About the Musicians

Who We Are

Cleveland Chandler

Violin

Cleveland Chandler, Jr. served as violinist in the United States Air Force Band for 24 years. His education includes a Bachelor’s degree from Peabody Conservatory and a Master’s degree from The Cleveland Institute of Music. Additionally, Mr. Chandler has studied chamber music with the Emerson & Juilliard String Quartets, studied at the Mark O'Connor String Seminar at the Berklee College of Music, Aspen Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, the Moscow Conservatory International Summer School and the Johannesen International School of the Arts in Victoria, Canada.

Mr. Chandler has also regularly performed at the Gateways Festival for many years and has been featured at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and many other notable venues.

In 2007, Mr. Chandler founded First Class Strings, LLC. He has also been a founding member of the Amistad Quartet, Chesapeake Strings, and the Aura String Quintet.

Additionally, Mr. Chandler regularly performs on a 1912 Hannibal Fagnola, bequeathed to him from Mr. Bruce Wade, former violinist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He and his colleague, Robin Massie were selected as first place winners of the inaugural Misbin Family Memorial Chamber Music Competition. He was also a featured Guest Artist at Indiana University at South Bend for the “Lift Every Voice” Concert.

Keith Colon

Violin

Violinist Keith Colon began studies at age 12 in the Maryland public school system and continued violin studies with Cleveland Chandler. He performed for four years with the Drexel University Symphony Orchestra and Drexel University chamber strings. He has attended the Summertrios chamber music festival for several seasons and been invited to perform at the festival as an intern, and now serves as Assistant Artistic Director. He currently performs with the Columbia (MD) Orchestra and the Gallery Quartet, and is an active freelancer in the mid-Atlantic region.

Mairead Alexander

Violin

Mairead Alexander is a freelance violinist and fiddle player, based in Baltimore, MD. Studying under violinist Dr. Airi Yoshioka, she holds a B.A. in violin performance from UMBC, and has performed at festivals in both the U.S. and Europe. Mairead is also a section violinist with Columbia Orchestra, and has performed as both concertmaster and soloist with the Blue Ridge Singers' tango orchestra. In addition to her career as a freelance and orchestral musician, Mairead also enjoys exploring and performing folk, traditional Irish, and Bluegrass styles, and is the fiddle player for Celtic rock band, Gaelic Mishap, and Bluegrass Americana group, The Gold Ponies. Since the spring of 2024, Mairead has also played with the electrified string-powered fusion group, Burnt Bridges. She currently works as the Instrumental Music Director at Hampstead Hill Academy during the school year, in addition to teaching her private violin/viola studio at Perrin Violins in Ellicott City, MD.

Asa Zimmerman

Violin/Viola

Asa Zimmerman is a violinist and violist based in Baltimore, Maryland. In this capacity, they perform with a number of ensembles, including The Smithsonian Chamber Players, The Washington Bach Consort, The Thirteen, Tempesta di Mare, the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Mallarmé Chamber Players, Musica Spira, Burning River Baroque, Bach Akademie Charlotte, the Baltimore Baroque Band, and Charm City Baroque. Asa holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma from Peabody Conservatory. They are currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Peabody.

Fay Rosinsky

Cello

Cellist Fay Rosinsky grew up in Philadelphia and studied at the Settlement Music School with teachers from the Philadelphia Orchestra; later privately in New York and Maryland. She performed with the Bronx, NY, Chamber Symphony; and in Maryland with the Prince George’s Philharmonic and Maryland Cello Ensemble. She performed regularly at the Coolfont Resort in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. She teaches cello from her home in Howard County, MD.