Melodia Mariposa kicks off 2023 with an evening of chamber music at two locations in Southern California.
Five World-Acclaimed Musicians performed L. Boccherini’s String Quintet in C Major No. 2, Op. 42 and A. Dvořák’s String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 77 on January 22 in Altadena, CA. It was a memorable evening! The repeat performance on January 24 in Redondo Beach, CA was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.
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Ishani Bhoola, Violin
Ishani is an acclaimed violinist, in demand as performer and educator in both the UK and the USA.
Born and raised in Bristol, UK, Ishani studied at the Purcell School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music winning numerous prizes and awards, including first prize in the 5th Sascha Lasserson Competition. Ishani gave her debut solo recital at the Purcell Room on London’s South Bank.
Ishani has been a member of several international orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra in the UK, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Opera in the US. In 2011 Ishani established the Waverley Ensemble bringing Baroque Music to a wider audience
Stephanie Payne, Double Bass
Stephanie Payne, Double Bass, was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Hawaii, studied at USC, and has made her way back to Los Angeles after a brief six years in the Bay Area to enjoy everything that freelancing has to offer up north. She started playing the bass at 16 after discovering her love of low notes, and quickly went on to pursue a career in music.
Stephanie has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera, the San Diego Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, the Sarasota Opera, and is an active recording musician, playing on various TV and film soundtracks.
Tina Soule, Cello
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.
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. 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.
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.
Colleen Sugata, Viola
Violist Colleen Sugata is a member of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, the New West Symphony, and is an active Hollywood studio musician.
Prior to moving to Southern California, Colleen performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony for three seasons. She has been on numerous tours with the Pittsburgh Symphony, including performances at Carnegie Hall in 2008 and 2009, and their extensive European tour in 2010 which resulted in the recording of the Brahms Symphonies. She has attended such prestigious music festivals as Music at Menlo and the Aspen Music Festival.
Colleen received both her BM and MM degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a scholarship student of Professor Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey. She has studied French and Chinese, and uses both languages in her musical travels. Colleen and her husband live with their two kids and rescue dog. Her family loves to travel and spent time in Sweden during 2022 and will be visiting Japan in 2023. Colleen is also an avid seamstress and makes most of her clothes.
Irina Voloshina, Violin
Irina Voloshina is the Founder and Music Director for Melodia Mariposa, a 501(c)(3) non-profit music organization. A violinist known around the globe for exquisite playing, she has been a soloist and concertmaster for countless orchestras and has worked on over 600 film scores with John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, and Hans Zimmer, to name a few.
Music moves, soothes, and excites at the same time and, for just a while, the audience unplugs, deleting the stress of the day. “It is our goal to create appealing and accessible music for those who enjoy being closer to the musicians,” notes Irina.
She is passionate about bringing great music to every level of the citizenry. Irina produced small “driveway concerts” engaging other musicians to play weekly for her neighborhood. She did it for over two years during a time when formal events were not possible. This is when she learned how much the community wanted this type of up-close
delivery of beautiful music. She launched Melodia Mariposa with the support and encouragement of friends, family, and neighbors. The name, Melodia Mariposa, came from a contest where happy listeners submitted their ideas.
In 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.