Community Outreach

Born in Odesa, Ukraine, Irina Voloshina had her first violin lesson at 6 years old. She studied at the Odessa Music School, the famous institution founded by Professor Stolyarsky early in the 20th century that brought to the world some of the greatest violin masters, such as Nathan Milstein and David Oistrakh. From there, Irina advanced into Odessa State Conservatory.

Graduated from the Conservatory with a master’s degree in Violin Performance and Pedagogy, Voloshina played in the Odessa Philharmonic for nine years.

Since moving to Southern California in 1993, Irina has appeared in recitals, chamber music groups, and orchestras such as Pasadena Symphony and Pops, Los Angeles Opera, California Philharmonic, and Hollywood Bowl orchestras.

She has performed in over 600 film scores including those by John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, and Hans Zimmer, to name a few. She performed for “American Idol” and the “MTV Music Awards” and was a member of the Academy Awards orchestra. LA Times has described her playing as “a showcase of brilliant virtuosity.”

During the pandemic, Irina founded the “Melodia Mariposa” music series performing on the driveway of her Altadena home, presenting over 65 free public concerts. On July 24, 2021, she was named Volunteer of the Year and received the Congressional Leadership Awards: Hometown Heroes of the Pandemic in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the People of the 27th Congressional District from Congresswoman Judy Chu.

On December 21, 2022, Kathryn Barger, Supervisor of the 5th District of the County of Los Angeles awarded Irina and Melodia Mariposa with a commendation certificate in recognition of their dedicated service to the affairs of the community and for the civic pride demonstrated by numerous contributions for the benefit of all the residents of Los Angeles County.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, cellist Tina Soule studied piano and cello at Peabody Prep and began her professional career at age 16 with the Bach Society of Baltimore.

She has worked on hundreds of film scores with composers such as John Williams, Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer, and has played on the Grammy’s, the Oscars, and the Tonight Show.

After receiving a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale, she moved to Los Angeles where she has since enjoyed an active life as a studio recording musician and as a freelance orchestral and chamber music player.

For 30 years, Ms. Soule served as principal cello with the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival (later called Mozaic), where she performed as soloist under conductor Christopher Hogwood and collaborated with some of the world’s most esteemed chamber musicians.
She has also performed with the Santa Fe Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and as principal cello with the Boston Ballet, the Orange County Chamber Orchestra, and the Santa Monica Symphony.

She currently resides in Altadena, where she enjoys playing local concerts with her beloved colleagues of Melodia Mariposa.

Amy Hershberger served as Concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra for sixteen years under Music Director Heiichiro Ohyama until its dissolution in 2017.

She is currently the Associate Concertmaster of the Pasadena Symphony, plays regularly with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and is a busy recording musician, having played on many hundreds of motion picture, television, and record soundtracks.

At USC, she studied with Robert Lipsett under a full scholarship and became his assistant at the Colburn School. Her students went on to study at the Colburn, Juilliard, and Curtis Schools of Music, among others.