artistic team

Meet our Artistic Director and Principal Strings

Naples Community Orchestra is pleased to introduce our Artistic Director Max Rabinovitsj and our principal string musicians.

Max Rabinovitsj - Artistic Director

Artistic Director Max Rabinovitsj brings a remarkable professional background to his position. In Europe, he founded the Trio da Vinci, which toured extensively on that continent. He was Director of Festivals in Entrecasteaux, France and in Sintra and Evora in Portugal. Max debuted as a solo recitalist in New York City at Alice Tully Hall, in Lincoln Center, and performed the Bach Double concerto in Carnegie Hall with Isaac Stern. As a conductor, he became well known for his interpretations of the classical repertoire and his work with Youth Orchestras. He conducted great artists such as Rostropovich, Jaime Laredo, Gil Shaham, Viktoria Mullova, Maria Joao Pires, Davide Gueringas, Roger Pascal, Pierre Amoyal and many others. As soloist, Max has played under James Levine, Leon Fleisher, Max Rudolf, Thomas Mayer, Walter Susskind, Vladimir Goldschman, Jerzy Semkov, Lukas Foss, Claudio Scimone, Eleazar De Carvalho, Michel Tabachnik, and Philippe Bender.

Max has been a Professor at Washington University, the University of Texas and the University of Evora (Portugal). He has also taught at the Nice Conservatory (France) and Edgecliff Academy in Cincinnati. He met his wife Mary, a harpist, when they were both students at The Curtis Institute of Music.

Since moving to Naples a little over five years ago, Max and his wife have been active in the Naples music community. He has performed at the Cultural Russian Center many times and continues as violinist in The Trio da Vinci. The other Trio da Vinci members are Dror Biran, piano and Paul York, cello. The members are all on the faculty of Louisville School of Music where Max goes every year to give master classes and perform. The Da Vinci Trio has performed at the Violin Shop, Bonita Springs and will be reengaged next January.

Max hopes to continue giving recitals in Naples. He has played recitals with pianist Alexandra Carlson both in Naples and Sarasota. His calendar is quite full and exciting. Becoming Music Director of The Naples Orchestra & Chorus will fulfill a lifelong passion for conducting. Max is on the boards of The Russian Cultural Center and The Naples Orchestra & Chorus.

Olga Yampolsky - Concert Mistress

Olga Yampolsky (violin) started studying the violin at the age of five in Russia. After receiving her Master of Music Degree from the Odessa Conservatory (Ukraine), she performed as a violinist with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra for 14 years. After immigrating to the United States in 1991, Olga performed with the Naples Philharmonic, the Salt Lake City Opera and the LA Recording Company. She has performed with numerous chamber orchestras and has toured internationally to such countries as Spain and the Baltic Republics.

An active freelance musician, Olga performs regularly with the Naples Orchestra and Chorus. She and her husband, Jacob, often give duo performances and has played the Bruch double concerto as a soloist with the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta. She also teaches privately at her violin and viola studio.

Jacob Yampolsky - Principal Violin II

Jacob Yampolsky (violin/viola) started studying violin and viola performance in Russia. Upon receiving his Master of Music Degree from the Far East Conservatory (Russia), he became the principal violist with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, where he performed for 15 years with world-renowned conductors and soloists. In addition to his career as a violist and violinist, Jacob taught chamber ensemble at the Odessa Conservatory. After immigrating to the United States in 1991, he performed as a violist with the Naples Philharmonic for 8 years, as well as with the Seattle and the Salt Lake Symphony Orchestras.

An active freelance musician, Jacob performs regularly with the Naples Orchestra and Chorus. He and his wife, Olga, often give duo performances and has played the Bruch double concerto as a soloist with the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta. He also teaches privately at his violin and viola studio.

Barbara Lounsbury - Principal Viola

A native Californian, Barbara graduated from UCLA with a Bachelors’ Degree in Music. She then studied privately with David Schwartz (principal violist for the NBC Symphony) at the California Institute of the Arts. Shortly thereafter, she relocated to New York City to pursue a professional career as a violist, studying with Emanuel Vardi. She was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Tanglewood Center for Performing Arts, performed for two seasons at the Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy and played the first world tour of the Bolshoi Ballet which debuted at the Metropolitan Opera Hall in New York City. Her musical experience spans a wide variety of styles. She was principal violist at Radio City Music Hall in NYC for 30 years, working with many artists including Tony Bennett, Elton John, Diana Ross, Liberace, Johnny Mathis and George Benson. Her experience also includes playing a number of Broadway shows.

Her symphonic experience has included performing with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Symphony in Carnegie Hall, Little Orchestra Society in Lincoln Center, Music for Westchester, New York Choral Society, and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and most recently, The Fifth Ave Chamber Orchestra, Opera Naples and Gulfshore Opera. She also has performed operas with the NYC Opera in Lincoln Center, NY Grand Opera, NJ State Opera, NY Light Opera and the Canadian Opera.

Diane Coffman - Principal Cello

Diane Coffman is a cellist well-versed in many genres of music. For several years she worked with the major arts entities in the San Francisco Bay area. She was a member of the Aspen Festival Orchestra in Aspen, Colorado. She was also invited to participate in the recording for a film sound track at the Industrial Light and Magic Production Studios at Skywalker Ranch in Novato, California. Diane served as Principal Cellist for the Artea Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco and as a soloist.

She has a Master’s Degree in Music Performance where she studied with Laszlo Varga at San Francisco State University. Her undergraduate studies gave her the opportunity to study with Peter Howard at Bowling Green State University and Joseph Gingold at Indiana University. Diane enjoys playing chamber music. She is a founding member of the Bella Musica Ensemble whose mission is to teach music history and present musical performances of Baroque to Modern music.