Michele joined the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra as a cellist in 2006 after being enticed by violinist Mary Folus with the promise of getting a chance to play at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral the following season (the possibility of a bus accident along the way oddly never came up in conversation). She also has been playing in Trinity Lutheran Church’s orchestra since 2003, when she took up the cello again after a 15-year hiatus, and has also recently joined their choir as an alto (thus doubling the section). Michele is a graduate of the Harford County School system, where she first learned to play the cello while attending Homestead-Wakefield Elementary from none other than Sheldon Bair (in a year we won’t discuss), and has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology & Religion (with honors) from Hood College and a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Duke University. After working for 12 years as the administrative assistant to the veterinarians at the National Aquarium in Baltimore — where she honed the minutes-taking skillz she employs as the SSO’s new Secretary and — Michele began working as a Department of Defense civilian employee in 2010. In addition to music, Michele enjoys reading science-fiction, fantasy, and medical history; cross-stitch; and caring for her 3 cats, dog, and various fish tanks.
What Michele enjoys most about the SSO
he fact that we have locally such a large, open group playing a wide variety of orchestral music–both classical and modern–that players at a variety of levels are free to join.”
