2025 Artists

CELLO

Allison Drenkow is the Assistant Principal Cellist of the Charlotte Symphony, appointed in 2023. Originally from Colorado, Allison moved to Charlotte from her home state where she was a section cellist of the Colorado Symphony for over four seasons. Some of Allison’s most treasured musical memories of recent years include performing chamber music with Roberto Díaz, playing under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg during its opening season, and joining members of the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and more in a tour de force Carnegie Hall concert supporting Music for Life International. Cherishing the versatility of music-making, Allison has performed across genres, sharing the stage with soloists from Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Axe, and Renée Fleming, to bluegrass-rooted artists, Béla Fleck and Chris Thile, to mainstream icons, OneRepublic, Brandi Carlile, and Kristin Chenoweth.

Allison is a returning member of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra and has spent summers performing with the Colorado Music Festival, Britt Festival in Oregon, and Torrey Chamber Music Festival in Utah. Previously based in Boston, Allison is the former cellist of the contemporary ensemble, ‘Semiosis Quartet’. Collaborating with and showcasing music by living composers, the group was featured at the National New Music Gathering and presented by Tanglewood’s Linde Center in its inaugural Chamber Music Series. During that time, she also performed along the East Coast in the Cape Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, and New World Symphony.

Allison has held principal positions with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and National Festival Orchestra (USA), and has performed internationally at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany and Banff Centre in Canada. She holds degrees from New England Conservatory and Peabody Conservatory as a student of Natasha Brofsky and Alan Stepansky.

CELLO

Annamarie Reader, a Wichita, Kansas native, pursued her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she trained under Melissa Kraut and Desmond Hoebig. While in Houston, she built a thriving private cello studio and performed with ensembles such as Mercury Chamber Orchestra, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony. She has also spent recent summers performing at orchestral festivals like Music in the Mountains (Colorado), the Hamptons Festival of Music (New York), and the Bellingham Music Festival (Washington), as well as participating in chamber music festivals across Texas, Colorado, and Utah. Annamarie is excited to join the cello section of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in August 2025.

VIOLIN

Robyn Julyan has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician throughout the United States, Europe, and Singapore. As a chamber musician and soloist, Robyn has been a featured performer in festivals and concerts around the country, including the Albuquerque Chamber Soloists, Loon Lake Live Festival, Friends of Chamber Music Denver, Piccolo Spoleto Festival's Spotlight Series, the Charleston Chamber Players, the Colorado Bach Ensemble, Breckenridge Music Festival’s Winter Series, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. She has held positions with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony, and the Sarasota Opera, and plays frequently with the Colorado and Atlanta Symphonies. Passionate about performing the works of living composers, Robyn is a member of the Playground Ensemble, the Front Range’s premier new music ensemble, and performs each August as a member of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California. As an educator, she has been a member of the string faculty at Regis University since 2011, and is the Director of Strings at Orvieto Musica, a chamber music festival in Orvieto, Italy. Robyn holds a Masters of Music in Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelors in Music Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She lives in Denver with her husband and their dog, Amelia, and 2 cats, Milo and Reggie. In some of her spare time, she teaches and trains aerial circus arts.

VIOLA

Koko Dyulgerski is a passionate and versatile musician who has performed with numerous orchestral ensembles throughout the United States and Europe. Koko currently performs with Opera Colorado, the Colorado Symphony, and is Principal Violist of the Central City Opera Orchestra.

A native of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, he attended high school at the prestigious Dobrin Petkov National Music School. Koko first came to the United States to study at Louisiana State University, and later completed his Master’s  degree at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music in Houston. During his time in Houston, Koko played regularly with the Mercury Baroque, Houston Grand Opera, and Houston Symphony Orchestras.

VIOLA

Violist Leah Kovach grew up in Salt Lake City and has performed across four continents with ensembles such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Houston Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Leah is based in Denver where she is a member of the Colorado Symphony and is Assistant Principal of the Central City Opera Orchestra.

She completed her studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and Rice University Shepherd School of Music in Houston. While in Houston, Leah was very active as a music educator, maintaining a private studio in two Houston school districts, and participating in the Da Camera Young Artist program for community outreach. She served as a string coach for the Kinkaid School Orchestra's 2012 tour of China and has taught master classes at the Conservatorio Anna Maria Valencia in Cali, Colombia.

