COA String Faculty

Erin E. Weber is Adjunct Professor of Violin and Viola at Abilene Christian University and Hardin-Simmons University and recently finished a season with the Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale as Principal Second Violin and Second Violin of the Permian Basin String Quartet. She earned her Master of Music degree from Texas Tech University as a teaching assistant under Professor Annie Chalex Boyle and her Bachelor of Music degree from Southwestern University, where she studied with Dr. Eri Lee Lam. While at Texas Tech University, Erin performed outreach concerts in West Texas communities as a member of the Texas Tech University String Quartet and served the Texas Tech University String Project as a violin instructor and graphic designer.

In 2009 Erin won the concerto competition at Southwestern University and was the featured soloist with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra as the Amarillo Symphony Guild’s Young Artist competition winner in 2008. Erin has frequently accompanied chorales such as the Lubbock Chorale and Amarillo Master Chorale, and has performed chamber music concerts with Chamber Music Amarillo and as a guest artist of the Lake City Arts Chamber Music Series in Colorado. As an orchestral musician she has performed with multiple ensembles, including the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the Amarillo Symphony, and the Austin Civic Orchestra. Her previous orchestral leadership roles include serving as Acting Concertmaster of Lubbock Symphony, Co-Concertmaster of the Texas Tech University Symphony Orchestra, and Co-Concertmaster and Principal Second of the Southwestern University Orchestra. Erin has also engaged in several national and international music festivals, including the Round Top Festival Institute, Lake City String Academy, Hot Springs Festival, Madeleine Island Chamber Music Camp, and the IES Vienna Summer Music Festival in Vienna, Austria. She has had the privilege of performing in masterclasses for such teachers as Thomas Rosenburg, Paul Cantor, Charlie Castleman, and Kevork Madirossian. Her pre-collegiate teachers include Beverly de la Bretonne, who reared her in the Amarillo College Suzuki Program from age 3, and Dr. Keith Redpath. Nurturing students’ creativity and facilitating their musical expression through developing reliable technique are Erin’s principle motivations for teaching.

Originally from Chicago, Adrienne Banks began studying cello at the age of 9. She graduated with honors from Illinois State University, where she earned a B.M. in music performance and music therapy, studying cello under Dr. Adriana La Rosa Ransom. She was a member of the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest before moving to Texas in 2016.

Adrienne has traveled around the United States and Europe to perform, including orchestral tours throughout France and Germany and as a cellist with the International Chamber Music Institute in Bulgaria. She has had the pleasure of playing for hundreds of live events, including SXSW musical festival and concert tours for major artists. She has also recorded for various artists’ albums and done live and commercial work for Amazon Prime. Adrienne has a passion for collaborating with theatre artists, having performed for numerous theatrical productions, including as the company cellist for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

Adrienne has been a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) since 2014 and has worked with a wide variety of individuals and groups to bring healing through music. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, having served in multiple leadership positions and earning the Regional Alumnae Leadership Award for excellence in music and community service. She currently performs as a core cellist with Sienna String Quartet based in Austin, TX, as a substitute cellist with the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, and teaches cello for Abilene ISD while maintaining a private studio.

Coming from South Texas, John Hunter has performed with many of the regional orchestras and is an active teacher and freelancer in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Some of the orchestras he has performed with include Plano, Fort Worth, Arkansas, Shreveport, National Philharmonic and Dallas Chamber Symphonies.

John was a winner of the UT Arlington Concerto Competition, where he performed Giovanni Bottesini’s Concerto #2 in B minor for Double Bass and Orchestra. He has also attended festivals such as Brevard Music Center, PRISMA, Aruba Symphony Festival and National Music Festival and has performed with members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra alongside Pinchas Zukerman as part of their collaboration with Southern Methodist University.

John has studied with notable bassists such as Brian Perry, Jack Unzicker, Tyler Shepherd, Paul Unger and has performed in classes for Paul Ellison, Ed Barker, Craig Brown, Daniel Tosky, George Speed and many others. He holds a bachelors in Music Education from UT Rio Grande Valley, Masters in Music from UT Arlington and a Performance Certificate from Southern Methodist University.