2026 Zion Chamber Orchestra Festival Artists
Dr. Cindy Behmer instructs Oboe at UC Davis and CSU, Sacramento. She performs regularly with Sacramento Philharmonic, Sacramento Choral Society, Stockton Symphony, Broadway at Music Circus, Modesto Opera, and recently the Sunriver Music Festival in Oregon. She also coaches for the Cal Cap Chamber Music Workshop and Chamber Musicians of Northern California. Notable past roles and performances include Tucson Symphony Orchestra, St. Philip’s Friends of Music, College Music Society Conference in Seoul, South Korea (2011) and International Double Reed Society Conference (2016).
Max Simoncic
I have been blessed time and time again over the past 80 years. The greatest blessings begin with my faith, family, and friends. It was not long before music was my way of expressing my thoughts and emotions more deeply, even more than the spoken word. The first music I composed was for accordion, shortly after beginning lessons at age eight. Soon after, I started writing for other instruments. From age eight to the present, composing music has expanded to larger works for orchestra, musical theatre, opera, ballet and concertos.
Maestro Paul Kimball has asked me to compose music for his orchestra venue, dating back to the St. John Chamber Orchestra Festival Days. Paul has always presented me with new challenges specific to the performance. One year, it was writing music for numerous paintings from the Haggin Museum in Stockton, and most recently, a piano concerto that blends classical and jazz styles into a three-movement work.
This concert was a completely different challenge. The piece, “Resilience,” is a work for trumpet and strings, remembering the Cleveland Elementary School Shooting of 1989 and the five beautiful children who lost their lives.
Celebrated violinist Dr. Ann Miller has appeared in concert halls throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. At home performing music spanning the Baroque era to the present day, Ms. Miller enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, soloist, and educator.
A proponent of new music, Ms. Miller made her New York debut as a soloist with the New Juilliard Ensemble in Alice Tully Hall in the North American premiere of David Matthews' Concerto No. 2. As a member of Trio 180, Ms. Miller has performed in Canada, Mexico, and many venues throughout the U.S. As part of its 20th anniversary in 2022, the trio commissioned and premiered works by Dorothy Chang, Cindy Cox, Andrew Conklin, Richard Einhorn, and Reinaldo Moya.
Recent solo appearances include performances of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1with the Zion Chamber Orchestra, the Barber Violin Concerto with the Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic Orchestra in Satu Mare, Romania, and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Mariposa Symphony in Yosemite National Park. As a recitalist, Ms. Miller frequently collaborates with pianist Sonia Leong and has appeared on Old First Concerts in San Francisco and the University of the Pacific's Resident Artist Series.
In addition to teaching at Las Positas College, Ms. Miller is a Professor of Violin at the Conservatory of Music of the University of the Pacific. She holds her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Juilliard School, and she received her Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, from Rice University. Her teachers have included Ronald Copes and Kathleen Winkler, and her chamber music coaches have included Jerome Lowenthal, Seymour Lipkin, Robert McDonald, Norman Fischer, James Dunham, Paul Katz, and members of the Juilliard and Tokyo string quartets. In addition to her passion for music, she enjoys hiking and reading.
Igor Veligan, a native of Ukraine, received his musical education at the Odessa State Conservatory. After immigrating to the United States in 1996, he established himself as a distinguished violinist, violist, and educator. He currently serves as the Concertmaster of the Pacific Chamber Orchestra, performs extensively as a chamber musician with the SoundPost Sacramento String Quartet, and is the founder of Young Talents Music School.
Together with pianist Natsuki Fukasawa, Mr. Veligan has performed across the United States and Europe, featuring works by Armenian composer Arno Babadjanian, Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk, and Romanian composer George Enescu. Their collaboration resulted in the release of the acclaimed CD Voices of Eastern Europe.
A passionate and dedicated teacher, Mr. Veligan brings his artistry, experience, and deep love of music to inspire his students and nurture the next generation of musicians.
Outside of music, his interests include spending time and traveling with his family, playing chess, and building and flying remote-controlled aircraft.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Mr. Veligan has devoted his musical talents to numerous fundraising concerts in support of humanitarian aid and the Ukrainian people’s fight for freedom and democracy.
Tom Coyan started playing piano at the age of 5, when his mother, a church organist and piano teacher, started him on piano lessons. At age 9, Tom played his first public solo at Mt. Hermon Christian Campgrounds, in front of an audience of over 500. It must have been a rewarding and memorable experience, as Tom has continued playing for over 50 years.
Tom studied piano and pipe organ through high school, earning the (now defunct) Sherwood International Piano Award. Tom attended Biola University on a music scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano.
For 35 years, Tom served as a worship pastor for three churches in Northern California, leading vocal and instrumental groups, composing, arranging, and producing numerous musicals and concerts. These days Tom can be found writing and arranging music, playing on various CD projects, or out playing a variety of venues.
Tom is well versed in most every style of music: he can be found playing musical theatre in pit orchestras, playing pop/rock with several tribute bands (Journey, Styx, Abba, etc.), swinging with City Swing Big Band, an 18 piece Oakland based jazz band, or playing contemporary praise music in his local church.
Paul Kimball has been the conductor of the Zion Chamber Orchestra (formerly Saint John’s) since 2006, inheriting the position from George Buckbee. He is a recently retired music teacher with the Lincoln Unified School District after 36 years. He played French Horn with the Stockton Symphony for 27 years. He has guest conducted and sang with them in various cameo appearances. He has conducted around 330 performances at Stockton Civic Theater. He and his wife, Dominee, were given the Star Award by the Stockton Arts Commission in 2018. They have two daughters, Ashley and Alyssa, and two beautiful grandsons! Paul is the Author of Sight-Singing Magic and We are All Human Beings/An Adoptee Ponders. In his spare time, he loves to hike in nature!