Celeste Golden Boyer

Celeste Golden Boyer joined the St. Louis Symphony as Second Associate Concertmaster at the start of the 2011-12 season. She began her musical studies at the age of three. When she was nine years old, she became a student of Arkady Fomin, violinist in the Dallas Symphony, and at 15, Celeste was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Jaime Laredo and Ida Kavafian. She completed her Bachelor of Music degree at Curtis in 2005, and in 2007, she received a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with David Cerone and Paul Kantor.
Boyer is a laureate of several national and international competitions. Most notably, she was the Bronze Medalist at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 2006. Boyer has appeared as soloist with numerous symphony orchestras around the world, including the Latvian Chamber Orchestra in Riga, Latvia, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she has appeared in series and festivals such as the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, the Festival de San Miguel de Allende, the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, the Innsbrook Institute Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Marlboro Music Festival. Boyer won a three-year fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival and School in 2004, and was subsequently awarded the Dorothy Delay Memorial Fellowship by the festival, an award given to only one violin student each summer.
Boyer was the concertmaster of the New York String Orchestra Seminar in 2005 with concerts at Carnegie Hall. She also performed as concertmaster for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in the New York City premiere of John Adams’ opera A Flowering Tree at Lincoln Center in 2009. Boyer was a member of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2010-11, and currently performs regularly with the IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee.  Celeste Golden Boyer made her St. Louis Symphony solo debut performing Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo capriccioso in November 2011.

 

Helen Kim

Helen Kim began her violin studies at the age of six and made her solo debut with an orchestra three years

later. An avid chamber musician, she garnered first prize in the strings division at the 2010 Coleman Competition with her trio and also at the 2011 Yale Chamber Music Society Competition. She was Associate Concertmaster of the New York String Orchestra during the 2009-10 series, and served as Concertmaster for three consecutive years of the symphony and chamber orchestras at the University of Southern California, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. Helen Kim received her master’s

 

 

 

 

Holly Hughes & Charles Stegnar

Charles Stegnar and Holly Hughes have been artists for as long as either can remember.

Charles is a native of Cooper County and alumnus of the Kansas City Art Institute.  He worked for 35 years as an illustrator, as he puts it:  “To give myself the luxury of creating art that is true to my own vision.”  He has exhibited in numerous juried and one-man shows where his work is noted for its vibrant color and expressive line.  Charles is actively involved in teachi9ng, gently guiding students in the use of a variety of media in portraiture, landscape, life drawing and painting.  He encourages his students to be true to themselves, observing only those artist rules and principles which will help them reach their goals and express their vision.

Holly is a native of Kansas City.  In addition to studying art and product design, she holds degrees in mechanical engineering, wholistic energy and massage.  Holly spent eight years exploring the world by bicycle and sailboat, facilitating art in rural communities along the way.  She was an Artist in Residence in New Mexico for more than ten years and was a Resident Artist in Iceland for three years.  Holly works in environmental education, exploring art as a tool for healing our bodies, minds, spirits and earth.  In addition to traditional media, she works in fabric, fiber and found objects.  Her assemblages engage the viewer, are sometimes interactive and often reveal hidden surprises to close observers.

Charles & Holly live and work south of Boonville, surrounded by 40 acres of woods and creek, where they frequently host “Right Brained Retreats” for fellow artists.  Their passion is to live close to nature and to mentor the creative spirit in all.