Inspiring a Lifelong Passion for Music
Our Faculty
Erin Hennessey -
Artistic Director
Erin Hennessey is a Port Angeles native who now performs as a soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician across the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland. She works with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, and Irish National Opera, and is an avid chamber musician. She is also passionate about a student-centred and compassionate approach to excellence in music education and co-developed the group violin pedagogy now used by the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Erin lives in London where she is a PhD researcher at the Royal Academy of Music, studying and performing the music of Irish composer Mary Dickenson-Auner. She also studied at Oberlin Conservatory and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where she taught chamber music until 2023. Her teachers include Marilyn McDonald, Ida Haendel, Lorenz Gamma, Maria Sampen, Sarah Sew, and Mia Cooper.
Dr. James Ray -
Orchestra Director
Dr. James Ray maintains an active and varied career as an educator, conductor, and violinist in the Pacific Northwest. A former director of award-winning orchestras in the Port Angeles School District, he is currently an associate professor of music at Western Washington University, teaching coursework in instrumental music education and music theory, and directing the WWU String Sinfonia. Dr. Ray is highly sought after as a guest conductor of student honor orchestras, a chamber music coach with organizations such as Bellingham Youth Chamber Players and WWU Chamber Days, and as an adjudicator of student performances throughout the Pacific northwest and beyond. Additional engagements have included repeated appearances as a guest artist with the Bellingham and Port Angeles Symphonies, and prior service as a musician in the U.S. Army Reserve.
​
Within the community of music educators, Dr. Ray has led professional presentations at the local, state, and national levels; and has served on various committees with the Washington Music Educators Association and the American String Teachers Association. He has also authored and co-authored peer-reviewed papers in nationally recognized publications.
​
Dr. Ray holds a bachelor's degree in violin performance from Central Washington University, a master's in secondary teaching from Western Oregon University, and a DMA in music education from Boston University.
Matthew Daline -
Guest Artist viola & Chamber Coach
American musician, Matthew Daline enjoys a versatile career as a violin and viola soloist, orchestra and chamber musician, and educator. Since making his New York solo recital debut in Carnegie Hall as the winner of the Artists International Competition, he has performed and taught music master classes worldwide. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School and a Master of Music degree from Yale University. Prior to his appointment as Chair of Strings and Professor of Viola at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, he served as Professor of Viola at Louisiana State University. Professor Daline has held master classes and lectures at Yale University, The Juilliard School, The University of Michigan, Yonsei University (Korea), the Conservatory of Music "George Enescu” (Romania), the National Conservatory of Music (Costa Rica), and the Central Conservatory of China, Beijing. Professor Daline’s music students have been accepted to every major music conservatory, including The Juilliard School, Yale University, Eastman, New England Conservatory, The Menuhin Academy, and Cincinnati Conservatory. He currently performs and teaches nationally and internationally. Professor Daline resides and teaches violin and viola students in Port Townsend, WA.
Guest Faculty
Dr. Jennifer Chung -
Staff Accompanist & Chamber Coach
Dr. Chung is a Taiwanese pianist with a versatile career as collaborative pianist, soloist, and chamber musician. She holds the Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance.
​
Since completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree she has contributed to summer music institues at Bowling Green State University, Ohio; The Double Reed Day Competition, String Area Faculty concerts, and working with finalist at the Lima Symphony Orchestr'as Young Artist Competition. In addition to her solo and chamber music appearances, she enjoys mentoring her private piano studio and working with international soloists. Her students have earned top prizes and recognition in regional and national competitions,, as well as selection for honor recitals, festivals, and advanced music programs. Dr. Chung takes great pride in guiding students toward confident and expressive performance while nurturing a lifelong love of music.
​
Alongside teaching, she continues to perform in recitals and in duos with her husband Matthew Daline. Since moving to Port Townsend, WA she has grown to love the outdoors and particularly the Olympic National Park.
Traci Winters Tyson -
Cello Faculty & Chamber Coach
Traci Winters Tyson began playing the cello at the age of ten, as part of the public school strings program in her native Port Angeles. While still in middle school, she became a member of the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra and also started teaching music to other children. She later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Western Washington University, where she attended on a merit scholarship.
In Bellingham, Traci studied with Walter Gray, a founding member of the Kronos String Quartet. She counts among her greatest influences Barton Frank (protégé of Gregor Piatigorsky), international soloist and former principal cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra, and Art Bloom, founding clarinetist of the Dorian Wind Quintet, with whom Traci studied chamber music, solfeggio, and music engraving.
Along with bassist Spencer Hoveskeland, Traci recorded eight albums and toured the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe as cello soloist of the Bottom Line Duo. She also was a member of the critically acclaimed ensemble Tangoheart as well as the all-female new music ensemble Sorrelle. From the late 90’s through 2020 Traci performed on numerous recordings of various artists and served as principal cellist for musical productions at the Paramount and 5th Avenue Theaters in Seattle. Since fall 2014, she has served as principal cellist of the Port Angeles Symphony.
Traci presently serves as an orchestra teacher for the Port Angeles School District, where she instructs grades four through six at Hamilton Elementary School and seventh grade at Stevens Middle School. For the past thirty years, she has maintained an active private cello studio. Additionally, she has worked as a cello instructor and chamber music coach at the Icicle Creek Music Center in
Leavenworth, the Nastri Community School of the Arts in Everett, and the Cebreros Festival of Strings in Cebreros, Spain, as well as having served as a cello coach with the North Shore and Edmonds School Districts. In 2016, Traci was awarded a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Seattle Pacific University, supported in part by Continuing Education Grant from the Philanthropic Educational Organization and a Future Educators Grant from the Beta Nu Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma.