Lindsey Bordner, violin
Lindsey Bordner, a St. Paul native, began studying the violin at age 7 after falling in love with fiddle music. She holds Master of Music degrees in Chamber Music and Violin Performance from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota.
Lindsey has a passion for chamber music that has guided her wide-ranging musical endeavors, including her love of the string quartet art form. When not appearing with Stone Arch String Quartet, she can be seen on stage with Lyra Baroque Orchestra, the Bach Society of Minnesota, or her award-winning bluegrass group No Man’s String Band. As a founding member of string quartet Thalia Strings, Lindsey has traveled the world giving concerts on cruise ships. During this time, she discovered a love of arranging; since then she has arranged over 50 pop songs for string quartet, many of which are unique to the Stone Arch String Quartet repertoire.
Lindsey has performed onstage with artists including Smokey Robinson, Michael Bublé, Lauryn Hill, Hanson, Celtic Woman, Kygo, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Michael Bolton, Trampled By Turtles, and many others. She feels privileged to share her passion for music with diverse audiences while continuing to pursue her love of artistic collaboration in spontaneous, exciting, and meaningful ways.
Aja Majkrzak, violin
Aja received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota in 2011 under the tutelage of Mark Bjork, and her Master of Music from Louisiana State University in 2013 studying with Espen Lilleslatten. Since then she has performed with many regional orchestras and currently serves as concertmaster of the East Metro Symphony Orchestra and section violin in the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. Her orchestral experiences have given her the opportunity to share the stage with performers like Leila Josefowicz, Audra McDonald, and Gil Shaham. Aja is on the faculty at the Saint Paul Conservatory of Music.
In an effort to make classical music more fun and approachable, Aja started a podcast called Pour Me A Mozart. The show combines her bartending background with her passion for sharing classical music. Pour Me A Mozart is available wherever you find podcasts.
Orchestral playing is the focus of her career but Aja has also performed with 2 Cellos, Foreigner, Harry Connick, Jr., Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Latin jazz group Charanga Tropical. In June 2015 she traveled to Havana, Cuba with the group to become the first band from the US to participate in the International Danzon Festival. If she is not making music you can find Aja with her two cats, Dexter and Cindy Lou Who, cooking vegetarian and vegan meals, mixing craft cocktails, and attempting to keep her plants alive.
Kelsey Farr, viola
Kelsey Farr, a native of Eden Prairie, MN, found her love for the viola at the age of 8 with the Eden Prairie String Academy. She continued her studies with various members of the Minnesota Orchestra, including Aaron Janse and Richard Marshall. She distinguished herself as principal viola in the Minnesota Youth Symphonies and the Greater Twin Cities Youth Orchestra. After six years in George Taylor's studio at the Eastman School of Music, she earned her BM and MM in viola performance. She excelled in the Ying Quartet's chamber music program, and performed with the Eastman String Quartet at President Obama's second Inaugural Luncheon in Washington DC. Her enrollment in the Orchestral Studies Diploma Program led to her participation with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared with the Binghamton Philharmonic, Erie Philharmonic, and Symphoria of Syracuse. She has also relished her performances with Michael Bublé, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Sarah McLachlan, Amy Grant, and Ben Folds.
In addition to maintaining her twenty-year relationship with the Eden Prairie String Academy through teaching and performing, she has developed a private violin and viola teaching studio through the Schmitt Music company in Woodbury, MN. She is a full-time viola section member of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and performs with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and the Lacrosse Symphony Orchestra.
Jesse Nummelin, cello
Jesse Nummelin is a native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He started Suzuki cello at age three with the Aber Suzuki Center for the Arts and performed with the Suzuki Chamber Ensemble under Mr. David Becker from 2004-2008. Jesse later went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in cello performance at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point and then a Masters of Music at Arizona State where he worked as Teaching Assistant to Professor Thomas Landschoot.
Jesse is an avid chamber musician and teacher. He is currently a member of the South Dakota Symphony and has played with orchestras including Phoenix Symphony, Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, Scottsdale Arts Orchestra, Musica Nova, Tucson Pops and the Tucson Symphony. He has played with the CWSO scholarship quartet, premiered several compositions with string quartet at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Phoenix, AZ and has performed on the UWSP radio broadcast “Acoustic Revival.” He also made a series of Jazz recordings through the Foulger Institute with acclaimed artists Allison Eldredge and Tom Landschoot. Jesse has performed with notable artists including Lang Lang, Andrea Bocelli, Pinchas Zukerman, Anne Akiko Meyers, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Curtis Stigers, the Juilliard String Quartet and John Williams.
He has taught cello to people of all ages and backgrounds through various programs and private studios. He served as a faculty of cello at the Aber Suzuki Center for the Arts at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point in 2016. Jesse currently lives in St. Paul and teaches cello at the St. Paul Conservatory of Music, the Waldorf City of Lakes School and Music Connection in Forest Lake.
Jesse’s teachers include Thomas Landschoot, Tom Rosenberg, Dr. Lawrence Leviton, Dr. Tim Mutschlecner, John Greiner, and Susan Bender.