne Taylor, Sara Stalnaker, and Alan Balinger. He is also a trained Suzuki teacher, having studied with Alice Vierra at the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute, and taught in the New London and Providence School Districts from 2011-2013.

As a cellist/bassist, Scott has performed in many orchestras and chamber ensembles around New England. He founded the New London Community Quartet, an inter-generational quartet of New London community members, as well as the Sterling Quartet, a quartet comprised primarily of Yale graduate students. Scott has also been involved in non-profit arts organizations-at Providence CityArts as an AmeriCorps Teaching Artist, at LAVA (Launching Activism Via the Arts) as the Chairman to the Benefit Concert Committee, and as a classical radio DJ for WHUS 91.7. Scott is thrilled at the opportunity to be the Lead String Instructor and Coordinator for Harmony Stockton.

Margaret Gonzalez

Margaret Gonzalez graduated from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, with a Bachelor's Degree in viola performance and a minor in violin and piano. Margaret began her musical studies at the age of seven with the El Sistema program in Caracas, Venezuela, and started playing with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel (now the Music Director of the L.A. Philharmonic) when she was 13. While in the El Sistema program she performed in master classes for well-known visiting artists and played under acclaimed conductors, including Simon Rattle and Giuseppe Sinopoli.

In 2004 Margaret continued her musical studies at the prestigious Emil Friedman School in Caracas with Maestro Santiago Garmendia. In 2008 she received a scholarship to study at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, with violist Doris Lederer of the Audubon Quartet. Since she began her studies in the United States, Margaret has performed throughout Virginia, California, and Boston. She loves transforming the lives of children through music and is excited to join Harmony Stockton as the lead violin instructor.

Harmony Stockton

Harmony Stockton is a daily after-school music education program combining two hours of music instruction with academic tutoring and regular public performance to assist young students in developing life skills toward personal, academic, and social success. It is a partnership of the Stockton Symphony, Stockton Unified School District, University of the Pacific, and the United Way of San Joaquin County. It is one of only 55 El Sistema-inspired programs in the United States seeking to translate the inspiration of El Sistema in Venezuela to American communities and educational structures.

More Information

For further information about Harmony Stockton, visit www.harmonystockton.org or call the Symphony office at (209) 951-0196. For information about the Stockton Symphony, future performances, guest artists, and how to volunteer, please visitwww.StocktonSymphony.org. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Background

Founded in 1926, the Stockton Symphony is California's third-oldest continuously performing orchestra and the only professional symphony orchestra in San Joaquin County. The Symphony's mission is to engage, educate, and inspire the community through a commitment to excellence in its performances and programs. For more information about Symphony concerts, education and community programs call (209) 951-0196 or visit www.StocktonSymphony.org.

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