Faculty

Arturo Ziraldo

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Arturo Ziraldo is a mult-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Growing up singing around the piano with his family at holidays and always listening to music, it was a natural path to a career as a performer. Legend has it, he started keeping time by dancing and moving as a baby before he could talk.

Arturo was raised with a love for the Beatles, Motown, Louis and Ella, and later the blues, the electric guitar, and finally, classical music. After some stumbling on the piano and cello, he found the guitar and the viola, and has never looked back. After hearing a recording of Jascha Heifetz playing the Tchaikovsky violin concerto on the radio, he decided to give classical music a real go.

Classically trained all over the country and the world (Western Michigan University, New England Conservatory, Roosevelt University CCPA, HEM de Genève), Arturo has performed across the globe in the concert halls of Geneva, Berlin, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Guadalajara, Seoul, and more. In addition to his current positions as Principal Viola in the Kalamazoo and West Michigan Symphonies, he has been a guest in the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and many others.

Arturo is an active viola soloist and chamber musician, particularly championing the music of early 20th century english composers such as Arnold Bax and Benjamin Dale. Much of this music was written for the original viola soloist Lionel Tertis, of whose pedagogical line Arturo is a direct descendant.

Karin Loberg Code

Portage, Michigan

Karin Loberg Code got her own start on viola in public school orchestra in fourth grade and is an avid supporter of school instrumental strings programs. She received her viola performance Bachelor's at University of Illinois and studied with Roland Vamos at Western Illinois University for a Master's degree. Since then, she has taught privately for over twenty years and has a very successful studio of young musicians. She is a free-lance violist who appears frequently with area orchestras including the Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Southwest Michigan and West Michigan Symphonies.

In addition to her home studio, Karin teaches at Kalamazoo College, Hillsdale College, West Michigan Homeschool Fine Arts and Portage Northern High School. She has directed chamber ensembles, string orchestras and summer camps throughout the Midwest. In 2010 the WMU chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota presented Karin their PRISM Award for Excellence in Teaching. In addition to classical violin and viola, Karin is also one of the foremost players of the eight-stringed Norwegian Hardanger fiddle in this country.

Nicholas Jeffery

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Nicholas Jeffery began viola lessons in the Indiana public school system and continued his studies with Catherine Carroll and Masao Kawasaki at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In 2010 he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where his main teacher was Sally Chisholm. Along the way he worked with a number of coaches and teachers, including Lee Fiser, Victoria Chiang, Sydney Hodkinson, and David Perry. He spent many summers as a fellowship student at the Aspen Music Festival, serving two summers as the violist in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. He has also attended the Atlantic Music Festival in Waterville, ME, the Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy, Interlochen, and the Encore School for Strings.

As a performer, Dr. Jeffery has been a member of the Madison Symphony orchestra, and served as principal viola of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Dr. Jeffery helped to found the Ursa Ensemble, a mixed chamber ensemble in Chicago, IL, and has been invited to appear as a guest artist with the Chamber Music in the Pines Festival, the Willy Street Chamber Players, and the Heart Strings Ensemble in Madison, WI.

Dr. Jeffery is strongly committed to teaching and maintains a full studio of private students at the Crescendo Academy of Music. As a member of the Hunt String Quartet at the University of Wisconsin, he visited area elementary schools to present musical lessons and give performances in the classroom. Recently he was invited to give masterclasses to viola students at Ball State University and the University of Wisconsin. He currently serves as assistant principal of the Kalamazoo Symphony, and is a member of the Burdick-Thorne String Quartet.