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Levon Ambartsumian, UGA’s Franklin Professor of Violin, was previously on the faculty at Indiana University, and was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory from 1978 to 1993. He has been a prize winner in the1977 International Violin Competition in Zagreb, the 1979 Montreal International Competition and the All-Union Violin Competition in Riga. He is founder, conductor, artistic director and frequent soloist of the ARCO Chamber Orchestra.
Michael Heald is Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Georgia, is a native of England. He completed his undergraduate studies with Richard Deakin at the Royal Northern College of Music and received his masters’ and doctoral degrees from Michigan State University studying with Walter Verdehr. Heald has performed as a member of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle and is a member of the American Sinfonietta
   
David Starkweather is Professor of Cello since 1983. He has been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. He was awarded a certificate of merit as a semifinalist in the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition. Starkweather attended the Eastman School of Music and earned his doctorate degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook studying with Bernard Greenhouse. In 1985 Starkweather spent six months in Switzerland for intensive work with Pierre Fournier. He has written articles for the American String Teacher and Strings magazines.
Milton Masciadri Professor of Double Bass, is the third generation of double bass players in his family. His degrees are from the Hartt School of Music and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, studying with Gary Karr and Julius Levine. He is in constant demand as an international soloist and recitalist and has performed throughout Central and South America, the United States and Eastern and Western Europe. Dr. Masciadri is the editor of two Anthologies for Double Bass and has numerous recordings. He is a faculty member of the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna, Italy and is the coordinator for UGA’s Annual Double Bass Symposium.

Clint F. “Skip” Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Music in String Education at the University of Georgia. He received a BME from Winthop College and his MM and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to his appointment at UGA, Dr. Taylor taught middle and high school orchestra in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina. He was the conductor of the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony from 1997-2001 and was the founding conductor and director of the Greensboro Symphony Junior Strings from 2000-2001. Dr. Taylor is an active clinician and adjudicator throughout the southeast conducting numerous all-county and all-state orchestras.

Mark Cedel brings a wealth of professional experience to his position as director of orchestral activities, a post he has held for 15 years. Prior to his appointment at UGA, he was associate conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. In his four seasons with that orchestra, he conducted over 200 performances; appearing on every series offered by the orchestra. Before joining the Charlotte Symphony, Cedel was principal viola and assistant conductor of the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra for nine years. While in Charleston, he served for two seasons as that orchestra's acting music director. From 1986-1990, he was a member of the artist faculty at the Brevard Music Center and was principal conductor of the Brevard Repertory Training Program.  

In addition to directing orchestral activities at UGA, Cedel served as professor of viola from 1994-2002. During that period he performed, toured, and recorded regularly as extra viola with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, including its Northeast tour with concerts in Carnegie. He will return to teaching viola for the 2009-2010 academic year, while a seach is conducted to fill the position.

Cedel earned a bachelor of music degree in viola performance from the Curtis Institute of Music where he was a student of Joseph dePasquale, and studied chamber music with members of the Guarneri Quartet, Budapest Quartet and Beaux Arts Trio. He holds a master of music degree in conducting from the North Carolina School of the Arts.