Instruction from North Carolina’s best.

Eric Boruff is the music director and President of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Youth Orchestra. Born in North Carolina but raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Eric returned to the Tar Heel state in May of 2016 after receiving his degree in music education. Primarily a violinist, he founded his own studio in 2017. Since that time, Boruff Violin Studio has grown to include a team of teachers and has become the largest violin-exclusive studio in North Carolina. His studio has welcomed world-renowned violinists as guest instructors for masterclasses and workshops, including Alexi Kenney and William Hagen. Mr. Boruff’s private students are regularly accepted into collegiate music schools across the country.

In December of 2017, Eric began working with the Cornelius Youth Orchestras as a violin section coach and guest conductor, and one year later he accepted his current position. Originally just one ensemble, under his leadership the organization has seen explosive growth, more than quintupling enrollment while adding a vast number of new performing ensembles and educational programs. In 2025, this growth led the organization to embrace a new identity, the North Carolina Youth Orchestra.

Mr. Boruff spearheaded the launch of the LKN Musical Pathways Initiative in spring of 2024, providing access and opportunity for music education to thousands of elementary-aged students in the Lake Norman region. Driven by the vision of fostering collaboration within the Charlotte music education community, Eric also helped lead the founding of the Carolina Youth Orchestra Summer Festival. In recognition of his significant contributions to the arts and education in the greater Charlotte region, Eric was honored as one of Charlotte’s Top 30 Under 30 Future Leaders in 2024.

Jen Bassett is a talented cellist and dedicated music educator who began her musical journey in her public school program outside of Boston. She furthered her studies at the New England Conservatory Prep program. Jen earned a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance and Music Education from the Hartt School of Music and went on to complete a Master of Music Education from Northwestern University.

With a passion for teaching, Jen has taught orchestra at all levels in public schools across Connecticut, Missouri, and New York. Since 2017, she has been the orchestra director at Pine Lake Preparatory, where under her leadership the program has grown exponentially, quadrupling in size. Her outstanding work was recognized when she was named Teacher of the Year for the 2021–2022 school year. In addition to her teaching, Jen is an active freelance cellist in Charlotte.

Renata Dworak Berlin is the Director of Choral Activities at Davidson College. Originally from Chicago, Renata is a choral conductor and music educator who studied music education and choral conducting at DePauw University, Eastman School of Music, and now Boston University (ABD). Renata taught choral arts in the music department at Princeton University and managed an international artist series.

Uniquely, Renata spent four years living in Ethiopia and Tanzania, where her work founding and directing the Ethiopian Peace Choir earned her nominations by two U.S. Ambassadors for the Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad. The choir of 80, the first of its kind in the Horn of Africa, brought together multiple ethnicities to promote unity and develop musical literacy. An advocate for music education, Renata worked at the Castleton Festival (founded by the late, great Lorin Maazel) as their Director of Community Engagement.

Tom Burge is a trombonist with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. He is also the Low Brass Instructor at Wingate University and Pfeiffer College, and the Trombone Instructor at UNC Pembroke, Queens University of Charlotte, and Central Piedmont Community College. Burge was previously the host of the radio show “Sunday Evening” on classical public radio station 89.9 WDAV for 8 years and has been a guest presenter on Boston-based 99.5 WGBH.

A native of Australia, Burge has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and others. He earned his Masters Degree in 1996 as a full scholarship student at the Juilliard School, having received a Queen Elizabeth II Award. Now living in the United States, Burge has performed with the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Cincinnati, Atlanta, Baltimore, Charleston, and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestras, among others.

Virginia native Julia Fierova currently manages a private violin studio while raising her two feisty children. She began her studies at age 7 in Virginia, where she also undertook most of her Suzuki training and certification. Julia continued her studies in violin and string pedagogy at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music under Dr. Brenda Brenner and Mimi Zweig. She received her Masters in Violin Performance from USC and has received further pedagogy training from Rebecca Henry, James Przygocki, Elizabeth Zempel, and Emilio Colon.

While in Indiana, Julia taught with the IU String Academy and Summer String Academy. She served as a founding member of Suzuki Strings at USC, where she was on faculty for 7 years. She enjoys working with beginners and groups, coaching chamber music, and playing with various ensembles throughout the Carolinas.

Lauded for his “verve and stylistic excellence” (The Post and Courier–Free Times), Mexican-American horn player Andrew Fierova has performed throughout the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, England, and Austria. Andrew currently fills the Second Horn chair in the Charlotte Symphony and has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and Charleston Symphony.

Andrew maintains a private studio of students from middle school through adult and is on faculty at Davidson College. He founded the Brass Challenge program, an instrument-specific intensive training program that introduces beginners to all aspects of their instrument. His former students have been accepted into The Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Indiana University, Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Interlochen Arts Academy, among many others. Andrew holds degrees from The Juilliard School and the University of South Carolina.

