Our Musicians
Elisabeth Adkins
Concertmaster
After 31 years as Associate Concertmaster of the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., Elisabeth Adkins joined the Texas Christian University faculty in 2014. She serves as Professor of Violin at TCU and Concertmaster of the Richardson Symphony Orchestra and the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra.
She has appeared as concerto soloist for the Baltimore Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Maryland Symphony and Seattle Symphony, as well as numerous appearances with the National Symphony. She has performed concertos with the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra and the TCU Symphony, both under the direction of Germán Gutiérrez, and with the Corpus Christi Symphony and the Sherman Symphony.
She performs in recital with her husband, pianist Edward Newman; the duo has presented concerts at the Kennedy Center and the National Gallery, and was featured as the inaugural program of public radio’s Front Row Washington. The Adkins/Newman Duo are in residence at the Wintergreen Summer Festival and Academy. A noted teacher and chamber music coach, Dr. Adkins gives master classes and clinics, and is in demand for her expertise in preparing musicians for professional orchestra auditions
Youna Doh
Principal Second Violin
Originally from South Korea, violinist Youna Doh joined the Richardson Symphony Orchestra in 2015. An active chamber musician, she co-founded the Parakaleo Trio in 2016, which continues to perform annually throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area. In addition to her concert work, she arranges hymns for solo violin/chamber music and shares her music in community and church services.
Ms. Doh came to the United States in 2002 to pursue her musical studies. She earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees on a full artistic scholarship from Southern Methodist University, where she studied with renowned violinist Chee-Yun Kim. She is also an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Her principal teachers include Yuan-Qing Yu, Cornelius Chiu, Kurt Sassmannshaus, and Philip Lewis.
A dedicated educator, Ms. Doh has been teaching private violin lessons for nearly twenty years. In 2020, she established her own private violin studio where she continues to mentor young musicians. She is especially proud of her student who was accepted to the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2024.
Beyond the concert stage and teaching studio, Ms. Doh enjoys spending time outdoors to find inspiration in exploring the mountains with her husband and their two daughters.
Teresa Grynia-Wight
Assistant Principal Second Violin
Polish-born violinist Teresa Grynia-Wight has performed extensively as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician across Europe, North and South America, and Asia. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia. During her studies at the University of Georgia and Southern Methodist University, she was awarded full-tuition scholarships and academic honors. She is as an experienced educator, guiding a vibrant studio of young violinists and is frequently invited to lead masterclasses.
While pursuing her classical studies, she also performed with the award-winning Athens Tango Project and was involved with jazz ensembles based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has performed under the direction of renowned artists, including Krzysztof Penderecki, Ingolf Wunder, Uto Ughi, and shared the stage with internationally acclaimed groups such as Genesis.
In addition to her performing career, Dr. Grynia-Wight is passionate about the field of music librarianship. She assists with library operations for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and has served as a librarian at the Aspen Music Festival, where she worked closely with world-renowned artists Renée Fleming, Patrick Summers and Myra Huang
Susan Dubois
Principal Viola
Hailed by The Strad as “an impressive protagonist proclaiming a magnetic, outgoing personality, a lustrous, vibrant tone, and excellent intonation,” violist Susan Dubois is considered one of the leading young artist-teachers of viola. From New York’s Carnegie Hall to Argentina’s Teatro Colón, Dubois has won the hearts of audiences worldwide with her commanding performances.
Chosen as the sole viola winner of Artist International’s 23rd Annual Auditions, Dubois was presented in her solo New York Recital Debut at Carnegie Recital Hall. She was a prizewinner and recitalist at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in the UK. Dubois has judged major competitions such as the Corpus Christi International Competition for Piano and Strings and the Primrose International Viola Competition.
Dubois holds a Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude, and Master of Music from the University of Southern California, where she studied with Donald McInnes. A former teaching assistant of Karen Tuttle at The Juilliard School, Dubois earned the Doctor of Musical Arts and was awarded the William Schuman Prize for outstanding achievement and leadership in Music.
Dubois has extensive experience as a recitalist and chamber musician. She has appeared at the Marlboro and La Jolla music festivals with notable artists: Lynn Harrell, David Soyer, David Finkel, Donald Weilerstein, Menahem Pressler, and Atar Arad.
She is a member of the artist faculty and string area coordinator at the University of North Texas and serves on the summer faculty of the International Festival Institute at Round Top and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival.
Steven Juarez
Associate Principal Viola
Music studies have enthusiastically taken Steven from Dallas to New York to Russia and many places in between. The New Conservatory of Dallas, The Institute for Strings, The National Symphony Orchestra’ Summer Music Institute, the Meadows Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra are just a few of the orchestras that Steven has been a part of.
Steven graduated from the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas where he won the Dallas ISD Concerto Competition and his chamber quartet won Chamber Music International’s High School Division.
Steven has studied with Kay Gardner, Ellen Rose, and Victoria Chiang.
In his spare time, he enjoys sports, traveling and spending time with his family.
Alice (Jeong-A) Lee
Principal Cello
Dr. Alice (Jeong-A) Lee currently teaches cello at Texas Women’s University and has a studio in Denton, Texas. She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in cello performance from the University of North Texas under Eugene Osadchy.
