2026 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.

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.

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.

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!

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

Jessica Ryou was appointed to the first violin section of the North Carolina Symphony in 2022. She is a founding member of the Ardora Trio, an active piano trio based in the Triangle. She also frequently collaborates with Semplice Players at Bargemusic, New York City’s floating concert hall. As an educator, she maintains a private violin studio and coaches at the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute. During her summers, she teaches and performs at the Eastern Music Festival.

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Prior to her time in North Carolina, Jessica was an adjunct violin professor at East Tennessee State University. She also served as the assistant concertmaster of the Symphony of the Mountains and was a regularly featured artist with the Paramount Chamber Players.

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Jessica is an alumna of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, where she served as concertmaster under conductors such as Stéphane Denève and Pablo Heras-Casado. There, she had the opportunity to work with prominent living composers, including John Adams and Steve Reich. She has held positions in the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, and Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Additionally, she served as co-concertmaster of the National Orchestral Institute and the National Repertory Orchestra, where she performed as a soloist in Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and Moszkowski’s Suite for Two Violins.

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A versatile musician, Jessica thrives in both the recording studio and the concert hall. She has collaborated with Grammy Award-winning cellist Dave Eggar to compose and record for studios such as Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, DreamWorks, and Netflix. Her recordings can be heard on tracks by artists like John Legend, Lewis Capaldi, and the Stone Temple Pilots, including hits such as John Legend’s “Stardust” and Lewis Capaldi’s “Any Kind of Life.”

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Jessica holds a master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. Her primary teachers were William Preucil, Margaret Batjer, and Henry Gronnier. In her free time she loves to go hiking and backcountry camping.