2025 - 2026 Season
About Harmonia California
Harmonia California was founded in February 2023 after a performance in San Jose, done by friends of our Board member and orchestra manager, Alan Hebert. Members of the orchestra for that concert decided to keep playing together, and what a success it has been! Harmonia California strives to be a small, intimate group where every players contribution is important. We perform in that space between string quartets and "big" orchestra repertoire. Scroll down to learn more about Harmonia California's conductors, players and supporters.
Kristin Link
principal
conductor
Kristin Turner Link has music degrees from the Universities of Wisconsin and Michigan. Her violin teachers included Norman Paulu, Bob Culver and Ruggiero Ricci and she had the good fortune to study conducting with Robert Fountain, Catherine Comet, Gustav Meier and Paul Vermel. After a decade teaching in public schools and leading youth orchestras in the Midwest, Kristin joined her husband in California. She was the Assistant Conductor of Redwood Symphony for 25+ years and was blessed to served as the Director of Music at the First Congregational Church of San Jose from 2005 to 2023.
Jason Lin
co-concertmaster
Jason Lin is the associate concertmaster of the Redwood Symphony, as well as serving as co-concertmaster of Harmonia California. Jason solo'ed and conducted the orchestra in Vivaldi's "Winter" concerto at our Christmas gathering in December 2024. He also performed Édouard Lalo's Symphonie Espanol in the summer of 2025 with Redwood Symphony. This season Jason is one of the soloists in the Corelli "Christmas" Concerto. Jason graduated from UC Berkeley in 2017.
Mezzanotte String Quartet
The Mezzanotte String Quartet is one of the core groups within Harmonia California. Mezzanotte is: Vera Shinsky and Deborah Simon, violins, Greer Hoffmann, viola, and Oliver Patterson, 'cello. Vera serves as co-concertmaster of Harmonia California, and has solo'ed with us this season on the Bach Double Violin concert (with Joe Hintz) and Corelli "Christmas" Concerto (with Jason Lin and Tate Fisher). You can hear the Mezzanotte Quartet at our annual May Chamber Music concert, every year.
The Hygge Quartet:
Hygge Quartet brings together four musicians from varied professional backgrounds — Joe Hintz (finance), Mari Ormiston (psychiatry), Brooke Mickelson (viola pedagogy), and Annabelle Chan (pharmaceutical consulting) — who met through the Harmonia California String Orchestra. United by a shared passion for chamber music, the ensemble has enjoyed exploring twentieth-century and contemporary repertoire.
The name “Hygge” (pronounced hoo-guh) comes from the Danish and Norwegian word for coziness, comfort, and contentment — the joy found in simple pleasures and genuine connection. Reflecting this spirit, Hygge Quartet seeks to create an atmosphere of intimacy and ease through thoughtful, expressive performance.
Our Musicians: 2025-2026
Cellos
Amy Brooks Annabelle Chan
Tate Fisher Anthony Yee
Oliver Patterson
Bass
Brian Link David Mitchell
Piano/Harpsichord
Barbara Sunseri
Violins
Joe Hintz Clarice Horelick Brenda Ou
Greer Hoffman Alexander Huang Gene Huang
Jason Lin Sarah Moskovitz Mari Shimizu Ormiston
Vera Shinsky Deborah Simon
Johnathan Wong Victor Zhang
Violas
Monte Benaresh Tanya Buxton
Jonah Capella Marissa Staffero
Greer Hoffman Michael Luxton Brooke Mickelson Sarah Moskovitz
Gregory Zinkl
Associate Conductor:
Peter Susskind
Composer/Orchestra Manager:
Alan Hebert
Founders ($200 - $499)
Ann & Alan S. Yee
Alan Hebert
Sustainers ($100 - $199)
Bethany Owen
"Resinators" ($40-$99)
Anonymous
Without the support of people who love the music we create, we couldn't do what we do! Thank you so much for supporting Harmonia California!