Jordan McCray graduated from Mars Hill University in 2019 with a degree in Music Education, earning the university’s Outstanding Graduate Award. During his time at Mars Hill, he studied percussion under Dr. Brian Tinkel, Mr. Justin Mabry, Mr. Paul Babelay, and Mr. Rick Cline.

Currently, Jordan teaches General Music at Woodland Heights Elementary School in Mooresville, North Carolina. He is an instructor for Revelation Percussion and serves as the Percussion Director for both Lake Norman High School and South Iredell High School. In addition to his teaching roles, Jordan is an active freelance percussionist throughout North Carolina.

Virginia native Nick Ritter joined the Charlotte Symphony as a section bassoonist and contrabassoonist during the 2022–2023 season. He is also the contrabassoonist in the Richmond Symphony, and was formerly the contrabassoonist in Orchestra Iowa. Prior to his appointment in Charlotte, Nick travelled across the country as a freelancer, performing with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Lyric Opera.

A passionate music educator, Nick has held teaching positions at Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University, and The People’s School of Music in Chicago. Outside of rehearsals he is most often making bassoon reeds for his business, Ritter Reeds, or off hiking on all the great trails around Charlotte. Nick attended Northwestern University and DePaul University, earning degrees in Bassoon Performance and Music Theory.

A North Carolina native, Samuel Sparrow began his position as Section and E-flat Clarinet with the Charlotte Symphony in 2017, and also served as Acting Principal Clarinet in the 2018–19 season. In addition to his post with Charlotte Symphony, Mr. Sparrow has performed with the New York Philharmonic; Charleston, North Carolina, and New World Symphonies; and Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland.

Other performance highlights include a featured appearance with Sting at the Main Assembly Hall of the United Nations and the West Coast premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s chamber opera, Second Nature. In addition to performing, Mr. Sparrow is an avid proponent of music education. He joined Queens University of Charlotte as Adjunct Professor in 2019, and has also offered presentations at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Appalachian State and Winthrop Universities, and Hebrew Union College.

The Classical Voice of North Carolina described violist and violinist Dr. Kirsten Swanson as a “stunning musician with flawless technique combined with that unique ‘viola’ sound that can melt your soul.” Feeling equally at ease with “new” and “old” music, in an orchestra or solo, Dr. Swanson enjoys a diverse career that has taken her all over the world. She holds performance degrees in viola from the Eastman School of Music, the Longy School, and UNC Greensboro, plus a Graduate Certificate in Suzuki Violin Pedagogy from East Carolina University.

She has been the adjunct professor of viola, violin, and chamber music at UNC Charlotte for over a decade and teaches privately out of her home studio, Charlotte Suzuki Strings. She recently spearheaded the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s Bridge Program: a bilingual beginning strings class for preschoolers, kindergartners and first graders. Starting in the fall of 2025, she is honored to be joining the string faculty of the North Carolina Youth Orchestra.

Pennsylvania native Amy Orsinger Whitehead has played flute in the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra since 1997. An avid chamber musician, she also performs in the Rhodora Winds, the Laurel Trio, and Flute4. She holds a flute performance degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and a chamber music performance degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Institute of Chamber Music.

Amy has taught flute at Spelman College, Wingate University, and Queens University, and is currently on faculty at Davidson College. When not playing flute, Amy enjoys Zumba, strength training, and shopping — especially for shoes!

Alex Wilborn, praised for his “mellow and magnificent softness,” joined the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 2018. Growing up in Cookeville, Tennessee, Alex’s aptitude for music showed early. He began trumpet lessons with Dr. Charles Decker in the eighth grade and continued through his undergraduate degree at Tennessee Technological University, before continuing his studies at The Juilliard School with Raymond Mase, Mark Gould, and John Thiessen.

In addition to his work with the Charlotte Symphony, Alex has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, NOVUS NY, Charleston Symphony, Bach Akademie Charlotte, and Winston-Salem Symphony, among others. As a passionate educator, Alex serves on the artistic faculty of the North Carolina Youth Orchestra, is Co-Principal Trumpet at the Eastern Music Festival, and maintains a private teaching studio.

Stephanie Wilson, a native of Charlotte, NC, began her music career at age five on piano, where she quickly found her interest and passion in music. Ms. Wilson, principal timpanist with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and percussionist with the Western Piedmont Symphony, is in high demand as a freelance musician in Charlotte and surrounding areas.

She is a frequent performer with the Charlotte Symphony, Opera Carolina, the Charlotte Master Chorale, Opera Wilmington, and many local ensembles. In addition to performing, she keeps a full percussion studio of students who uphold her high standards of practice and play — many of whom often participate in All-District and All-State honors bands as well as local honors bands and orchestras.