On Sunday, April 10, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. in the Church, St. Philip’s Friends of Music presents the Rife Family Quartet.

The Rife family has anchored Tucson’s musical scene for more than 30 years. Join David, Wynne, Melissa, Molly, and family friends Ann Weaver and Mary Beth Tyndall for a rare collaboration whose program will include an afternoon of chamber music favorites comprising works of Haydn, Boccherini, Beethoven and Schubert.

The suggested concert admission is $20 per person. The mission of Friends of Music is to enrich the musical experience of the parish and community through events such as concerts, outreach, education, scholarships, commissions, and support of special musical events. Click here for more information.

St. Philip’s is located at 4440 N. Campbell Avenue at River Road. Ample parking is available in the north parking lot or under the solar parking structure to the east. The Friends of Music phone number is (520) 222-7277.

Additional Information:

David Rife, a native of South Carolina, received his Bachelor of Music Degree in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. He has studied with Donald Weilerstein, Mazuko Ushioda, Jerry Lucktenburg, and members of the Cleveland Quartet. David moved to Tucson in 1983 to join the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and was its Assistant Concertmaster until 2014. David began studying the piano at age 6, and began playing the violin and trombone at 13. David is a dedicated violin teacher and first violinist of the Southwest String Quartet. In 2005 he was awarded the Outstanding String Teacher in Arizona by the American String Teachers Association. His students have won local and statewide competitions and currently attend top music schools throughout the country. David was inducted into the Tucson Musicians Museum in 2012.

Wynne Wong-Rife is a native of Tucson, where she attended Brichta Elementary, Roskruge Junior High and Cholla High School. She was a member of her public school orchestras from fifth grade through high school, and played in Tucson Junior Strings and Tucson Youth Symphony. Wynne is also a dedicated teacher and loves helping people of all ages learn to play and love the violin. She is the second violinist in the TSO String Quartet/Quintet and the Southwest String Quartet. Wynne and David met at the Eastman School of Music, where she earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in Violin Performance with Distinction. They became engaged when students at Eastman, but Wynne wouldn’t walk down the aisle with David until she had her master’s degree and at least the prospect of a job. Both attended the New England Conservatory and earned their master’s, then married in 1983.

In addition to playing in the TSO, TSO String Quartet/Quintet and Southwest String Quartet, David and Wynne are on the faculty of Chamber Music in the Mountains (Tucson) and Rocky Ridge Music Center (Estes Park, CO).

David and Wynne have two daughters, Melissa and Molly, who are cellists. Both have attended Interlochen, were members of the Tucson Junior Strings and Tucson Philharmonia Youth Orchestra, and have been winners in the TSO’s Young Artist Competition and other local competitions.

Molly Rife lives in Chicago, where she is a member of the 42nd Parallel Ensemble, performs with the Clark St. Quartet and teaches private cello lessons. As a founding member of the Clark St. Quartet, Molly enjoys playing and performing chamber music. She has worked with the Brentano, Orion, St. Lawrence and Tokyo String Quartets. Other chamber music coaches include Stephen Balderston, Nancy Buck, Andrew Campbell, Julian Hersh, Danwen Jiang, Thomas Landschoot, Russell Ryan, Lenny Schranze, Rami Solomonow and Janet Sung. She began playing the cello at age 11 and made her solo debut in April 2007 when she performed as soloist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra after winning the Gold Medal for the TSO Artists Competition. She has also performed as soloist with the Tucson Pops Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Tucson, and the Tucson Philharmonia Youth Orchestra. Molly recently graduated from DePaul University with a Master of Music degree in cello performance, where she studied with Stephen Balderston. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance, magna cum laude, from Arizona State University.

Melissa Rife received a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2008, with further studies towards a Master of Music degree at Arizona State University. Her experience includes performing aboard Celebrity Cruise Lines with the Marks String Quartet. Melissa is a founding member of The Tandem Duo, and also plays with the Aracelli Strings of Tucson.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ann Weaver began her musical studies at age 6 with her parents, both of whom were then members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She began her college studies at Arizona State University, then completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was given the Annual Viola Award for Outstanding Achievement. She earned her Master of Music Performance at Rice University, where she graduated with honors. Her teachers include William Magers, James Van Valkenburg, Heidi Castleman, Wayne Brooks (principal violist of the Houston Symphony), and Roberto Diaz (principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra). Her chamber music coaches have included Anne Epperson and members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, and Cleveland string quartets.

Mary Beth Tyndall has been a member of the Tucson Symphony since 1980.  She
 is also a member of the Southwest String Quartet and the Rocky Ridge Music
Center summer faculty.  An enthusiastic private teacher, she was recently
named the 2016-2017 outstanding studio teacher for the state of Arizona by
the American String Teacher’s Association.  She is honored to play
alongside the Rifes and she is particularly thrilled to play the Schubert
Quintet with Molly Rife, one of her best and most memorable former students.