Allegra Havens

Allegra Tortolano Havens was born into a musical family. Her mom was a singer, her father an organist and her brothers play violin and cello. Allegra attended Boston University for her Bachelors degree and continued on to earn a Masters Degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She began her orchestral career with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra for several years before becoming a member of the Virginia Symphony.

Allegra recently served on the faculty of Christopher Newport University and is currently on the faculty of Virginia Wesleyan University and The Governor’s School for the Arts. When not teaching and performing, Allegra donates her time to the Golden Retriever Rescue of Southeastern Virginia as well as moonlighting as an electric violinist with Windborne’s Music of Led Zeppelin.

Allegra lives in Virginia Beach with her composer husband and their Golden Retriever, Bentli. She enjoys the beach, biking, coffee with friends and cheering on her beloved Boston Red Sox. She has a special affinity for the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Mozart operas and the Beethoven piano concertos.

Gretchen Loyola

Gretchen Loyola Gretchen Loyola grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and began playing the violin at age four at the Indiana University Suzuki violin program. She later went on to study with Herbert Greenberg, the former concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony, at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a BS in Music and a Graduate Performance Diploma. In 2001, Gretchen joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Several years later, she left the symphony to pursue a career in medicine. In 2008, Gretchen graduated as the valedictorian of her class with a Masters of Science in the Physician Assistant Program from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia.

Gretchen continues to play the violin and being a member of the Harbor String Quartet is a special treat. It allows her to be involved with music, which is a great joy to her and enables her to share that joy with others. In her free time Gretchen enjoys exercising, baking and spending time with her family and friends. Gretchen is married to Benito Loyola, a Captain in the Navy and CEO of the engineering firm Loyola Enterprises, Inc. They are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters.

Anastasia Migliozzi

Violist Anastasia, or Stacey as her friends call her, is originally from New York. She received her Bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and her Master’s degree from Rice University, Shepherd School of Music.

Stacey has played viola with the Virginia Symphony and many other area arts organizations since 1990. She also teaches Viola at the Governor’s School for the Arts, Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University and maintains a private lesson studio. Prior to coming to Virginia, Stacey played with the Houston Ballet Orchestra and Orchestra Sinfonica D’ell Emiglia Romagne; Italy.

Stacey lives in Norfolk with her indulgent husband and crazy whippet. In her spare time she is an avid knitter and loves working with the Harbor Quartet.

Stacey has been a professional musician for more than 38 years.

Peter Greydanus

An active orchestral and chamber musician, Peter Greydanus is a member of the cello section of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra and performs frequently with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Formerly an associate musician with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, he has also been a member of the Wheeling, WV, Youngstown, OH, Haddonfield, NJ, Albany, NY and Canton, OH symphonies. In addition he has performed with the Sarasota Opera Orchestra and been a participant in the Spoleto festivals in Spoleto, Italy and Charleston, SC as well as the Europaisches Musikfest Stuttgart and the Crested Butte Music Festival. He has served as an adjunct professor of cello at Christopher Newport University and as a member of the string trio Clivia Trio, he is an artist with Young Audiences of Virginia/A4L. Mr. Greydanus is a graduate of Temple University where he was a student of Orlando Cole and studied as well with Metta Watts and William Stokking. During the 2009-2010 season Peter and his wife, Jocelyn Smith lived in Crested Butte, CO and organized a strings class at the Crested Butte Community School. Jocelyn and Peter live in Norfolk, VA with their two daughters, Mirabelle and Eda.

Beverly Kane Baker

In 1983 Beverly Kane Baker joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as a section player and in 1987 was appointed Assistant Principal Viola. She won the Principal position in 1994 and has recently retired after 37 incredible years with the organization. The Virginia Symphony made its Carnegie Hall debut in 1997 and Ms. Baker performed with her colleagues on NBC's Today Show. She has performed with the Gateways Music Festival, a festival featuring African American artists, and performs regularly with the Norfolk Chamber Consort and the Virginia Chamber Players. Ms. Baker is a featured artist in solo and chamber music performances with the Virginia Arts Festival; many of these performances have been broadcast on NPR's Performance Today. She has also performed chamber music with the Miami String Quartet and members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She performed J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 with Jamie Laredo and the Mozart Duo with renowned violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenburg. Ms. Baker has been featured in many solo performances with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Baker is featured on Bruce Hornsby's album Harbor Lights and her musical studies have been documented in the book Black Women in American Orchestras by D. Antoinette Handy. Notable engagements include recording the original The Lion King soundtrack with composer Hans Zimmer and she can also be heard on songs from recording artist and Virginia Beach-native Pharrell.

Michael Daniels

Michael Daniels began playing cello at age 11 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and continued further studies at the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, North Carolina. He later received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While in Cincinnati, Michael was a member of the Dayton Philharmonic and performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Pops. He has been a member of the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival, a faculty member of the Brevard Music Center and a participant in the Grand Teton Summer Music Festival. He has been a wedding musician since 1985 and has been the principal cellist of the Virginia Symphony for more than 35 years.

Jeff Phelps

Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, Jeff Phelps has performed locally with the Virginia Symphony, Virginia Arts Festival, Harbor Quartet, Virginia Musical Theater, Norfolk Chamber Consort, Stephen Coxe and Friends, and many others. Jeff earned degrees in cello and orchestral conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music and recently shifted to professional arts management working with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Jeff completed postgraduate study in cultural policy and arts management in Dublin, Ireland and currently serves as Concert Operations and Personnel Manager for the York Symphony Orchestra. Jeff enjoys high-altitude hiking, grapefruits, and adventures to live performances in far-off places. Jeff has been a professional musician for more than 35 years.

Kristy Green

Kirsty Green has been a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra since 1996, and has also been featured as soloist with orchestras in Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and the United States. Ms. Green currently serves as faculty at Virginia Wesleyan University and the Governor's School for the Arts, and plays with the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra during the summer.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland, she graduated with honors from the Conservatoire Populaire, received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts and is a licentiate of the British Royal Schools of Music. Kirsty lives in Norfolk with her husband and son, and as an avid pet mom will happily talk to you about your dog(s) whenever given the opportunity.