Professional musicians, local heart
Our Mission
The Bloom Trio and Event musicians are proud to use only the very best professional musicians from the Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley. You can see the Bloom musicians perform regularly locally, regionally and nationally with groups such as the Roanoke, Charlottesville, Harrisburg (PA) and Richmond Symphonies, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, Ashlawn Opera, Wintergreen Festival, Garth Newel Music Center, and Staunton Music Festival among others.
Our years of training and professional experience are evident not only in how we play for your special event, but our deportment both during the planning process and at the ceremony itself.
Wedding strings. Photo Courtesy of aaronwatsonphotography.com
Founded by original members Maria Lorcas (violin), Katie Overfield-Zook (violin/viola and owner) and Lisa Wright (cello) we have now expanded our performing opportunities, allowing us to bring our music to even more events across Virginia!
In 2024 we welcomed violin and violist, Tom Stevens as The Bloom Trio Manager!
Our Musicians
Kathleen Overfield-Zook,
Founding Member, Manager, Viola and Violin
Violist Kathleen Overfield-Zook, originally from Vermont, has a multifaceted career as orchestral musician, chamber musician, pedagogue and musical entrepreneur alike. Kathleen, holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of Michigan and has had her playing described as “agile and sonorous.” Having performed with the New Jersey, Delaware, Allentown, Vermont and Philadelphia Chamber Orchestras, among others, she now lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia where she continues her position of Assistant Principal Viola of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. Since 2013, Kathleen has been a Festival Artist with the Staunton Music Festival and now serves as Schedule Coordinator as well. As a teacher, having been on faculty at both James Madison University and Washington and Lee University, she now maintains a private studio at her home.
Tom Stevens,
Violin, Viola, Manager
Thomas Stevens, violinist and violist, has appeared as recitalist, chamber musician and orchestra section leader throughout the United States. He teaches violin and viola at the University of Richmond. Previous to this post he was Professor of Viola at Hofstra University and played in the university’s ensemble in residence, the Hofstra String Quartet.
Tom performs with the Roanoke Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony and the Oratorio Society of Virginia. In addition to subbing with the Richmond Symphony, he plays with the Charlottesville Opera in the summers. Tom holds a degree in Music Performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Karen Ritscher and members of the American String Quartet. He has also studied with the late Joey Corpus.
Lisa Wright
Founding Memeber, Cello
Originally from Harrisonburg, VA, Lisa Wright is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and spent many years performing and teaching in New York City. Ms. Wright served as Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at the Mannes College of Music in New York City while actively freelancing. Ms. Wright has served on the faculties of The Mannes College of Music, School
for Strings, the Calhoun School and the Bloomingdale School of Music. She has performed with many groups in and around the New York City area including the Stamford Symphony and the Grammy-nominated EOS Ensemble. Ms. Wright presently serves on the faculty at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, has a large private studio in Charlottesville and is the Director of Strings at the Woodberry Forest School. She regularly performs with the Roanoke Symphony, Opera Roanoke, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival and the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival. (Photo Courtesy of Sarah Featherstone Photography)
Maria Lorcas
Founding Member, Violin
Maria Lorcas began her musical studies in the famous youth orchestra program “El Sistema” in her native country, Venezuela. She later received a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music (Violin Performance) from Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon Universities, respectively. Maria has performed extensively in both Venezuela and
the United States. She has significant orchestral experience, including concertmaster of the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Symphony and first violinist of the Simon Bolivar Symphony in Venezuela. In the U.S., she has performed with the Wheeling,
Westmoreland, and Altoona Symphonies in Pennsylvania, and locally with the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Orchestra and various
ensembles in the Charlottesville area. She has also performed with the Washington and Lee University Orchestra serving as a mentor to
violin students. She has also been
teaching privately and coaching orchestra strings since 1993. Maria is on the faculty of Eastern Mennonite School where she teaches
middle school strings.
(Photo courtesy of Aaron Watson Photography)
Jessica Embach Jankauskas,
Viola
Originally from the Chicago area, Jessica Embach Jankauskas actively performs as chamber and orchestral musician. She holds degrees from the University of Iowa and The University of Texas at Austin. New to the region, Jessica has formerly held positions with the Dubuque Symphony, Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony and Round Rock Symphony. Prior to living in Virginia, she served as the director of the Suzuki and Traditional String department at Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts in Newton, Kansas. Jessica is the founder and director of Staunton Suzuki Studio, a thriving new program in the area.
Ed Gant,
Cello
Edward Gant received a BA in Elementary Education from Eastern Mennonite University, a BM in Music from James Madison University and an MA and DMA in Cello Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa. Dr. Gant studied cello with Virginia Wendt, Frantisek Smetana, Robert Ashby and Charles Wendt. He previously served on the faculties of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia and currently is a member of the faculty of the American Public University System. Dr. Gant is an active chamber and orchestra musician, recitalist, freelance musician and private cello teacher. His recent interests include producing and recording a body of music for unaccompanied cello based upon European and American folk melodies and hymnody of the 18th through the early 20th centuries.
Megan Gray,
Viola
Megan Gray is a violist and pedagogue with diverse interests. In the summer of 2017, she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in
Viola Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa where she was the teaching assistant under Christine Rutledge. Her graduate
research focused on the teaching of essential skills in arts entrepreneurship through innovative curricula. During her graduate studies, Megan became a founding member of Enid, a contemporary music ensemble dedicated to commissioning and performing new music. A resident of Charlottesville, Virginia Megan maintains a portfolio of professional
interests throughout the state as a performer, artist-teacher, and organizer. She is currently a member of the Roanoke Symphony
Orchestra, on the board of the Virginia Viola Society, instructor of violin and viola at Woodberry Forest Private School, and maintains a
robust private teaching studio.