About
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 performs with the eclectic string quartet
Musicians Out of the Box whose new children’s CD
Music Tales has been met with success and critical acclaim. For the past five seasons
Mr. O’Neil has been a member of
The Florida Orchestra but this year he will be dividing his time between The Florida Orchestra,
the
Florida West Coast Symphony, and the
Sarasota Opera.
Lena Cambis
Co-Founder & Violinist
A native of Montpellier, France, Lena started her
violin studies at the age of 4. She joined
the
National Conservatory of Montpellier soon after
and pursued violin, chamber music, and
solfege studies. Graduating solfege at age
11, she won the Conservatory’s Gold medal award in violin and chamber music at 17. During her conservatory years, Lena was concertmaster
of the European Exchange Youth Philharmonic and had a full violin teaching studio at Mauguio School of Music and served as the assistant
to her teacher Francois Gilles at the Conservatory. Lena went on to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin performance
at the Royal College of Music in London under the tutelage of Dr. Felix Andrievsky. As an RCM student, she played with the Royal String
Ensemble, performing regularly for royal and official events. She also became concertmaster of the Orchestre Philharmonique Europeen
and won the 2nd prize at the International Violin Competition of Viterbo (Provincia di Roma), Italy. She has performed throughoutItaly and France with her sonata partner, pianist Eric Villar, and with numerous professional orchestras in Europe, including theOrchestre National de Montpellier. Lena moved to this area in 2000, where she is a member of the Florida West Coast Symphony,
performing regularly with The Florida Orchestra and diverse music ensembles throughout Florida.
"We feel pivileged to be able to perform together, as a violin duo or in any type of musical ensemble. Our passion for music resonates in our commitment to each other and to our audience."