As Co-Artistic Director of the Torrey Chamber Music Festival, Leah is excited to bring educational opportunities to young musicians across her home state!

VIOLIN

Violinist Susan Paik joined the Colorado Symphony in the 201/17 season. Prior to moving to Denver, she served as co-concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was selected as a Citizen Musician Fellow by Yo-Yo Ma and The Institute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with the Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras as a substitute violinist.
 

Active and experienced as a recitalist, chamber musician, and educator, Susan has performed as soloist with the Juilliard Theater Orchestra and appeared in performances with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in the Chicago Symphony’s MusicNOW series, at Englewood Arts (CO), at the Indiana University Summer Festival, and in faculty recitals at Indiana University and Roosevelt University. She has provided guest instruction at Loyola University Chicago and Western Kentucky University.
 

Susan earned performance degrees from Seoul National University in South Korea, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Indiana University. She holds her Master’s degree from The Juilliard School and completed her Doctor of Music degree at Indiana University in 2016 under the tutelage of Mauricio Fuks. Her major teachers include Kwang-Koon Kim, Chongsuk Li, Hyo Kang, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Mauricio Fuks.

COMPOSER

Benjamin Tomkins has been sharing his artistry as a violinist, composer, writer, and educator with audiences and young people for the past 30 years. He received his MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music in Violin Performance with Stephen Rose, and coached as a chamber musician with members of the Cleveland, Penderecki, Miro, Miami, Pacifica Arditti, and Tokyo quartets. He performs regularly with the Colorado Opera, Colorado Ballet, and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and is a Guest Artist with the Denver School of the Arts. As a composer, his music has been performed around the United States and Europe, including major concertos and orchestral works in addition to a wide variety of chamber pieces.

Today, Ben is the Content Manager and Senior Writer and Editor for Em Dash Content Studio, a boutique digital marketing and writing company, and in 2025-26, he will begin his inaugural season as the Executive Director of the Colorado Bach Ensemble. When he's not at his desk or in rehearsal, Ben loves to cook, run, and spend time with his wife Robyn and their three adorable pets.

VIOLIN

Chris Jusell joined the second violin section of the North Carolina Symphony in September of 2023. He is also Principal Second Violin of the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra and Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Central City Opera Orchestra in Colorado, where he spends his summers. An avid chamber musician, Chris plays in the Torrey Chamber Music Festival in Utah and the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Active in performing new music, he was a founding member of the Sphere Ensemble, Penumbra Quartet, and Boxwood Ensemble, all in Colorado.

Before joining the North Carolina Symphony, Chris lived in Denver for fifteen years, where he was hailed by the Westword for his “acrobatic and robust” playing. He served as Concertmaster of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra for ten years, held long-running positions with the Opera Colorado and Colorado Ballet orchestras, and performed frequently with the Colorado Symphony. He also conducted the Summit Youth Orchestra in Dillon for five years. Beyond classical music, Chris is a multi-instrumentalist member of the experimental quartet Fuubutsushi, releasing five albums since 2020 to critical acclaim from Pitchfork and NPR. He has toured and recorded with Nathaniel Rateliff, performed with Stevie Wonder, and recorded for Rosalia, Lizzo, and Silk Sonic, among many others.

Chris began playing violin in the public school system of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, under the influential instruction of Maria Maxwell and Russ Berlin. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Colorado State University, where he studied with Dr. Ron Francois; he has also studied with Dr. John Fadial. Outside of music, Chris enjoys making and restoring furniture as well as hiking, making cocktails, and taking mediocre photographs of lovely things.

PERCUSSION & ACCORDION

Eric Klein (accordionist, percussionist, pianist) is excited to be returning to Torrey for a second season. He has his bachelor's degree in percussion from the University of Michigan and has enjoyed playing a wide variety of classical and world folk music in small groups and large orchestras in London, San Francisco, and Washington DC. He was recently the principal percussionist for the Salt Lake Symphony.

He currently lives on the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico, where he is learning and performing mariachi, cumbia, and tango. Complementing his musical pursuits, Eric is learning to dance salsa and surf. Having previously worked in the national parks, he relishes the diversity of tropical plants and birds on Mexico’s southern coast. As a healthcare professional, Eric is developing a speech-language pathology practice for adults with brain or facial injuries.