STEPHANIE SIMS FLACK, violinist and teacher, enjoys a busy performing schedule as a freelance chamber and orchestral musician in the Washington DC metro area. Stephanie is excited to be serving as Associate Concertmaster and Co-Founder of Paragon Philharmonia. Formerly a first violinist with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra (PASO), she has had the opportunity to travel to the 2018 International Tango Festival in Medellin, Colombia where PASO was the only US orchestra invited.  Orchestral engagements have included the Cambridge (England) Philharmonic, Ely Sinfonia (Leader), Arizona Opera and Baton Rouge Symphony and she has performed with the American Pops Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, Fairfax Symphony, Washington National Cathedral Choral Society and Washington Concert Opera among others. 

 

In demand nationally and internationally as a workshop clinician and performer, Stephanie is former Co-Director of the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute and has taught at the Bristol Suzuki Workshop in England, Phoenix Phest in Michigan, Inside Music Academy, based in Oregon, and Tamarack Arts in New York.  She has directed and performed on tours to England, Italy, Austria and Germany with Washington Preludio and looks forward to continuing to travel, teach and perform overseas in the coming years. Stephanie received her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from Louisiana State University and Master of Arts degree from Indiana University with continuing education at the bi-annual Starling-Delay Juilliard Symposium on violin studies in New York. Stephanie maintains a private violin studio at her home in Alexandria, Virginia where she resides with husband, Sean, daughters, Emily and Shannon and their three dogs, Winnie, Bandit, and Pepper.  

www.stephanieflackviolin.com  

www.northernvirginiastringquartet.com 

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CARLA V. DURNEY brings to Paragon Philharmonia  several years of experience serving in a variety of leadership roles on the boards of The Suzuki Association of the Greater Washington Area, Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School Board of Trustees, and the vestry’s of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church and Emmanuel Church Middleburg.

Her professional career included work for law firms, nonprofits, for- profit organizations, and as an independent consultant.  Carla completed her bachelor’s degree at Denison University and earned a master’s degree from American University in Human Resources management.   A longstanding student of the violin, Carla continues her studies in performance and over the past few years has taken several teacher training courses in Suzuki pedagogy through the Suzuki Association of the Americas.  She lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband and son.

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MAYA WEIL is a freelance violinist and teacher performing in several orchestras and chamber music groups in the DC metro-area.  She is also the Gift Planning Specialist at Arena Stage and a planned giving consultant for a number of performing arts organizations. For 12 years, she managed the planned giving programs at the Kennedy Center, National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera. Prior to that, Maya was an investment banker in London at AIG Financial Products, Sumitomo Bank Capital Markets and Creditanstalt-Bankverein.

 

She serves on a number of boards including Signature Theatre, AlpenKammerMusic, and the National Capital Gift Planning Council. She is a member of the DC Estate Planning Council and holds a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation. Maya earned a B.M. in Violin Performance and B.A. in Government from Oberlin College and Conservatory.

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DIANA LEGRAND, from Assisi, Italy, started her music studies at age two and a half, learning from her mother, a teacher of violin and piano. At age 15, she was accepted to  the North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) where she studied under the late Elaine Richey, first violinist of the Razamousky String Quartet.  

​She received both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance and continued her studies at UNCSA with Robert Mann, the founding members of the Juilliard String Quartet, and with Nicholas Mann, second violinist of the Mendelssohn String Quartet. Returning to Italy, Diana continued her music studies at the Conservatory of Modena, receiving with honors her diploma in Violin Performance. Over the years, she has studied with such notable violinists as Vadim Brodski, first prize winner of the Wieniawski and Paganini International competitions, Paola Besutti  from Florence, Italy, and Emanuel Hurwitz, first violinist of the Melos Ensemble and Aeolian String Quartet. Diana is an active performer and teacher. Both have taken her around the  world to Europe, the Americas, and Asia. She was formerly the concertmaster and soloist  of the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, based in Washington DC, and the current violinist of the Tony nominated Broadway show Forever Tango. She is a 2021 Latin Grammy Nominated Artist in the category of Best Tango Album. Her newly released album “Tango without borders” has already received four nominations for the 2023 Gardel Awards in Argentina.

 

​A review, by the DC Metro Theatre Arts, has said that “Diana LeGrand was able to bring such passion and drive to her performance through her absolutely breathtaking  solos.”

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