Meet Our Teachers
Violin/Viola |
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Rebecca Ray - Studio Director |
Rebecca developed a love for music when she was introduced to the violin at age nine. She was raised on the Suzuki method and continues to promote this method in her teaching. Rebecca received her Bachelor's of Music in Violin Performance from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte where she studied with Anne R. Belk distinguished professor David Russell. She teaches students of all ages on violin and viola both privately and in group class settings. In addition to teaching, she is an active performer with various ensembles such as 7 String Theory and CPCC Opera Theater. |
Sarah Andrico |
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Sarah Bamford |
Sarah has played the violin since she was 5 years old with the Suzuki Program. She has always loved working around string instruments. She has a Bachelors Degree in Music Education, Concentration in Violin from Grove City College where she also met her husband Jason. She came to us after she worked as a classroom music teacher in South Carolina for a few years. Now she handles the day to day operations in our Davidson location. Sarah is an active violin player in the greater Charlotte region community. |
Taylor Byrd |
Taylor Byrd has been teaching lessons at Davidson Violins since 2018, leading thousands of lessons on the violin and viola. Many of her students have found success in and outside of the Davidson/Mooresville area after taking lessons with her. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from East Carolina University where she specialized in strings education. She began her music journey in the 6th grade when she decided to begin playing the viola. She also has performed with many ensembles including a newly formed ensemble called the Charlotte Collective that consist of many music educators from the charlotte area and some members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. The Charlotte Collective was able to perform an original piece that she composed titled Campground at the American Strings Teacher Association, which was well received in the strings community. |
Jim Edwards |
Jim Edwards, violin/viola, earned the Bachelors of Music degree from Old Dominion University and more recently, the Masters of Christian Leadership from Morningstar University. In 2018, after twenty-five years of teaching band, orchestra, and serving various churches as director of music in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Mr. Edwards moved to south Charlotte. As a violinist and violist he has performed with numerous musicians in the Hampton Roads area including members of the Virginia Symphony. He played in the violin and viola sections of the Virginia Beach Symphony (Symphonicity) for 10 years then became a founding member of the Virginia Beach Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Ms. Dora Mullins. Mr. Edwards has performed violin and viola recitals, playing such works as the Bach Concerto in A minor, Vivaldi Concerto in A minor for two violins, and the Telemann Viola Concerto. Mr. Edwards is an active composer of vocal and instrumental music and continues to teach violin and viola for Davidson Violins in Davidson, NC. |
Matt Primm |
Matt Primm is a violist, violinist, and pianist in the Charlotte area, and stays busy as both a performer and educator. In addition to teaching at Davidson Violins, he is on the fine arts faculty at Pine Lake Preparatory in Mooresville, and is a teaching artist at the Children's Theatre of Charlotte. Matt earned his bachelor of arts at UNC Charlotte and master of music at the Hartt School in Connecticut. Outside of music, Matt enjoys running, playing chess, traveling, and cooking in his free time. |
Anna Boyle Zellars |
Anna Boyle Zellers is a violinist and teacher. She is passionate about communicating via the language of music and sharing that passion with others. Mrs. Zellers is Associate Concertmaster with the Western Piedmont Symphony, Orchestra Director at William Amos Hough High School, and a freelance musician in the Charlotte area. She completed her BA in Music at Thomas Edison State College and her MAT in music education at the University of South Carolina. |
Daniel Zellars |
Beginning with piano and voice, Daniel began music studies at an early age before eventually being introduced to the string instrument family. The violin soon became his primary instrument through the formative years of middle school and by high school, he was teaching other students in his own private studio. With the violin always close at hand, Daniel went on to earn his undergraduate degree in music theory with an emphasis in violin performance from Carson-Newman University. Daniel is now a member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. He also enjoys performing as a freelance violinist with several regional orchestras in both North Carolina and his home state of Tennessee. As a teacher, Daniel is heavily influenced by his parents’ nurturing encouragement to find beauty in the moment and also the many teachers that challenged him to always go further, practice harder, and never quit. |
Cello |
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Liz Burns |
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Sharon Owenby |
Ms. Sharon Owenby has been a long-time advocate for arts education as well as a music educator. She has been teaching music lessons in the Greater Charlotte and Lake Norman area since 2007 and strives to help her students achieve holistic excellence – in music and beyond. Ms. Sharon was raised in the Washington, DC area and studied cello with world-renowned musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as with recording artists with RCA records, among others. She has performed at numerous venues throughout the Washington, DC areas such as the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Performing Arts Center as well venues in Charlotte, NC areas including the PNC Arena among others. Ms. Sharon attended Shenandoah University and Conservatory in Winchester, VA and strives to work with students to become the best artists that they can become – whether as a long-time profession, a long-time passion, or as a hobby. Ms. Owenby’s previous students have gone on to be accepted to the UNC School of the Arts as well as the NC School of Science and Math. Ms. Sharon believes in the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of life and that music is essential to every child’s holistic growth and development and hopes to be a part of their growth – at home, at school, and beyond. Ms. Owenby lives in the Lake Norman area with her two sons, Maddox and Aidan. |