Members of the Manassas String Quartet
Emil Cheytanov (violin)
Mr. Cheytanov received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Violin performance from the National University of Music, Bulgaria in 1987. He has been teaching over 20 years in Bulgaria, Portugal, Czechoslovakia, and The Unites States of America.
Mr. Cheytanov’s international career includes performances with variety of chamber ensembles and orchestras in numerous countries: Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, France, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, and Italy. He took part in the Portuguese National Symphony Orchestra in Lisbon, Portugal; State Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria; State Symphony Orchestra in Pilzen, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic); and was a Concertmaster of Prince William County Symphony Orchestra.
Currently Mr. Cheytanov is a concertmaster in the Manassas Symphony Orchestra. Since 2001 he has taught strings in Prince William Schools.
Chris Bojarczuk (violin)
Born in Houston, Texas, Chris Bojarczuk began playing the violin at the age of 12.
After moving to Virginia in 2003, he continued his studies under Nova Manassas Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Emil Cheytanov who later introduced him to the NMSO as a high school freshman and where he performed as a soloist in his senior year. During his high school years, he successfully competed for the Prince William County, Northern Virginia Regional, and Virginia All-State orchestras, and in 2006 became part of the founding group of the Washington Sinfonietta in Washington D.C. In 2009, Mr. Bojarczuk joined the New River Valley Symphony Orchestra in Blacksburg, VA, where he was concertmaster in 2010. Currently working towards the completion of his degree in music performance, Mr. Bojarczuk is continuing his studies under the guidance of Olga Yanovich, and continues to serve as a volunteer musician at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Manassas.
Zach Saunders (viola)
Zach Saunders holds a Master of Music in Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a student of Masao Kawasaki and received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education as a student of Andrea Houde and Maggie Snyder. He has studied string teaching with almost every major pedagogue in the field, including Mimi Zweig (Joshua Bell's teacher), Rebecca Henry, Brenda Brenner, and Bob Gillespie (author of Essential Elements for Strings). As a performer, he has served as Principal Viola of the CCM Orchestras and the Brevard Sinfonia among many other groups, has given recitals and made solo appearances throughout the Eastern US and in Europe, and is currently a tenured section viola with the Huntington Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Fredericksburg, VA he started on violin with Bill Wassum, was a former concertmaster/asst. concertmaster of NCVRO and All-Virginia, and was the 2007 recipient of the Sydney Berg Award. He teaches strings at Battlefield High School and Alvey Elementary School in Haymarket, VA.
Katherine Colburn (cello)
Mrs. Colburn received her Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Miami in 1997, and her Master’s Degree in Cello Performance from George Mason University in 2009. She has been a cellist with the Prince William Symphony, Washington Metropolitan Symphony, and Ash Lawn Highland Opera and currently serves as Associate Principal cello of the National String Symphonia. Mrs. Colburn was an orchestra director in Prince William County for 9 years and taught both middle and high school orchestras. She currently has a private cello studio in her home in Manassas.
Mrs. Colburn’s past teachers included Loran Stephenson (NSO), Ross Harbaugh (Bergonzi Quartet), and Neil Cary (Principal, Richmond Symphony).