First Violin

Barbara Fisher Agresti was born in Lima, Ohio, and received her violin training at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of New Mexico and Indiana University where she earned a M.M. degree. Her major teachers have included Vartan Manoogian, Leonard Felberg, Ruggiero Ricci and Franco Gulli. Before joining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1975, she was a member of the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra and the Thouvenel String Quartet.

Since arriving in Indianapolis, she has been active in chamber music performances with Suzuki & Friends, the Ronen Ensemble and the Cameo Trio. With the Orchestra, Ms. Agresti serves on the String Section Rotation Committee and has been an alternate member of the Orchestra Committee. She and her husband, ISO first violinist Gino Agresti, are the parents of two daughters. Ms. Agresti enjoys floral gardening and volunteering with her children’s activities. 

First Violin

Gino Agresti was born in Bronx, New York, and grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. A high school baseball standout, Agresti was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but declined the opportunity in favor of a scholarship to the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. While there, he played as an extra with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His major teachers have included Sigmund Effron and John Tartaglia.

Agresti joined the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1970. He and his wife, Barbara, also an ISO violinist, are the parents of two daughters. Agresti enjoys all sports and was a founding member of the ISO’s softball team, the ISOMetrics. 

First Violin

David Collins was born in Chicago and grew up in Indianapolis. A graduate of Broad Ripple High School and the Eastman School of Music, Collins studied with Herman Berg, Carroll Glenn and Josef Gingold. He became a member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1980 after previously playing with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, where he held the position of assistant concertmaster. Collins performs on instruments crafted by his late father.

As a recitalist, he has played at Carnegie Hall in 1974 and 1976 and gave a Paganini Bicentennial performance in Indianapolis in 1982. He has appeared as soloist with the ISO, first as a student in 1964 and later as a member of the Orchestra on several occasions. Away from music he is a licensed real estate broker, a Ruling Elder in his church and a member of the Indiana Transportation Museum and The John Birch Society. He enjoys weightlifting and historic railroading and serves as a member of the ISO Speakers Bureau. 

First Violin

Jennifer Greenlee, a native of Greencastle and the child of musical parents, grew up in the Philadelphia area. She began studying the violin at age 7 and counts Yumi Ninomiya Scott and Charles Castleman among her major teachers. Ms. Greenlee earned a magna cum laude degree from the Eastman School of Music. Before joining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1997, she freelanced for four years in the Philadelphia area and played one season with the North Carolina Symphony.

Ms. Greenlee has served the ISO as a section coach in the Side by Side program and a member of the Orchestra Committee and currently plays with the Quattra String Quartet. She has performed with Suzuki & Friends and the Ronen Chamber Ensemble. She and her husband, an attorney, are the parents of one daughter. Away from music, she is interested in hiking, biking, reading and building a dollhouse.

Sherry Hong, of Willowbrook, Illinois, comes to the ISO from the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. She was previously Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and performed in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Hong has appeared as a soloist with the symphony orchestras of DuPage, Evanston, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, and River Forest, and the Fox Valley Symphony. She studied at the University of Michigan and at La Schola Cantorum in Paris, France. This summer Ms. Hong performed with the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago.

Michelle Kang was born in Seoul, Korea. She began playing the violin at the age of seven, won the Korean Monthly Magazine National Competition and the Korean Times National Competition, and performed as a soloist with the Korean Symphony Orchestra. Upon moving to the United States, Ms. Kang entered the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School and performed as a soloist with the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra. She later received her Bachelor of Music from Juilliard. Ms. Kang was a soloist at the Aspen Young Artist Orchestra and played in the Aspen Chamber Orchestra. Before joining the ISO, she was a member of the San Diego Symphony from 2005 to 2007.

First Violin

Vladimir Krakovich was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and earned a master’s degree from the Music Conservatory in Rostov-on-Don. He studied with Abram Shtern, concertmaster of the Kiev Opera. Before joining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1984, he played four years with the Syracuse Symphony and a season with the Cincinnati Symphony.

Krakovich has served as a section coach for the ISO’s Side by Side program, is a founding member of the Indianapolis String Quartet and teaches privately. He and his wife are the parents of two children. Reading and collecting compact discs occupy some of his spare time.

First Violin

Dinah Montgomery was born in Minneapolis and received her collegiate training at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati where she studied with Walter Levin of the LaSalle Quartet. Prior to joining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1975, she played a season in the Colorado Philharmonic.

With the Orchestra, Ms. Montgomery has appeared as a soloist, served as a section coach for the Side by Side program and was the 1995 winner of the Patch Leadership Award. She is very active as a chamber musician in The Tarkington Trio, International Violin Quartet and Suzuki & Friends. The mother of three children, she is married to ISO third horn Jerry Montgomery. Away from music she enjoys gardening, cooking, sewing and walking.

First Violin

Raye Pankratz was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and earned B.M. and M.S. degrees from Juilliard. His major teachers have included Raymond Niwa, Dorothy DeLay and Ivan Galamian. Before joining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1977, he played with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra.

Pankratz was on the faculty of Wheaton College for six years and with his wife, a pianist, continues a keen interest in music education for young people through the Allegro Music Classes. He has been a section coach for the ISO’s Side by Side program. The father of one son and one daughter, he maintains interests in table tennis, swimming and reading.

First Violin

Yefim Pastukh joined the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1982. Born in Sverdlousk, Russia, U.S.S.R., he studied at the Moscow and the Kishinev conservatories. His major teachers have included Boris Kuznetsov and Gergy Nyaga.

Before coming to Indianapolis, he was concertmaster of the Florida Philharmonic in 1980-82. In his native land, Pastukh played with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and was concertmaster of the Moldavian State Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the father of two children and enjoys reading and gardening.

First Violin

Gary Sliauzis was born in Syracuse, New York and earned a B.M. at the University of Miami (FL). He studied with George Zazovsky and Lewis Gabowicz and performed with the Miami Philharmonic before joining the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1973.

The father of two children, Sliauzis enjoys reading, bicycling and listening to records.