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.
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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.
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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.
