Our People
Music Director and Musicians
Music Director & Conductor
Ramona Pansegrau
Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau came to Kansas City via the Boston and Tulsa ballet companies, where she held the positions of principal pianist, solo pianist, music director, and conductor.
She has been called one of the best ballet pianists in the world. Robert Joffrey said of her ballet class, “The perfect music for every combination.” She was music director for Tulsa Ballet for nine years, and conductor of the Tulsa Symphony orchestra for ballet performances before she became the Kansas City Ballet music director in October 2006. She was principal pianist/solo pianist for 10 years at Boston Ballet and tenured keyboard for the Boston Ballet Orchestra for 15 years. Pansegrau was on the faculty at Aspen/Snowmass Dance Festival for 11 years, served on the faculty and as music director of seven International Ballet Competitions, and taught at the Boston Conservatory.
Kansas City Symphony
First Violins
Jun Iwasaki^, Concertmaster,
Miller Nichols Chair
Stirling Trent, Acting Associate Concertmaster
Chiafei Lin, Acting Assistant Concertmaster
Sunho Kim‡, Assistant Concertmaster
Anne-Marie Brown
Michael Brown^
Betty Chen
Anthony DeMarco
Susan Goldenberg*
Tomoko Iguchi
Dorris Dai Janssen
Filip Lazovski ∆
Vladimir Rykov
Alex Shum*
Second Violins
Tamamo Someya Gibbs, Principal
Kristin Velicer, Acting Associate Principal
Minhye Helena Choi, Acting Assistant Principal
Nancy Beckmann
Autumn Chodorowski^
Mary Garcia Grant
Kazato Inouye
Rena Ishii
Lisa Jackson ∆
Stephanie Larsen
Sodam Lim^
Rachel Sandman ∆
Violas
MingYu Hsu^, Principal
Jessica Nance, Acting Associate Principal
Duke Lee, Acting Assistant Principal
Matthew Sinno‡, Associate Principal
Julius Adams ∆
Kent Brauninger
Sean Brumble
Marvin Gruenbaum
Jenifer Houck
Jesse Yukimura
Cellos
Mark Gibbs, Principal
Robert A. Kipp Chair
Susie Yang, Associate Principal
Richard Hill Chair
Alexander East, Assistant Principal
Maria Crosby
John Eadie
Lawrence Figg
Rung Lee‡
Meredith McCook
Allen Probus
Double Basses
Jeffrey Kail, Principal
Evan Halloin, Associate Principal
Jeffrey Kail‡, Principal
Nils Aardahl^
Joseph Nuñez ∆
Caleb Quillen
Richard Ryan
Nash Tomey‡
Flutes
Michael Gordon, Principal
Marylou and John Dodds Turner Chair
Shannon Finney, Associate Principal
Kayla Burggraf Michal
Piccolo
Kayla Burggraf Michal
Oboes
Kristina Fulton, Principal
Shirley Bush Helzberg Chair
Alison Chung, Associate Principal
Matthew Lengas^
ENGLISH HORN
Matthew Lengas^
Clarinets
Raymond Santos, Principal
Bill and Peggy Lyons Chair
Silvio Guitian, Associate Principal
John Klinghammer
E-Flat Clarinet
Silvio Guitian
Bass Clarinet
John Klinghammer
Bassoons
Ann Bilderback, Principal
Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Chair
Thomas DeWitt, Associate Principal
Maxwell Pipinich
Contrabassoon
Thomas DeWitt
Horns
Alberto Suarez, Principal
Landon and Sarah Rowland Chair
David Sullivan, Associate Principal
Elizabeth Gray
David Gamble
Stephen Multer, Associate Principal Emeritus
Trumpets
Julian Kaplan, Principal
James B. and Annabel Nutter Chair
Steven Franklin, Associate Principal
George Goad^
Trombones
Roger Oyster, Principal
Porter Wyatt Henderson, Associate Principal
Jahleel Smith ∆
Adam Rainey‡
Bass Trombone
Jahleel Smith ∆
Adam Rainey‡
Tuba
Joe LeFevre, Principal
Frank Byrne Chair
Timpani
Timothy Jepson, Principal
Michael and Susan Newburger Chair
Percussion
Josh Jones, Principal
David Yoon, Associate Principal
Harp
Katherine Siochi, Principal
Librarians
Elena Lence Talley, Principal
Fabrice Curtis
Justin White, Director of Orchestra Personnel
Renee Hagelberg, Assistant Personnel Manager
* Non-Rotating Musician
^ New Member
‡ On Leave of Absence
Δ One-Year Member