Sforza Faculty and staff are an enthusiastic and experienced group of educators. All Sforza teachers have their own teaching studios and have extensive performing and teaching experience in the community.
Adrienne Caravan, Violin ~ Artistic Director
Performer, Educator, and Composer; Adrienne Caravan’s musical life encompasses a wide variety of experiences, and musical expression. At the prestigious Eastman School of Music, she earned the Bachelor’s degree in Music Education as a student of Louis Bergonzi. While completing the Master’s degree in Violin Performance, she studied with a renowned faculty that included Charles Castleman, Camilla Wicks, and Lynn Blakeslee. Additional study of the Suzuki approach provided time with master teachers Ronda Cole, Martha Shackford, Edmund Sprunger, Tom Wermuth, and Linda Fiore.
A career spent in public education, Adrienne currently oversees the string program at J. Michael Lunsford Middle School where she conducts the 7th and 8th grade string ensembles, and has created a hybrid program for beginning strings that combines traditional American educational philosophy with Suzuki instruction. Her program has quickly grown to one of the largest in Loudoun County, Virginia, and has received critical acclaim in district assessment, as well as competitive arenas in and out of Virginia.
An active performer, her musical resume as a violinist includes collaboration with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Johnny Mathis, Wayne Newton, The Gary Sinise Foundation at the Kennedy Center, Kevin Spacey, Clay Johnson, and the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra. She regularly performs with her own piano quartet, The Manassas Ballet Theatre Orchestra, and The Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, she composed the original soundtrack for a documentary film entitled Jurs, Edge of Discovery; a film about sculptor and artist Nancy Jurs.
Adrienne serves as Dean of the Castleman Quartet Program at the State University of New York at Fredonia; a summer program devoted to chamber music.
Elizabeth George, Violin ~ Program Director
Elizabeth George began her violin studies at the age of five in the Suzuki studio of Carolyn Moyer of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Shenandoah University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, a Violin Performance Certificate, and a Master of Music in Pedagogy. During her time at Shenandoah, she studied under Olivia Hajioff and Marc Ramirez. Elizabeth George has over twenty five years of private teaching experience. While a resident of Pennsylvania, Mrs. George taught at the Cumberland Valley School of Music in Chambersburg, PA and at the Robert M. Sides Family Music Center in State College, PA. Upon relocating to Virginia, she taught beginning strings in the Prince William County Schools for five years. She currently maintains a thriving Suzuki studio in the Lake Ridge area of Prince William County and is the Program Director of Sforza, and a Suzuki violin instructor for Sforza Suzuki Strings. Mrs. George is an adjudicator and freelance violinist in the greater D.C. area.
Sam Runolfson, 'Cello and Fiddle Instructor
Samuel Runolfson graduated from the University of Utah with a Masters in Cello Performance and Weber State University with a Bachelors in Music Education.
Samuel currently teaches Elementary Strings in the Prince William County School District in Virginia. Samuel has participated in a variety of performing ensembles including the New American Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra Ogden, Manassas Symphony Orchestra, and Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra. Samuel has performed chamber music in a variety of settings as well including quartets, cello ensembles, piano trios, jazz and Celtic ensembles. As well as countless hours in the public schools performing, lecturing and teaching music to students from elementary to high school. Samuel has also performed and taught in Haiti during the summer of 2008.
Samuel has also worked with several summer music camps including Blue Sky Music Camps and MAT Camp Summer Strings (a program through Weber State University). Samuel is also an active recording artist having recorded for commercials, movies, TV spots, and local artists ranging in style from classical to pop to jazz. He has received additional coaching and instruction from many groups and musicians including: The St. Lawrence String Quartet, Tesla String Quartet, Amelia Piano Trio, Thomas Rosenberg, Atar Arad, Setsuko Nagata, Matt Haimovitz, Mathias Tackle, Samantha George, Tim Fain, Scott Tisdal and Janet Anthony. Samuel has conducted the Crossroads Youth Orchestra, Bonneville Youth Orchestra, Weber State Symphony
Rachel Dale, Violin, Administrative Assistant
Rachel Dale began her study of the violin at age 9 in Elizabeth George’s Suzuki studio. A Suzuki student since the beginning, she fell in love with the community the Suzuki method provides. Rachel is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor’s of Music with a concentration in Instrumental Music Education. During her time at VCU she studied under Susanna Klein and was concertmaster of the VCU Symphony Orchestra. Rachel has taught at The Music Tree School of Music in Richmond, Virginia and has maintained a private studio for 8 years.
Rachel maintains a love of performing and freelances as a soloist and member of the Grove Avenue Quartet. As a member of the Grove Avenue Quartet she received coachings from the Viano Quartet and Hermitage Piano Trio. She has attended the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival where she studied with Nicholas Hatt and received coachings from Kirsten Yon, Jacob Clewell, and Sasha Bult-Ito. She currently maintains a private studio in the Dale City area of Woodbridge and teaches and does administrative duties for Sforza Suzuki Strings.