Coaches

Gerald Elias

Gerald Elias leads a double life as a world-class musician and critically acclaimed author. Devil’s Trill, the debut novel of his award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series that takes place in the dark corners of the classical music world, was a Barnes & Noble Discover: Great New Writers selection. In 2020 he penned The Beethoven Sequence, a chilling psycho-political thriller. Elias’s prize-winning essay, “War and Peace. And Music,” excerpted from his insightful memoir, Symphonies & Scorpions, was the subject of 2019 TEDx presentation. His short stories and essays have appeared in prestigious journals ranging from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine to The Strad.

A former violinist with the Boston Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, Elias has performed on five continents and has been the conductor of Salt Lake City’s popular Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra series since 2004. He maintains a vibrant concert career while continuing to expand his literary horizons. The Sinfonia is thrilled that Jerry has provided individual and group coaching for our group for many years.

Andrew McCann

Andrew McCann is a violinist and Alexander Technique teacher. Andrew was a founding member and principal second violinist of New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago, a member of the festival orchestra at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and has appeared as a guest artist with eighth blackbird, ensemble dal niente, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Spektral Quartet. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, he was an active theater musician in Chicago, performing in productions with Broadway in Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Writer’s Theater, the Marriott Theater, Victory Garden’s Theater, and Paramount Theater. He holds a Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance and Bachelors of Arts in History from Oberlin College & Conservatory, as well as a Masters of Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His principal violin teachers include Jorja Fleezanis, Sherban Lupu, Gregory Fulkerson, and Lee Snyder. Andrew certified as an Alexander Technique teacher with Joan & Alex Murray at the Urbana Center for the Alexander Technique in 2003. Andrew has taught and presented workshops across the country on the Alexander Technique, specializing in helping musicians play more comfortably and avoid or recover from injury. 2025 was his third year of coaching string sectionals for Sinfonia.

Ivan Trapka

Ivan Trapka attended UMass Amherst as a cello performance major, and has performed exten- sively including BUTI String Quartet Workshop and Young Artists Orchestra, Castleman Quar- tet Program, and the Cape Ann Symphony twice. In 2009 he performed the Lalo concerto with the Stockbridge Sinfonia. He has studied with Astrid Schween, Arthur Cook, Ronald Feldman, and Michael Reynolds. Recently he performed Beethoven’s A Major and Bach d-moll sonatas at Saint James Place, and performed a solo recital Spring 2024 at The Foundry in West Stockbridge.

For the Summer 2025 season, he served as Assistant to the Program Coordinator at the High Peaks Festival and was its cellist in the Rachmaninoff Piano Trio.