Dr. Lee has extensive experience in solo, chamber music, and orchestra in the United States, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan. In 2017, She appeared as a featured soloist within the Northeast Orchestra in Texas. In addition, her cello solos are frequently heard on broadcasts of the Insights for Living radio program.
While in Vancouver, Canada, she won First Place in the Elsje de Ridder Armstrong Chamber Music Competition and the CDMF Performing Arts Festival. Dr. Lee was also the recipient of the Liberace Scholarship while at the University of North Texas.
In addition to playing as the Principal Cellist in the RSO, she has performed with many other professional orchestras in the DFW area, including the Plano Symphony, East Texas Symphony, Lewisville Lake Symphony, Irving Symphony, and Abilene Phillharmonic. In Canada, she played with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra. In South Korea, with the Royal Symphony Orchestra and New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. She is also Principal Cellist at Stonebriar Community Church.
James Hayden
Assistant Principal Bass
James Hayden III was born and raised in the Dallas area. He attended SMU and received a Bachelor’s of Science in Geology. He has performed with many orchestras including Garland, Allen, and Shreveport.
He performs in jazz and rock ensembles in addition to classical. He has performed with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra since 1979.
James owns Hayden Pools Service and has served on the RSO Board of Directors for five years.
Leslie Daniel Newman
Principal Flute
Leslie Daniel Newman serves as principal flute with the Richardson Symphony and second flute with the Shreveport Symphony. She has also performed with the Abilene Philharmonic, South Arkansas Symphony, and Marshall Symphony, and her international performances include recitals in the Philippines and wind symphony performances in Austria, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland and Scotland. Previous solo performances include the premiere of Mike Mower’s Concerto for Flute and Wind Orchestra with the Texas A&M Wind Symphony, as a featured artist with the Montgomery County Choral Society, and performance with the UNT Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the UNT Concerto Competition. She will make her solo debut with the Richardson Symphony this spring.
Leslie holds a bachelor and master of music summa cum laude from the University of North Texas and a bachelor of science in biology and genetics cum laude from Texas A&M University. Her primary flute teachers are Mary Karen Clardy, Leone Buyse, and Kathy Daniel. In the DFW area, she is an active freelance flutist and maintains a private flute studio.
Jung Choi
Principal Oboe
Oboist Jung Choi is an active recitalist, educator, lecturer, adjudicator, solo, chamber and orchestral musician. She was the associate principal oboist for the Korean National Symphony Orchestra for eight seasons and the principal oboist for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Springfield, MO for two seasons. She taught oboe at the Nazareth College, Seoul National University and Missouri State University. As an avid chamber musician, she performs as a member of ensemble Sunyul based in Seoul, Korea and founded a double reed ensemble Duel Duo in order to promote music by composers of underrepresented groups. She actively gives masterclasses nationally and internationally. She has taught classes at the University of Southern California, Mahidol University, Louisiana State University, University of Minnesota, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is regularly invited to national and international conferences as a recitalist, competition judge and lecturer. She presented at the International Double Reed Conference, the College Music Society and the Music Teachers National Association.
She is an Assistant Professor of Oboe at the University of North Texas.
Kwanghoon Yi
Principal Clarinet
Kwanghoon holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Clarinet Performance from Seoul National University and a Performer’s Diploma and Artist’s Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He served as acting Principal Clarinetist of the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea and appeared frequently as an orchestral clarinetist at the Fort Wayne Symphony Orchestra and the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra. A First Prize winner of the Dong-Ah Il Bo International Competition, Kwanghoon performed extensively as a soloist with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul Symphony Orchestra, the Aquinas Orchestra, the Dallas Korean Chamber Orchestra, and the Indiana University Clarinet Choir.
An avid chamber musician, he appeared as a guest chamber artist at the Garth Newel Music Center in Virginia and performed with the Liberace String Quartet of the University of North Texas. He also founded the Darius Trio. He is a devoted educator and his students have won competitions in the USA and abroad.
He is principal clarinetist at the RSO and a chairman of the Dallas Symphonic Festival Winds Division, presented by Dallas Music Teachers Association.
Marty Spake
Principal Bassoon
Marty Spake served as principal bassoon of the RSO from 2005-2010 and is happy to return. Originally from Auburn, Indiana, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in instrumental music education from Arizona State University and a Master of Music in bassoon performance from Southern Methodist University.
Marty has been a member of the East Texas Symphony (Tyler) and the Dallas Winds since 1994. He has appeared on 13 CD releases of the Dallas Winds. In 2011, he joined the Wichita Falls Symphony. Marty has played with many ensembles in the DFW area over the years including the Dallas Symphony, six seasons with the Dallas Opera Orchestra, and Texas Winds Musical Outreach where he has performed hundreds of concerts in schools and nursing homes.
Marty is a certified Texas music educator, a member of TMEA, and has been a full-time elementary string orchestra teacher in the Dallas Independent School district since 2002. Marty loves Texas and especially the DFW area for the rich opportunity it offers musicians and artists to perform and thrive.
