Jerry Bobbe, cellist: From his home in Portland, Jerry maintains dual careers as both a professional cellist and internationally respected numismatist. Mr. Bobbe's primary teachers included Frank Miller, former Principal Cellist of the Chicago Symphony under Georg Solti, and the celebrated Karl Fruh. He served as Principal Cellist in the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Assistant Principal in the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Symphony, and Principal Cellist of the Florida Orchestra. For more than a decade, he was Principal Cellist of the Vancouver (Washington) Symphony, appearing three times as soloist with that organization. Jerry was named Portland's Best Cellist in Willamette Week's 1994 "Best of Portland" issue, where he was pictured on the front cover as his Charlie Chaplin cello-playing alter ego. In 2007, he and Maria Choban recorded the sonatas of Barber, Villa-Lobos and Muczynski under the Alitisa label, entitled "St. Elvis, Back in the Building." During the recent pandemic Jerry completed his studies of the iconic Bach Cello Suites, and is in the process of posting all 36 movements to his YouTube channel. These days he frequently enjoys volunteering his music at St. Vincent Hospital. Jerry performs on a cello of the Venetian master Eugenio Degani, dated 1891.
Lee Melaugh (he/him) is a pianist and educator and has been working at food justice nonprofits in the area since moving to Portland in 2013. He grew up in Massachusetts and studied piano and music education at McGill University in Montreal. In addition to teaching piano with Play It Forward and making music with his trio, Lee enjoys being surrounded by trees, digging in the garden, making meals with friends and family, and long bike rides.