Performers

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Barbara George is a cellist with the San Antonio Philharmonic and the Pearl Trio. Before coming to Texas she was principal cellist of the Orlando Philharmonic and a member of the Orlando Philharmonic String Quartet. She was cello professor at the University of Florida Gainesville and the University of Central Florida. Prior to her principal position she was a
member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and also performed, recorded and toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and the Lyric Arts Chamber Ensemble. As a studio musician she recorded many motion picture soundtracks, commercials and record albums. Barbara was awarded a Master of Music degree from the University of California at Los Angeles as a student of Ronald Leonard and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as student of Stephen Geber. She has performed at the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, the Spoleto Italy Festival, the Sarasota Music Festival, the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Victoria Bach Festival, the Sunflower Music Festival and the Austin Chamber Music Center Festival. In 2019 Barbara released a solo album, Femme, of all women composers with pianist Jim James. We are happy to welcome Barbara George as the new director of Musical Offerings!

Dennis Dotson, jazz trumpet soloist with the Woody Herman Orchestra and Buddy Rich Big Band, has played with many famous entertainers in Las Vegas, including Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson with the Jackson Five, Shirley MacLaine, Burt Bacharach, and many more. He has played with Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner, the Chuck Israels Nonet, and has shared the bandstand with many prominent jazz musicians, including Carl Fontana, Bill Watrous, Buddy Rich, Joe Henderson,Tom Harrell, Bobby Shew, Louis Hayes, and Marvin Stamm.

James Scott Balentine, Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is a composer, arranger, performer and conductor, and currently serves as Associate Chair of the Department of Music. He teaches courses in music theory and composition, history of jazz, and an occasional music business seminar. Dr. Balentine holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Carolina and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin. His composition teachers included Gordon (Dick) Goodwin, Samuel Douglas, Eugene Kurtz, Barton McLean and Karl Korte. He has also served as Director of Jazz Studies at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and was founder and owner of One Music Square, a full line retail music store.

His music has been performed at numerous international conferences and festivals, including Clarinetfest, the International Double Reed Convention, the International Flute Society Convention, and New Music Festivals at Indiana State University, Otterbein College, Electronic Music Plus, Shanghai International Clarinet Festival, and others. He has received commissions from the Barlow Endowment, the College Band Directors National Association, Cactus Pear Festival, the Krost Symposium, and many others. His music is published by Southern Music, Ballerbach Music, Cimarron Music Productions, and Jaymark Jazz Press.

Joan Christenson, violin, is a graduate of the University of Michigan and served as Associate Concertmaster of the Shreveport Symphony before joining the first violin section of the San Antonio Symphony in 1983. Joan was formerly the concertmaster of the Winters Chamber Orchestra, where she performed the Barber Violin Concerto and the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante k. 364. She has performed with many summer music festivals of distinction including the Aspen Music Festival, the Tanglewood Festival, the Santa Fe Opera, the Colorado Music Festival and presently the Sunriver Festival and the Grand Teton Festival.

After assuming the directorship of Musical Offerings in 1989, Ms. Christenson collaborated with musicians from many avenues of professional life in San Antonio and presented unique concert formats like Taste of Tango, Masters of Romance and the highly acclaimed series, Jazz Meets Classical, a unique collaboration of jazz and classical musicians in San Antonio.

Joan was recognized as a winner of the 2004 Arts and Letters Award presented by the Friends of the Public Library for her contributions to the cultural life of San Antonio.

A native of Fort Worth, Scott Jessup attended the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied under Scott Nickrenz and Heidi Castleman, and the University of North Texas under George Papich. He studied chamber music at the International Festival Institute at Round Top, TX and the Quartet Program in upstate NY. He then won a position with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra where he enjoyed a career spanning 34 years, retiring in 2017 as the Assistant Principal Violist. He now lives in San Antonio where he enjoys an active freelance musical life in the local area, as well as working as an Aide in the San Antonio Public Library.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Laura Scalzo's love of the violin was sparked by the great violinist, Itzhak Perlman, when she heard him play on "Sesame Street." She began lessons at the age of 4 and has been playing ever since. She holds degrees from Temple University (BA) and the University of Delaware (MM). Her primary teachers have included William dePasquale, Xiang Gao, and Ellen dePasquale. 

Ms. Scalzo joined the first violin section of the San Antonio Symphony in 2011. Now, she performs with the newly formed San Antonio Philharmonic. Ms. Scalzo is also the Assistant Concertmaster of the Mid-Texas Symphony. She has performed with many chamber ensembles in San Antonio and is currently playing regularly with Camerata San Antonio. 

In addition to her musical activities, Ms. Scalzo is also a dedicated gardener. In 2023 she launched her own landscape design business, www.rootsinthecitytx.com, specializing in organic vegetable and native plant gardening.