BIOGRAPHIES
BIOGRAPHIES
Will Jackson
violin
Will Jackson first picked up the violin at the age of 12 and immediately fell in love with the instrument. This allowed him to quickly advance beyond his peers without a private instructor for several years. Once he began his musical studies under Dr. Laura Kobayashi, his skills began to flourish and he knew that he wanted to become a professional musician.
In 2014, he earned his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, where he studied under Dr. Carolyn Stuart. One of his most memorable achievements was the opportunity to perform Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major with the USF Symphony Orchestra.
Will’s extensive solo and chamber music experience includes his involvement with the Wintergreen Music Festival, Cincinnati Chamber Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and Brancaleoni International Music Festival.
He is currently a member of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and servers as principal second violin of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra. Since he began playing professionally, he has performed with the Ocala, Lakeland, Florida Lakes, Gainesville, and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestras.
Outside of music, Will holds a Master of Science in Finance and serves as a Financial Management Analyst with the Navy. His other passions include cooking and baking, spending time with his family, and traveling.
Molly Hollingsworth
violin
A passionate and sought-after performer, collaborator, and teacher, American musician Molly Hollingsworth began her musical studies at the age of three.
From experimental rock shows to the TEDxTalk stage, Hollingsworth has given musical performances at many renowned and diverse venues across the US, Europe, and Asia which include the Concert Hall, Recital Hall and Opera House of the Kennedy Center for the Arts, the 9:30 Club, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Strathmore Music Center, the National Museum for Women in The Arts, and many more.
Hollingsworth received her undergraduate degree in music performance from the University of West Florida under the tutelage of Pensacola Symphony concertmaster Leonid Yanovskiy. She then completed her Masters of Music in violin performance from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she studied with James Stern and was selected for limited lessons with Guarneri Quartet first violinist Arnold Steinhardt. While at UMD, Molly worked with living composers, took part in an experimental performance initiative, studied chamber music extensively, and developed a true love for new-school performance practices that keep both musicians and audiences engaged and able to interact in new ways.
Since her professional career began, Hollingsworth has performed with the Fairfax, Alexandria, Annapolis, Salisbury, and Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestras. She is a current member of the Pensacola and Mobile Symphony Orchestras, and has spent several seasons serving as concertmaster for the Albany (GA) and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestras. She has founded and played violin in several chamber music groups including the Valenzano Trio, the Pensacola String Quartet, and the Emerald Coast Trio.
Though she performs primarily as a violinist, Hollingsworth is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, having performed on guitar, piano, electric bass, viola, accordion, and more. In addition to her demanding live performance schedule, Hollingsworth has worked as a studio arranger and performer for countless bands and musicians of all genres. Recent studio credits include work for Old Sea Brigade, Drew Holcomb, and Johnnyswim.
When not performing with the Palafox Quartet, Hollingsworth can be found participating in the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra’s community engagement program Beyond The Stage, teaching her growing studio of private students, or hanging out at home with her husband, three young daughters, and countless houseplants.
Brian Brown
viola
American violinist and violist Brian Brown began his musical studies at the age of five studying piano with his father. At age seven he began violin with Carol Doulglas in Danville IL. After moving to Pensacola, FL in 1988 he began violin studies with Anna Tringas. At the age of thirteen Brian won a position with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.
Preceding high school graduation Brian spent five summers at the world renowned Encore School for Strings. There his teachers included Juilliard and Curtis Institute faculty members Jascha Brodsky, Linda Cerone and Robert Vernon. At age sixteen Brian was appointed Concertmaster of the FMEA All State Senior High Orchestra. Upon high school graduation Brian pursued studies in Music Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Yale University. His teachers have included Camilla Wicks, Ian Swensen, Sally Thomas, Kazuhide Isomura and Jesse Levine.
As an orchestral and chamber music performer, Brian has been the recipient of fellowships to TMC Tanglewood, Blossom Music Festival, International Festival Institute at Round Top, Meadowmount, Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra and Aspen Music Festivals. Brian has performed with the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, and at the Washington Square Music Festival in Geenwich Village Manhattan.
In 1999 Brian won a contract with Disney World performing five shows daily with the band Nova Era at Epcot Center. For fifteen years Brian served as Principal Violist of the Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL Symphonies. In 2007, as a featured soloist with the Mobile Symphony, Brian performed the world premiere of the Kenji Bunch Viola Concerto ‘Golden Apples of the Sun’ based from the William Bultler Yeats poem. Brian was a featured soloist in 2016 with the Pensacola Symphony in their season finale concert performing Mozart’s Symphony Concertante in Pensacola’s Saenger Theatre.
As a teacher, instructor and conductor Brian has taught secondary violin and viola at Yale University. He has served on faculties of the Summer Trios Music Festival at Bryn Mawr and Wilson Colleges. From 2013- 2015 Brian was head of youth orchestra programs at Northwest Florida State College. Brian continues to be active in teaching young musicians in Pensacola, FL. He has taught classes in Escambia County Public Schools as well as Creative Learning Acdamy and St Paul Catholic School.
As a conductor Brian works with the White Tie Rock Ensemble in performances that have sold out the Pensacola Saenger Theater and are currently based at the Pensacola Bay Center. Brian is passionate about church music. Currently, Brian serves as Music Director at Saint Paul Catholic Church in Pensacola, FL.
Aleksandra Gregg
cello
Dr. Aleksandra Gregg was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and began studying the cello at the age of six. Throughout her musical journey, she has built an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer. She is currently Principal Cellist of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and Pensacola Opera, and maintains a private cello studio in Pensacola, Florida.
From 2007 to 2012, while attending the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Dr. Gregg was a member of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, touring internationally and performing at major festivals such as the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin, the Usedom Music Festival in Peenemünde, the Estonian Glasperlenspiel Festival in Tartu, and the Bremen Music Festival. She has also appeared in leading European venues, including the Polish Baltic Frédéric Chopin Philharmonic (Gdańsk), Pärnu Concert Hall, Great Guild Concert Hall (Riga), Tivoli Concert Hall (Copenhagen), and Kaunas Philharmonic. During this time, she collaborated with distinguished artists and conductors including Kristjan Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Fazıl Say, Peter Jablonski, Jan Vogler, Baiba Skride, and Mikhail Simonyan. Dr. Gregg has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in prestigious venues across Russia, including the Mariinsky Concert Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Grand Concert Hall “Oktyabrsky,” and the St. Petersburg Capella.
In 2016, Dr. Gregg was the contemporary chamber ensemble Cosmos New Music. The ensemble won the Annual Carnegie Hall Competition at Florida State University and performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on May 9, 2018.
Dr. Gregg holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, a Performer’s Certificate from Southern Methodist University, a Master of Music degree from Ohio University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Florida State University.
In September 2023, Dr. Gregg married pianist Andrew Gregg, and the two formed the Gregg Duo, performing together in the chamber music settings.