Music Teachers
James Crawford
James Crawford is a native of Charleston, SC, where he began violin studies at the age of seven as a pupil of Col. Charles Waid. He made his first solo appearance with the Charleston Symphony at age ten. At age twelve, he was awarded a full scholarship to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts where his principal teacher was Elaine Lee-Richey, the 1959 Walter Naumburg Competition winner and assistant to Ivan Galamian at the Curtis Institute. Mr. Crawford then continued his musical studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under the instruction of Aaron Rosand. Mr. Crawford’s studies as a violinist and chamber musician have included the renowned artists Jaime Laredo, Joseph Silverstein, Franco Gulli, Arnold Steinhardt, Catherine Tate, and Felix Galimir.
James joined the Grand Rapids Symphony as Concertmaster in January of 1994. He came to Grand Rapids from North Carolina, where he was Concertmaster of the Western Piedmont Symphony and Associate Concertmaster of the Winston-Salem and Salisbury Symphonies. Some of Mr. Crawford’s orchestral and chamber music experiences include performances and tours with the New York Pops, Warner Brothers Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Gamper Contemporary Music Festival, and the Razoumovsky and Devos String Quartets. Other previously held positions include faculty member and Artist-in-Residence with the Saugatuck Chamber Music Festival, and assistant faculty member of the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival.
Mr. Crawford has been the recipient of many honors including First Prize in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts "Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS) Competition," and the North Carolina School of the Arts Giannini Award. He was also a winner of the International Music Program (IMP) Concerto Competition and was soloist on its European tour through Germany and Italy. In 1985, Mr. Crawford was a United States Presidential Scholar Finalist.
Mr. Crawford resides in Grand Rapids and is married to Symphony Violinist Megan Reiter-Crawford. They have three children, Julia, Orion and Naomi
Barbara Corbató
Barbara Corbató is the Assistant Principal Viola of the Grand Rapids Symphony, where she has performed since 1990. In addition to her duties as Assistant Principal Viola, she is a member of the Calder String Quintet, performing for elementary school children as part of the Symphony's Artist-in-Residence program. Ms. Corbató grew up in Columbus, Ohio. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Her principal teachers include Donald McInnes and Yizhak Schotten.
Before arriving in Grand Rapids, she was a member of the New World Symphony Orchestra of Miami, Florida, the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, and the Spoleto Festival of South Carolina and Italy. She also has participated in music festivals in Saugatuck, Santa Barbara, Aspen and Keystone, Colorado. She also has performed with the orchestras of Columbus, Flint, and Saginaw. In addition to her performing career, Ms. Corbató is an active private teacher in the West Michigan area, also serving as adjunct instructor of viola at Hope and Calvin Colleges.
John Varineau
As Associate Conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony, John Varineau conducts the orchestra on all of its concert series, including the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical, Pops, Casual Classics, Family, and Lollipop Series sponsored by Target Stores, as well as the Bank One Picnic Pops. He also conducts a variety of educational and outreach concerts throughout the area. Committed to nurturing the next generation of classical music lovers, Mr. Varineau brings an infectous enthusiasm to students throughout West Michigan.
John Varineau is the conductor of the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony and Classical Orchestra, and a frequent visitor to area schools. He was a visiting professor of music at Calvin College, where he led the orchestra. Mr. Varineau also appears in a variety of summer music programs in the area and plays in the chamber music group, Montage. Additionally, he conducts the Grand Rapids Symphony for Grand Rapids Ballet performances.
Trained as a clarinetist, Mr. Varineau attended Michigan State University, the University of Wyoming and Yale School of Music. Mr. Varineau has made three recordings with the Grand Rapids Symphony and three with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. This is his 19th season with the Grand Rapids Symphony. He and his wife, Gwen, have a daughter, Jade, and a son, Justin.
David Reimer
Violinist David Reimer is an Associate Professor of Music at Calvin College, teaching violin, chamber music, string methods and music appreciation. Dr. Reimer was appointed to the faculty in 2004 after completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, he was a Graduate Teaching Associate, teaching violin and orchestral repertoire as well as coaching orchestra sectionals. His earlier training included undergraduate studies with Stephen Shipps at the North Carolina School of the Arts and Bernard Goldschmidt at the Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M. & M.M.).
Dr. Reimer’s previous teaching engagements have included Violin Faculty positions at the College of DuPage, the University of Connecticut School of the Arts, the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Division and positions with the following summer music programs: Birch Creek Music Festival in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin; Chamber Music Connection Festival in Columbus, Ohio; Knollwood Music Camp in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Masterworks Festival.
The performing experiences of Dr. Reimer are varied. He has an extensive performing knowledge of orchestral literature acquired during 18 years of professional orchestra experience. He currently plays with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the West Shore Symphony Orchestra. He has also played with the West Virginia Symphony, the Akron Symphony, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and as Concertmaster for the Mansfield (OH) Symphony. Dr. Reimer has been a founding member of I Solisti di Camera (Chicago-based string quartet) and the Olentangy String Quartet (Columbus, OH). He made his professional concerto debut in 1999, playing the Vivaldi “Winter” Concerto with the Mansfield Symphony, and in 2006 soloed in Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending" with the Calvin College Orchestra on its tour of England. In addition to these classical venues, Dr. Reimer has performed in freelance groups behind the likes of Bob Hope, Victor Borge, Melissa Manchester, the Pointer Sisters, Randy Travis, Kathy Matea, the Lettermen and Mannheim Steamroller. He has also played in a number of musicals, including Oklahoma, South Pacific, Westside Story, The Wizard of Oz, The Music Man and Kiss Me Kate.
Dr. Reimer is a native of Nebraska and, at age 4, was one of the first Suzuki students in that state. He went on to play in a group of Suzuki student soloists with the Lincoln Symphony and was concertmaster and a concerto soloist with the Omaha Area Youth Symphony. Writing is another feature of Dr. Reimer’s work and he has a book and several articles in various stages of publication. David C. Cook has twice published bible study guides for college-aged students by him. He is married to Alyce t. Reimer, a staffworker with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and a native of Boston, Massachusetts.
Dylana Jenson
Dylana Jenson, eminent American violinist, was awarded the prestigious title of Distinguished Professor of Music at Grand Valley State University in 2000. By the age of thirteen, Dylana Jenson had performed with most major orchestras in the United States and traveled to Europe and Latin America for concerts, recitals, and recordings. After her Age 17 - Tchaikovsky Competition triumphant success at the Tchaikovsky Competition, where she became the youngest and first American woman to win the Silver Medal, she made her Carnegie Hall debut playing the Sibelius Concerto with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Following her most recent Carnegie Hall performance, Jenson again electrified both audience and critics in her performance of Karl Goldmark’s violin concerto. According to Strad Magazine, “In Jenson’s hands, even lyrical passages had an intense, tremulous quality... a sizzling performance.” Harris Goldsmith of the New York Concert Review said, “I can give no higher praise than to say that her excellent performance brought to mind, and was a loving tribute to, the great Nathan Milstein... who was one of Jenson’s mentors.”
With Nat'l Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica (Gerald Brown conducting) Ms. Jenson has toured Australia and Japan and was made an Honorary Citizen of Costa Rica for her artistic contribution to that country. Recent performances have included the Louisiana Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and the Interlochen Festival of the Arts.
Dylana Jenson started the violin at the age of two and a half with her mother. She then studied with Manual Compinsky, Nathan Milstein and Josef Gingold.