The Venice Symphony was founded in 1974 with volunteer musicians that included an 86-year-old French horn player and an 8-year-old violinist. Forty-five years later, today’s orchestra is comprised of more than 70 experienced, professional musicians from all over Southwest Florida. Their backgrounds and music careers have spanned the United States and the World and bring depth and diversity to The Venice Symphony.
Musicians for the 2019-20 season:
First Violin
- Marcus Ratzenboeck -Concertmaster
The Venice Symphony Chair Society Chair - Claudia Birdsall
Henry & Joan Hajdas Chair - Dave Preves
- Setsuko Nagata
- Craig Hunting
- Carlos Jaquez
- Tania Aniela Moldovan
- Milene Moreira
- Jesse Munoz Jr.
- Karissa Ratzenboeck
- Katie Ridgeway
- Sun-Young Gemma Shin
Second Violin
- Michael Cloutier**
- Nicole Rawley *
- Karen Bell
- Victoria Carney
- Renee Inman
- Karim Ayala Pool
- Jim Reynolds
- Donna Smith
Debbi Benedict Chair - Amber Svetik
- Karen Tuttle
- Mary Wirth
Viola
- Rafael Ramirez**
- Dan Urbanowicz*
- Carla Bellosa
- Bradley Blaufuss
- Andrew Collins
- Monica MacMichael
- Yuri Vasilaki
- Linda Vasilaki
- Will Whitehead
Cello
- Shea Kole**
James M. Seamon Chair by Plantation Community Foundation - Julie Tretyakova*
- Kevin Bellosa
- John Chatterton
- Julie Cornwall
- Ellen Niemi
- Karolyn Silbaugh
- Charles Wright
Bass
- Christopher Riley**
Peter and Linda Marion Chair - Trent Harper*
- Christian Abreu
- Kevin Gallagher
- Laura Miranda
- AJ Topp
Flute
- Linda Bento-Rei**
The Venice Symphony Chair Society Chair - Patti Preves
- Travis Jones – Piccolo
Oboe
- Amy Collins**
Elliott and Dana Corn Chair - Michelle Nicolette
- Delia Montenegro – English Horn
Clarinet
- Alexander Ravitz**
Wesley John Schumacher Chair - Susan Custer
- Asher Carlson – Bass Clarinet
Bassoon
- Christina Bonatakis**
- Kevin Fuller – and Contra Bassoon
- Patrick Broder
French Horn
- Robert Moore**
William Gill Chair - Troy Messner
Floyd & Mary Juday Chair - Feliks Gmitruk
- Andrea Hatin Vella
- Brandon Lutchmie-Maharaj
Trumpet
- Joseph Martinez**
- Aaron Romm
- Derek Blankenship
- Jeff Wooldridge
Trombone
- Joe Offner**
- Tom McNair
- Chris Lundquist
Tuba
- Joseph Alvarez**
Timpani
- Gavin Dougherty**
Percussion
- Dana Kimble**
Robert Gilbert Storyk Chair - Al Lyman
Jim and Lynn Crandall Chair - Dean Anderson
- Paul Keesling
Harp
- Tasha Robinson**
Piano / Keyboards
- Judi Glover**
**denotes principal *denotes assistant principal
AUDITIONS
For information, please contact musicpersonnel@thevenicesymphony.org.
