 Lei Lei Berz
For Ms. Lui Chong Berz, a native of Xi'an China, cello is her passion. As a young teen, Lui won acceptance in to the rigorous Hong Kong Conservatory of Music. Lui journeyed to the United States to receive her Master of Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Presently she is a cellist with the Virginia Symphony. Lui previously spent seven years with the Savannah Symphony Orchestra and has played with the Shreveport, Canton and Akron Symphonies. With many solo performances in her repertoire, Lui has also enjoyed many years of teaching strings privately and in the schools. Presently she is the head of Norfolk Collegiate School's middle and upper school strings program. The former cellist of Cleveland's Yuen Yin Trio, Lui enjoys the weaving textures of trio and quartet performance with Hampton Road's Harbor String Quartet.
 Allegra Havens
Allegra Tortolano Havens is a founding member of the Harbor String Quartet. She was born and raised in Vermont and attended Boston University School for the Arts for her undergraduate degree and received a Master's degree in violin from the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts. Allegra was a member of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra from 1986-1989 and joined the Virginia Symphony in the fall of 1989. She also was a core orchestra member of the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, NY for 13 years.
Allegra formed the quartet in 1997 with other members of the Virginia Symphony as a musical extension of the performers. The quartet's members quickly became close friends and enjoy each other's company outside of performing. The group has become a favorite performing outlet for Allegra because of the congeniality within the members.
Allegra lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, composer and arranger Brent Havens, her 8 year old daughter and her Golden Retriever. She enjoys the beach, traveling and time with her family and friends. Allegra is also an avid Red Sox fan.
 Gretchen Loyola
Gretchen Loyola grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and began playing the violin at age four at the Indiana University Suzuki violin program. She later went on to study with Herbert Greenberg, concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony, at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University. She earned a BS in Music and a Graduate Performance Diploma. In 2001, Gretchen joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and played with the orchestra for three years. In 2004 she left the symphony to pursue a career in medicine. Gretchen was accepted to Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia and will graduate with a Masters of Science in the Physician Assistant Program in the spring of 2008.
Being a member of the Harbor String Quartet is a special treat for Gretchen. It allows her to be involved with music, which is a great joy to her and enables her to share that joy with others. For Gretchen, playing in the Harbor String Quartet is pure fun.
In her free time, Gretchen enjoys practicing yoga, taking spinning classes and getting together with friends and family. Gretchen is married to Benito Loyola, a Captain in the Navy and CEO of the engineering firm Loyola Enterprises.
Anastasia Migliozzi
 Anastasia, or Stacey, as her friends call her is originally from New York. She received her Bachelor's degree from The Juilliard School and her Master's degree from Rice University, Shepherd School of Music. Stacey has played viola with the Virginia Symphony and many other area arts organizations since 1990. She also teaches violin and viola at the Governor's School for the ARts, a magnet school for talented high school students, as well as maintaining a private lesson studio. Prior to coming to VA, Stacey played with the Houston Ballet Orchestra and Sinfonica D'ell Emigliz Romagne; Parma, Italy. Stacey lives in Norfolk with her non-musician husband, her daughter, and her whippet. She also is an avid knitter. Some of her knitted hats for children are sold locally. Stacey loves being a member of the Harbor Quartet and is the group's music librarian. |
