We are an accomplished group of musicians that have come together in vibrant Boulder, Colorado. All of us are graduates of the University of Colorado. Our sound is distinguished by our diverse musical experiences, world-class training, and a deep love for the art of music.
Rachel Sliker
Rachel grew up in Colorado and began taking violin lessons when she was five years old. In 2004 she attended the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) on a full tuition scholarship where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance. At CU, Rachel studied with Oswald Lehnert and Judith Ingolfsson and received chamber music coaching from members of the Takacs Quartet.
Rachel has been teaching violin lessons in Boulder, CO since 2008. She currently plays with the Fort Collins Symphony and has played with several other orchestras along the front range including the Cheyenne Symphony, San Juan Symphony, Wyoming Symphony and the Steamboat Springs Orchestra. Rachel writes arrangements for the Orelia String Quartet and plays in the folk-rock band, Princess Music. Aside from playing music, Rachel often finds herself inspired to cook, garden, ride her bike, read, sew, draw pictures, or be amongst family and friends.
Rachel has been teaching violin lessons in Boulder, CO since 2008. She currently plays with the Fort Collins Symphony and has played with several other orchestras along the front range including the Cheyenne Symphony, San Juan Symphony, Wyoming Symphony and the Steamboat Springs Orchestra. Rachel writes arrangements for the Orelia String Quartet and plays in the folk-rock band, Princess Music. Aside from playing music, Rachel often finds herself inspired to cook, garden, ride her bike, read, sew, draw pictures, or be amongst family and friends.
Sarah Murray
Love of music runs in Sarah’s family. From a young age she heard her father playing trumpet and piano in their home. She started piano lessons at the age of five and violin lessons at the age of six. Since then, her love of music and the violin has been a central part of her life. Sarah earned a Bachelor's degree summa cum laude in Violin Performance from Valparaiso University and a Master's degree in Violin Performance from the College of Music at the University of Colorado. Her teachers were Gregory Maytan and Oswald Lehnert. She was a winner of the Valparaiso University concerto competition in 2006, and performed Beethoven’s Romance in F as a violin soloist with the Valparaiso University Symphony Orchestra. She has traveled the world with a number of youth orchestras and has held posts with the Blue Lake International Symphony, the Northwest Indiana Symphony and the North Carolina Symphony orchestras. Ms. Murray is a registered Suzuki violin teacher and currently teaches violin lessons at the Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts in Lafayette, CO. She freelances and performs recitals in the Boulder/Denver area with pianist Kate Houssney, and enjoys playing in the Orelia String Quartet.
Psyche Dunkhase
Psyche Dunkhase is a dynamic, dedicated and accomplished cellist and cello teacher. She holds a Master of Music in cello performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she studied with Judith Glyde, and a Bachelor of Arts in music from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where she studied with Dr. Jason Duckles. An active chamber musician, Ms. Dunkhase has participated in the Green Lake Festival of Music where she performed with collaborating artists including the Amelia Piano Trio. Ms. Dunkhase is also an avid performer of contemporary and experimental music, having worked with composers including Alvin Lucier and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Widely recognized as a dynamic educator, Ms. Dunkhase teaches private lessons and group classes as a faculty member of Boulder Suzuki Strings and Shepherd Valley Waldorf School, teaches private cello lessons in Boulder and Louisville, and mentors the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras. In addition to the Orelia String Quartet, she has performed with ensembles including the Fort Collins Symphony and Opera, as well as Denver-based art-rock band Princess Music. Ms. Dunkhase enjoys drinking tea and reading in the sunshine.
Alex Vittal
Alexander Vittal grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and began studying viola in third grade. He earned his B.M. in Viola Performance, graduating summa cum laude from Arizona State University where he studied under Nancy Buck, and his M.M. in Viola Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado - Boulder, where he studied under Erika Eckert,
Matthew Dane, and Geraldine Walther.
Vittal established himself as a leader, sitting in the principal violist chair for the ASU Symphony and Opera, and for the CU Chamber Orchestra and Opera. As soloist, Vittal has been invited to perform in masterclasses for legendary violists Samuel Rhodes, Joseph de Pasquale, and Yizhak Schotten. His passion for the intimacy of chamber music has lead to prolonged study with members of such world class ensembles as the St. Lawrence, Juilliard, Brentano, and Takàcs string quartets.
In addition to teaching viola, violin, and music theory at Dana V. Music in Louisville, CO and mentoring the viola section of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra, Vittal also arranges music for a variety of ensembles. He has written popular and classical music arrangements for the Orelia and Tetra (Phoenix, AZ) string quartets, opera, music theatre, and art song arrangements for viola and classical guitar duo, and Argentine tango music for Denver-based ensembles Extasis and Orquesta Tìpica Natural Tango, the latter a ten-piece ensemble of which he is also violist. Some of his arrangements have been performed on Houston and Denver NPR, and on television in Phoenix, AZ. In his free time, Vittal enjoys dancing Argentine tango, studying the viola da gamba and bandoneon, and running marathons.
Matthew Dane, and Geraldine Walther.
Vittal established himself as a leader, sitting in the principal violist chair for the ASU Symphony and Opera, and for the CU Chamber Orchestra and Opera. As soloist, Vittal has been invited to perform in masterclasses for legendary violists Samuel Rhodes, Joseph de Pasquale, and Yizhak Schotten. His passion for the intimacy of chamber music has lead to prolonged study with members of such world class ensembles as the St. Lawrence, Juilliard, Brentano, and Takàcs string quartets.
In addition to teaching viola, violin, and music theory at Dana V. Music in Louisville, CO and mentoring the viola section of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra, Vittal also arranges music for a variety of ensembles. He has written popular and classical music arrangements for the Orelia and Tetra (Phoenix, AZ) string quartets, opera, music theatre, and art song arrangements for viola and classical guitar duo, and Argentine tango music for Denver-based ensembles Extasis and Orquesta Tìpica Natural Tango, the latter a ten-piece ensemble of which he is also violist. Some of his arrangements have been performed on Houston and Denver NPR, and on television in Phoenix, AZ. In his free time, Vittal enjoys dancing Argentine tango, studying the viola da gamba and bandoneon, and running marathons.