Jung Hsuan Chu
Principal Horn
Taiwanese horn player Jung Hsuan Chu is an active performer and educator based in the DFW area. She currently serves as Principal Horn with the Richardson Symphony, third horn with the Abilene Philharmonic and Associate Principal Horn with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, Austin Baroque Orchestra, McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra, and Dallas Asian Wind Ensemble.
As a soloist, Ms. Chu won the MidSouth Horn Workshop Solo Competition and the University of North Texas Concerto Competition, performing with the UNT Concert Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she performed with the Center Woodwind Quintet and served as a teaching assistant for the chamber music program at UNT. She has also appeared in the recital in Vicenza, Italy, where she performed Brahms’ Horn Trio with fellow musicians.
She earned both her Master of Music degree and Graduate Artist Certificate in performance from the University of North Texas.
Raquel Samayoa
Principal Trumpet
Raquel Samayoa leads a dynamic and engaging career as a teacher, chamber musician, recitalist, adjudicator and solo performer. She is Associate Professor of Trumpet, and Co-Conductor of the UNT Brass Band at the University of North Texas College of Music. Dr. Samayoa is a founding member of Lantana Trio, a brass trio comprised of UNT Brass Faculty. Raquel is principal trumpet with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX) and in the summer performs with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra (AR). As a member of the award-winning Seraph Brass, she frequently tours the US and abroad performing concerts and engaging in educational outreach performances. Dr. Samayoa is a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Denis Wick Artist and Clinician.
Principal Trombone
Megan Boutin
Dr. Megan Boutin is the Assistant Professor of Music in Trombone at East Texas A&M University. She has performed, presented, and adjudicated at conferences and festivals worldwide. An active performer and soloist, she won the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference Tenor Trombone Category II solo division, and has performed as a guest soloist at the Midwest Clinic. Dr. Boutin has held the position of principal trombone with the Temple Symphony Orchestra and the Tri-Cities Opera Company Orchestra, and she has performed with ensembles including the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, Dallas Winds, Buffalo Philharmonic, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Lyric Opera, and Boston Brass.
Dr. Boutin holds degrees in Music Education from Ithaca College (B.M., Music Education), the Eastman School of Music (M.M.) and the University of Texas at Austin (D.M.A.). Dr. Boutin is an S.E. Shires and Greg Black Artist.
Jason Wallace
Principal Tuba
Jason Wallace is a native of DFW. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce where he studied tuba performance with Ed Jones. He has been a finalist in the Leonard Falcone International solo competition and the International Tuba Euphonium Association solo competition. For almost 20 years, Mr. Wallace has performed with the Dallas Winds, the Lewisville Lake Symphony, the East Texas Symphony, and the Dallas Opera Orchestra. Mr. Wallace was a member of the RSO from 2002-2010 and is excited to be back. Mr. Wallace has also been a band director in Garland, Rockwall, and Plano. He and his wife Kara are band directors in Commerce, Texas. He enjoys spending time with friends and family, as well as a variety of outdoor activities.
Steven Kimple
Principal Timpani
Steven Kimple came to Plano, TX in 1968. It was then that he began studying drums with Jack Iden. In 1976 he began studying percussion with Douglas Howard. He studied percussion with Allen Otte at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music where he received a Bachelor of Music degree. He studied percussion at SMU with Douglas Howard and Kalman Cherry. He later studied percussion with Robert Schietroma at UNT where he received a Master of Music degree. Steven has attended timpani seminars conducted by Cloyd Duff, Vic Firth, Mark Yancich, Salvatore Rabbio, Tom Freer, Tim Adams, and Jim Atwood. Steven joined the RSO in 1983. Mr. Kimple has recorded with the Dallas Winds. He also enjoys collecting and restoring percussion instruments.
David Elias
Principal Percussion
David earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in music from Steven F. Austin. He toured Europe with the New York Harlem Opera Ensemble performing “Porgy & Bess.” He moved to Dallas to pursue a Masters in Arts Administration from the University of North Texas. He has worked as a performer, in management, or as a lighting/audio technician with the Ft. Worth Opera, Denton Chamber Orchestra, Richardson Chamber Music Society, Unity Church of Dallas, Lewisville Lake Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Richardson Symphony, Texas Chamber Orchestra, Flower Mound Symphony, and Dallas Wind Symphony. He balances an active performance/tech career and has shared the stage with Chicago, Amy Grant, Frank Sinatra Jr, The Fifth Dimensions, Jewel, ELO, Phil Collins, Willie Nelson, Kenny G, The Rolling Stones, Van Cliburn, Bruce Hornsby, Rich Little, and more. David also maintains a freelance career in sound reinforcement and lighting design.
Cynthia Shockley
Principal Harp
Cynthia Shockley studied harp under Charles Kleinsteuber, as well as orchestra performance and conducting under Anshel Brusilow at the University of North Texas. She began her professional orchestra career as principal harpist of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, with whom she performed for 7 years.
Currently, Ms. Shockley teaches middle school orchestra at McKamy Middle School in Flower Mound. She also performs regularly with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Stage Musicals, and Octavia Harp Ensemble.