Faculty

The Philadelphia Trio

Deborah Reeder, cello and co-director

Graduate from the Philadelphia Musical Academy, from which she received a Master of Music after studies with Lorne Munroe; pursued further studies with Luigi Silva; experience as a performer and teacher is extensive; a founding member of The Philadelphia Trio, which performs and has given master classes throughout the eastern United States and Europe; started chamber music concert series in a number of places, including suburban Philadelphia and Eagles Mere, PA, where Music in the Mountains PA takes place; for many years played with the Amado String Quartet and other chamber groups; as an orchestral player, she was a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra for several years and still does substitute work with them; currently principal cellist with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, a member of the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, and teaches at Temple University and in her own studio; founded Music in the Mountains PA in 1976.

Barbara Sonies, violin and co-director

Degrees from the Eastman School and Juilliard, having studied with and assisted Ivan Galamian at the latter; further studies were done at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy; has an active career of performing and teaching; also a founding member of The Philadelphia Trio, she has much chamber music experience, both as performer and teacher; has been a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, American Symphony, and several other orchestras; does substitute work with the Philadelphia Orchestra, is concertmaster of the orchestra of Opera Company of Philadelphia, and a member of the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra; teaches at Temple University, Swarthmore College, and her private studio; a co-director of Music in the Mountains since 1977.

Elizabeth Keller, piano, guest faculty

A graduate of the Curtis Institute, where she studied with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Rudolph Serkin, Ms. Keller is a member of The Philadelphia Trio, with whom she has performed and recorded for many years. She has taught at Curtis, the University of Delaware and the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts. Currently she teaches at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA and is head of the piano department at the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA.

Kaveh Saidi, theory and violin

After early training in Texas, completed Bachelor of Music degree in performance at University of Texas at Austin and Masters of Music at Boston University; versatile performer and string teacher in the Philadelphia School District; has played in orchestras and chamber groups in the Boston and Philadelphia areas; as a teacher, has worked with the Greater Boston Youth Symphony and Camp Encore/Coda: was the String Orchestra Director at Episcopal Academy in suburban Philadelphia, teaching lessons and chamber music; currently, in addition to teaching in the Philadelphia School District, he is a faculty member at the Settlement Music School and is active as a composer.

Lori Simpson, viola

Bachelor of Music, Manhattan School of Music; Master of Music, Temple University; Professional Studies, Temple University; viola studies with Choong-Jin Chang, Rebecca Young, Burton Kaplan, Karen Ritscher, Evelyn Jacobs-Luise; competition winner Manhattan School of Music Lillian Fuch memorial Chamber Music competition 1998-2000; participant in the Festival Orchestra of the Young Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico (affiliate of Casals Festival); member of Haddonfield Symphony (NJ); faculty of Temple University Music Preparatory, Settlement Music School in Philadelphia; former camper at Music in the Mountains PA; currently a counselor and teacher at the camp.

Alums

Many of the alumni from Music in the Mountains PA have gone on as music majors to attend schools such as New England Conservatory, Yale University, Cleveland Institute, Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, the Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria), and Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple. Many now have busy performing and teaching careers of their own in different parts of the country. Often, alums return to Eagles Mere years later to check in on the scene of some of their early chamber music experiences, renew acquaintances and, in some cases, join the teaching staff.

If you’re an alum, we urge you to stay in touch.