Guest Artist > Sheryl Staples Violinist Sheryl Staples joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Associate Concertmaster in September 1998. In addition to her orchestral career, she has performed as soloist with more than 40 orchestras nationwide, including The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Albany Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic. She made her solo debut with Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic in 1999, performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, and has since performed concertos of Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Haydn. An active chamber musician, Ms. Staples has participated in the Santa Fe, La Jolla, Brightstar, Martha’s Vineyard, and Seattle Chamber Music festivals, and she has been a faculty artist at the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Sarasota music festivals. She appears on three Stereophile compact discs with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. In the New York area, she performs with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles and the Lyric Chamber Music Society. At the age of 26, Ms. Staples was appointed associate concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra, a position she held for three years. In addition, she taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Encore School for Strings, and Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and she was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio. Previously, in Southern California, she was concertmaster of the Pacific Symphony and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, and held faculty positions at the University of Southern California and the Colburn School of Performing Arts. Currently on leave from the Manhattan School of Music, Ms. Staples has recently joined the faculty of The Juilliard School, teaching orchestral excerpts. A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Staples was a scholarship student at the Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, a Young Musicians Foundation Scholar, and a W.M. Keck Scholar at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, spending summers at the Encore School for Strings. She earned an Artist Diploma from the University of Southern California. Her principal teacher was Robert Lipsett and her ensemble mentor was Heiichiro Ohyama. Ms. Staples performs on the “Kartman” Guarnerius del Gesu, c.1728. Ms. Staples is married to percussionist Barry Centanni. They have two children, Michael and Laura.