The RFYO Team
Teaching Artists & Music Directors
Sarah Graf
Executive Director & Co-Music Director
Sarah Graf is an avid chamber musician, soloist, and teacher in addition to being Executive Director of the Roaring Fork Music Society. Since moving to Colorado in 2007, Sarah has performed extensively in concerts across the state on both modern and baroque cello and viola da gamba. She earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and has attended festivals including the Freiburg Baroque Academie, National Orchestral Institute, and Aspen Music Festival. More recently Sarah has performed in the Colorado Bach Ensemble, as principal cellist of the Aspen Choral Society and the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, and as a soloist with the High Country Sinfonia. As a teacher Sarah has a private studio and coaches students of the Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra.. Now based in the Roaring Fork Valley region, Sarah grew up in Frederick, Maryland.
Ross Kribbs
Co-Music Director
Collaborations
Carbondale violinist Ross Kribbs performs throughout the Roaring Fork Valley with numerous ensembles. A musical omnivore, Ross plays Bach, bluegrass or blues with equal energy and passion, though his greatest joy is teaching those myriad styles to a growing studio of young musicians.
Ross began his Suzuki Method violin education at age three and studied violin throughout his schooling, participating in small ensembles and all-state orchestras in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. At Brown University, where he earned a B.A. magna cum laude, Ross studied architecture and urban planning, while allowing his musical interests to, um, hibernate. A musical reawakening occurred after graduation, when a newspaper photography position brought him to the Aspen Times. (He still regrets not asking to play a few notes on Joshua Bell’s 1713 Stradivarius during an informal portrait session.) Once settled in Aspen, a friend attending the Aspen Music Festival convinced him to dust off his fiddle, and he remains grateful for that fortuitous nudge. Two decades later, he now plays with The Smuggler Mountain Boys, Sweet Temerity Jazz Band, Party Party! (exactly what it sounds like), the Grand Junction Symphony and the High Country Sinfonia.
Ross is dedicated to refining his craft as a musician and educator, and has followed an educational path that is as inspiring as it is untraditional. Among the highlights: private instruction in conducting with Bill Payne of Bucknell University, workshops with Markand Thakar of the Baltimore Chamber orchestra and jazz violinists Jason Anick and Christian Howes of the Berklee School of Music, and Suzuki Method teacher training with Susan McDonald. Self-guided online forays into composition and arranging round out a program that keeps him curious and committed.
When not playing, teaching, or arranging music, Ross trades his violin bow for longer one –– with arrows –– as an avid outdoorsman and traditional archery enthusiast. “Bows and Bows and Bows”, an annual event for his students, includes a morning concert visit to Aspen Music Tent, followed by a picnic and afternoon archery session. It’s his favorite day of the year.
Brittni Brown
Co-Music Director
Dr. Brittni Brown is a sought-after violin pedagogue and artist-performer in Aspen, Colorado. She maintains a full studio, with the focus of transforming students into artists, and is an avid performer of solo and chamber music across the region. Brittni is on the string faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp, spending six weeks mentoring some of the most advanced and dedicated young students. Dr. Brown received her undergraduate and masters degrees with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with William Preucil. She went on to receive a doctorate in violin performance from the University of Texas under the tutelage of Brian Lewis and is a certified Suzuki teacher, having received her long-term training from Kimberly Meier-Sims at the Sato Suzuki Center.
Bill Capps
Music Director Emeritus
Bill Capps led the RFYO as its Music Director since the program's start in 2011 and now serves as Music Director Emeritus, continuing to guide the musical direction of the RFYO. Bill holds a B.A. in music from Wheaton College and a Master of Music degree from University of Denver. In addition to conducting, he is an accomplished cellist, private music instructor, and classroom music teacher. Bill recently retired as general music teacher at the Aspen Country Day School after 17 years of teaching.
Shaunna Wilsky
Violin Teaching Artist
Shaunna Wilsky has taught violin in the Roaring Fork Valley for 18 years. Her study of violin began at the age of 3 in SIUE’s Suzuki Program, where she was instructed by many teachers including John Kendall, who was instrumental in introducing the Suzuki method in the United States. Shaunna attended the University of Evansville, Indiana where she studied under Carol Dallinger. During this time, she was chosen by the University’s music faculty to participate with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. Since moving to Colorado in 2001, Shaunna has been actively teaching violin to children and adults in the Roaring Fork area. She strives to share the joy of music with her students and to give them a lifelong passion for music.
Violin Teaching Artist
Roberto Arundale
Cello Teaching Artist
From Fairbanks, Alaska, Salvadoran-American cellist, Dr. Roberto Arundale (pronounced air-RUN-dale) is a highly sought-after performer, pedagogue, and recording artist. An avid soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, Roberto has concertized throughout the United States and Europe collaborating with musicians spanning all musical genres including Edgar Meyer, the Indigo Girls, members of the Ying Quartet, and Amos Lee. Roberto has garnered awards and top prizes in competitions across the United States, most recently as finalist and winner of the audience award at the Ekstrand Competition. Roberto joined the staff of the RFYO in 2022 coaching the Camerata cello section.
Lindsay Bobyak
Violin & Double Bass Teaching Artist
Lindsay Bobyak holds a Masters and Bachelors degree in Double Bass Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, an Associates in String Instrument Technology from the Jacobs School as well as an Executive Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, Cultural Agency, Community Development, Organization Management, Design Thinking & Education Leadership from the Global Leaders Program. While in Indiana, she was Associate Principal Bassist of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and the Assistant Principal Bassist in the Bloomington Symphony. She currently plays with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra. Lindsay has a passion for bringing access to music and education to students regardless of social or economic background. Lindsay was a member of the inaugural cohort of Americorps ArtistYear Fellows in the Roaring Fork Valley, working with the Basalt middle and high school band program and teaching after-school group violin classes with the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Beginning Strings Program. Lindsay worked for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s educational outreach program, OrchKids, where she taught double bass, violin, and cello to elementary and middle school students in West Baltimore. Lindsay currently lives in New Castle, Colorado where she works for several non-profit organizations bringing music education to rural communities.