Nurture. Grow. Blossom.
We believe in the ability of every student and dedicate ourselves in bringing out the best in each orchestra member. The Sunflower Chamber Orchestra is on its fifth season working with youths that enjoy playing an instrument and want to be part of a group. The SCO serves communities in and around River Forest, Oak Park, Forest Park, Elmwood Park, Berwyn, Riverside, and Westchester and is also officially a Section 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
We work with young musicians from 3rd - 12th grade who enjoy being part of a disciplined team and has a love for music,,
If you share the same passion in music and would like to become a member of the Sunflower Chamber Orchestra, simply click here to get started.
We believe in the ability of every student and dedicate ourselves in bringing out the best in each orchestra member. The Sunflower Chamber Orchestra is on its fifth season working with youths that enjoy playing an instrument and want to be part of a group. The SCO serves communities in and around River Forest, Oak Park, Forest Park, Elmwood Park, Berwyn, Riverside, and Westchester and is also officially a Section 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
We work with young musicians from 3rd - 12th grade who enjoy being part of a disciplined team and has a love for music,,
If you share the same passion in music and would like to become a member of the Sunflower Chamber Orchestra, simply click here to get started.
We are currently open to the following instruments for the 2024/2025 season:
Violin - Viola - Cello - Bass - Flute - Oboe - Clarinet - Bassoon - Horn
Violin - Viola - Cello - Bass - Flute - Oboe - Clarinet - Bassoon - Horn
Music Director: Mohannad Al Zahabi
Assistant Conductor: Eloise Meloni
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Mohannad Al Zahabi, the "cellist with golden fingers, acclaimed Syrian cellist in the world” according to the Teshreen Post of Damascus, Syria. His debut in Carnegie Hall, New York in 2005 successfully attracted the worldwide recording company MBI “Music Box International” to present Mohannad Al Zahabi as cellist of the year of 2006 by recording Brahms and Shostakovich cello Sonatas. Mohannad Al Zahabi grew up in a family of musicians in Damascus. His father Ibrahim Al Zahabi was the first bassist in the National Syrian Radio and TV Orchestra. In 1998 Mohannad earned his Master Degree of Fine Arts from Moscow State Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky under Professor Igor Gavrish, 1st prize winner of the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition and 2nd prize of Tchaikovsky International Competition. Cellist Mohannad Al Zahabi has been performing worldwide with well known conductors and soloists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Christopher Eschenbach, Pierre Boulez, David Robertson, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Cliff Colnot, Michael Gielen, Bill Eddins, Pinchas Zukerman and Daniel Bareinboim.
Mohannad Al Zahabi also performed with super star singers such as Fairouz, Smokey Robinson and the Grammy Award winner Yassuo N' Dour in his 2005 National tour in the USA. He was a cello and base instructor at Kagan & Gains Music Co. for sixteen years. Mohannad Al Zahabi now lives with his wife and three children in River Forest, IL. and performs with the Chicago Symphony Quartet, teatching Cello and Bass at the SCO School of Music. In his free time, Mohannad enjoys playing the guitar, biking and playing soccer with his children. After many years of his teaching career and in order to develop his talented students, Mohannad Al Zahabi became the founder and music director of the Sunflower Chamber Orchestra. |
Eloise Meloni, “A brilliant and extraordinary violinist,” according to Sardinia Daily news, Italy. She was the first prize winner of the violin competition "Prize Alessandro Longo" in Rome, Italy, where she was awarded the "High Technical Virtuoso and Maturity Interpretation" Award. In 1994, Eloise Meloni was the winner of the International Violin Competition "Prize Sassari" in Italy. Eloise has internationally performed as a soloist and orchestra leader in England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, France, Cyprus, the Middle East, Canada and the United States. Eloise was born in Italy to a family of highly educated musicians. She earned a degree in Fine Arts from the Academy Santa Cecilia in Rome, under a well known violinist Professor Felix Ayo. Following that, she studied in Vienna with Concertmaster Vienna Philharmonic Maestro Rainer Kuchl for two years.
Eloise earned her Master Degree of Fine Arts from the Moscow State Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky, under the world famous violin professor Maya S. Glezarova. Important influences in her development as a violinist include Emanuel Hurwitz, Franco Gulli, Pavel Vernikov, Vadim Brodsky, and Sergey Ghirschenko. In 2003, Eloise became an Asst. Professor in the International Violin Master Class in Portogruaro, Italy. Eloise Meloni moved to the United States to continue her journey in music in 2004 and was a violin and viola intructor at Kagan & Gains Music Co. for sixteen years. Eloise Meloni has performed and recorded with famous conductors and soloists such as: Yo Yo Ma, Claudio Abbado, Isaac Stern, Luciano Pavarotti, Loren Maazel, Riccardo Chailly, Mstislav Rostropovich and Vladimir Spivakov. Eloise plays a Camillo Camilli violin made in 1750. Currently, Eloise Meloni is the mother of three lovely children and teaches the violin and viola at the SCO School of Music, also taking the position of the first violin at the Chicago Symphony Quartet. After many years of teaching her talented students, Eloise Meloni became the founder and the assistant conductor of the Sunflower Chamber Orchestra. |
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