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 Sean O'Neil Founder & Violinist | A native of New Orleans, Sean O'Neil began violin studies at the age of five with Doris Ballard Hansen. He also studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Encore School for Strings, where he was a pupil of Robert Lipsett. Mr. O'Neil pursued the Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied with esteemed violinist Vartan Manoogian and chamber music under the Pro Arte Quartet as a fellowship member of the Strelow graduate string quartet. Upon graduation, he was awarded a full-time position in the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra of New Orleans, where he was a founding member of the Cypress String Quartet and an artist-in-residence at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. During his tenure, he was a featured soloist with the LPO in the world premiere of Jay Weigel's First Violin Concerto. After his time in New Orleans, Mr. O'Neil moved to Cleveland, OH where he performed with the Cleveland Pops, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and as assistant concertmaster of both the Akron and Canton Symphonies. In the summers, Mr. O'Neil has taught and performed at the Breckenridge Music Festival, Western Slope Music Festival, and was on the faculty at Point Counterpoint Chamber Music Camp. In Florida he performed with the eclectic string quartet Musicians Out of the Box whose children's CD Music Tales has been met with success and critical acclaim and won the prestigious Parents Choice Gold Award for 2007 and the Nappa Gold Award for 2008. Since 2002 Sean has been a member of the Sarasota Opera, The Florida Orchestra, the Sarasota Orchestra, and this year he will be dividing his time between his home studio, the Sarasota Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic and other professional musical organizations on the Gulf Coast of Florida. | ||