MEMBER PROFILES
Cellos
Cellos
Nancy Equall – Started taking cello lessons when her kids were young and taking music lessons of their own. What started as an experiment has turned into a very satisfying hobby playing in a variety of ensembles with other amateur musician enthusiasts regularly and also SSO since 2010. The highlight of every year is playing with the community Messiah production with Carrie and the SSO players. Nancy logged 25 years running the electron microscope at MSU and now spends time volunteering, hanging out with friends and family, traveling, and enjoying a variety of seasonal outdoor activities.
Grace Fiacco - Grace has been playing cello since childhood, and has been a member of the SSO since 2024. Her day job is in project management, but after work she is heavily involved in the video game music community. Joining the Board of Directors of the Virtual Video Game Orchestra in 2022, Grace has been mainly focused on community and team organization, and also assists in video editing for the group's projects. She loves her snake Rigatoni, and spends her free time arranging music, cosplaying, reading, and gaming.
Laurie Howell - Having started with the SSO in the inaugural season in 2010, Laurie is happy and honored to be playing with the current group. Growing up Laurie took piano lessons, and as an adult was inspired by a co-worker to take up the cello. Her cello teacher encouraged her to find a group to play with, and that led to the SSO. In retirement, Laurie stays busy with her grandchildren, her miniature schnauzer, sewing and pickle ball.
Katrina Lyon - Katrina has played the cello since childhood and began teaching cello lessons/classes in college. She is currently working on her PhD in Microbiology and was so happy to finally find an ensemble that fit her busy schedule. When Katrina isn't in the lab or teaching, she can be found at the gym, on the trails, or at the dog park with her girl, Millie.
Rob Maher - Rob played the cello from 3rd grade through college, then for the next 25 years he didn't have an opportunity to play very much--until joining SSO as a charter member in 2010! He is grateful for the opportunity to learn and to perform music with Carrie Krause and the wonderful members of the ensemble. Rob is a professional engineer and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Montana State University. Since moving to Bozeman in 2002, Rob has enjoyed spending his spare time outdoors, often running on roads and trails.
Marcia Pickering - played the piano since 8, adding the clarinet at 10, and guitar in college. In 2010 she received a surprise cello and immediately joined the welcoming, fun SSO. Thank you, Carrie! Marcia is now a member of a cello ensemble group, too. Marcia and her husband live in Manhattan where she is in her 38th year running a pre-school in her home and teaching piano lessons. She loves being with her 16 grandchildren, 3 sons, and wives especially at her cabin on Swan Lake enjoying all the lake and outside activities.
Violas
Stephen Guggenheim - is a retired physician-educator who came to Montana to direct the WWAMI Medical Education Program at Montana State University. He has played violin and viola since childhood and was a member of the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and Intermountain Opera Orchestra for more than 25 years. He continues to study music with Anna Jesaitis in the belief (probably mistaken) that he can keep up with his son and grandson and that his playing will be better in the afterlife or as a reincarnated being.
Elizabeth Heppler - played the piano since childhood, but was drawn to the rich flavor of the viola. After talking about it for a few years, she started with lessons in 2012, and joined the SSO shortly after. She heartily enjoys the camaraderie with the other musicians! Elizabeth lives in Manhattan with her husband, two boys, and various furry animals. She has tuned and serviced pianos professionally in the Bozeman area for over 25 years. She also spends time riding her horses and hiking in the mountains.
Jaime McCafferty - is a practitioner at her Bozeman-based sports medicine practice, True North Athletic Therapy, which provides an alternative approach to injury evaluation, treatment, and optimizing athletic performance. Since 2003, she has had the honor of performing with multiple orchestras across Montana, including the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, the Great Falls Symphony, and the Helena Symphony. After a long hiatus from the viola to compete in USA Weightlifting, she is delighted to resume performing with the Second String Orchestra.
Violins
Paul Arnot joined the Second String Orchestra in 2022 and is living proof that the SSO will let just about anyone participate if they really want to play in an orchestra. When not practicing the violin, Paul enjoys teaching Tai Chi, remodeling his house, and 3D printing useful things, like violins that don't sound awful... seriously, they're kind of amazing... you should try one sometime. Paul is currently the webmaster for the SSO, so if you notice anything out of place or would like something helpful added to this site, please let him know.
Dan Guggenheim ended a 30-year hiatus from playing the violin in 2014, succumbing to pressure from his then 10 year old son. Making music provides a fun break from Dan's work as a father and computer consultant, and he recommends adult music study to anyone seeking creative, intellectual and social opportunities. (Masochists who like feeling frustrated and inadequate will find the violin especially satisfying.) Dan joined the Second String Orchestra in 2015 and always looks forward to rehearsing and performing with the group.
Lain Kay Has been in Gallatin Gateway since 1999 after she moved from northern New York (land of cows, colleges and Canada). Has played the violin since 4th grade when she was started in a school program. Lives with her horses, cats and dogs. Was a founding member with the SSO and also plays with the Scottish musicians and an octet of ladies. Violin has been a great joy in her life.
Jill Kirk had a double major in college - in math and music. She made her living as an actuary but has always managed to stay connected to the music world. Although her major was in piano, she played in a community orchestra in Indiana for 25 years before moving to Big Sky in 2018 and joining the SSO. SSO keeps her actively playing and interacting with others who also love music. Now that she is retired, she is an avid knitter. She also stays active with hiking and skiing.
Chloe Loeffelholz is a lifelong "Suzuki-Kid" that owes so much to the practice of violin! Her favorite musical memory is playing in a college symphony in Finland (directed entirely in Finnish). Chloe is the Nonprofit Programming Manager with One Valley Community Foundation and gets to work with nonprofits across Gallatin County. Look for Chloe exploring the backcountry on skis, trying out a new recipe, or settling into a good book with her three-legged cat on her lap.
Sarahanne Ortman has played the piano since she was a child, and was delighted with the gift of a free, low quality violin in high school. Thanks to the investment of a sweet elderly family friend, she graduated to a violin that stays in tune and has continued on at the "very amatuer" level since. She works at her dream job of being a stay at home Mom to three young children. Each day is filled with plenty of mental, physical, and emotional stimulation, and she appreciates getting to use a different part of her brain while playing with the Second String Orchestra.
Winds
Anne Thomas grew up in a family of musicians – her father was a choral professor at the Missouri Western University and her mother played French horn professionally. She fell in love with the oboe after hearing it being played at one of her father’s concerts. She has been playing the oboe for over 20 years and is very excited to play with the SSO after not having a place to perform for many years. In her spare time, Anne is a psychiatrist at Bozeman Health practicing general psychiatry and an Associate Professor with the University of Washington and is a college faculty mentor with WWAMI Montana. She also enjoys running/hiking on the trails with her three dogs and two children.
