Strings Faculty

Strings Faculty Profiles

Jeff Ashton, Adjunct Professor, classical guitar        

Jeffrey is a Boston, Massachusetts native who has lived and worked as a teacher of guitar in the US and Europe. While living in Boston Jeffrey earned a degree in History and Art History with an interest in architecture and topography of Bavaria, and later received a degree in guitar performance from Portland State. Jeffrey has studied guitar throughout Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and England eventually leading to a residency in Garmisch-Partenkirchen Musikschule faculty. In addition to guitar, Jeffrey also worked as a visual artist who showcased his work in exhibits through Europe.

Jeffrey Ashton is a classical guitarist, composer and arranger located in Portland, OR. Jeffrey teaches private and class lessons for guitar throughout the city. 

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, Boston College


Heather Blackburn, Adjunct Professor, Cello

A native of New York, Heather holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and Washington State University. She is a member of the Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra, and served as acting cello in the Oregon Symphony. She has also participated in numerous summer festivals including the Cascade Music Festival, as assistant principal cello; the Oregon Bach Festival, and the Sunriver Music Festival. A chamber musician in demand, Ms. Blackburn has appeared on many Northwest series including Second City in Tacoma, Mostly Nordic in Seattle, Chamber Music on Tap in Portland and the Ragland Classical Series in Klamath Falls. Last spring Heather was a featured performer with the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s company premiere of Opus 50, in 10 performances of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio. As a founding member of Portland’s Ethos Quartet, Heather performed live radio shows on KING FM in Seattle and KBPS FM in Portland. She was lauded by the Oregonian for her “burnished tone” during the quartet’s acclaimed Beethoven Cycle.

  
Angelika Furtwangler, Adjunct Professor, Viola      

Angelika performs regularly with Portland Opera Orchestra, Oregon Ballet Theatre (Principal Viola), the Vancouver Symphony, and arcadia PDX String Quartet. She has also performed frequently with the Detroit Symphony, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Portland Summerfest Opera Orchestra and Astoria Music Festival. She has a private music studio filled with violin and viola students and teaches strings at Lake Oswego Schools and Oregon Episcopal School in SW Portland. Angelika earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Munich Musikhochschule and a Master of Music degree from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Rebekah Hanson, Assistant Professor, Director of Orchestral Activities, Music History

Elizabeth Peyton, Adjunct Professor, Violin

Violinist Elizabeth Peyton is currently serving on the music faculty of University of Portland and Reed College, is a tenured member of the Portland Opera and Oregon Ballet Theater Orchestra, and is a member of the conducting staff of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Her long and varied performance career spans symphonic music, chamber music, and Broadway productions internationally, and includes appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Festival of American Music, Santa Fe Opera, the New Mexico Symphony Symphony, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Cascade Music Festival, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and she has been featured in soundtrack recordings for studio albums and films.  Previous positions include instructor and mentor on the faculties of the Community Music Center, Multnomah Arts Center, and Young Musicians and Artists. She completed her musical studies at Indiana University, the University of the Arts, and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
 

Jason has been playing bass with orchestras and chamber ensembles since 1992, and joined the Oregon Symphony’s bass section in October 1999. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the West Virginia Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Ft. Wayne Philharmonic, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Oregon Bach Festival. Jason plays with several local chamber ensembles, including Third Angle New Music Ensemble, 45th Parallel, Classical Up Close, and the Lewis & Clark Faculty Chamber Players.

Jason is also a busy teacher. In addition to maintaining a private studio, Jason holds music faculty positions at Lewis & Clark College, University of Portland, and Concordia University. He is also a music instructor with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Chamber Music Camp of Portland, and many Portland-area schools.

Mr. Schooler received a B.M. in Performance and Music Education at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He also attended the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado for six years.

Matthew Tutsky, Adjunct Professor, Harp

Matthew is currently Principal Harpist with New Mexico Philharmonic, Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, and Boise Philharmonic, while also serving first call 2nd Harpist with Oregon Symphony. His performances have been acclaimed at premier concert venues such as Carnegie Hall in NYC and Harpa in Iceland. He has served as Acting Principal Harpist with the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera and permanent guest artist and substitute harpist with Iceland Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony/Utah Opera, Oregon Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and Anchorage Symphony. He regularly performs at prestigious summer music festivals including Grand Teton Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, Deer Valley Music Festival, and McCall Summer Musicfest. He has performed with James Taylor, Kristin Chenoweth, Ben Folds, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Johnny Mathis, Emmanuel Pahud, and other leading musical icons.

Matthew participated in a premier of John Luther Adams' "Become Desert" with Seattle Symphony and joined them on tour with this work. He has recorded with Seattle Symphony and Utah Symphony. Matthew holds teaching posts as Adjunct Professor of Harp with The University of Portland and Reed College. As a member of the American Harp Society and Vice-President of the Boise Chapter, he gave honorarium recitals with Connecticut Chapter of the American Harp Society and Lyon & Healy West. Matthew has performed concertos with Utah Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Boise Baroque Orchestra, Chamber Music of the Springs, Washington Idaho Symphony, and Nova Chamber Music Series. He received a perfect score for a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts in 2012. Matthew is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard’s Pre College and is tremendously grateful for his mentors, especially Deborah Hoffman, former Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera, and Emily Oppenheimer, former Juilliard Pre College Harp Professor. Matthew is based in Portland, Oregon.