Joanne Wisti was born in Houghton, Michigan and began studying the violin and piano after her family relocated to the lower peninsula.  She graduated from the University of Michigan and resides in White Lake.  Currently she is the principal violinist in The Birmingham Musicale String Ensemble and a member of the Saginaw Symphony.  Along with teaching violin and piano from her home,  Joanne enjoys figure skating and riding her horse, Princess.

Laura Palmieri’s journey in music began when she first heard the lush rolling harp chords in Tchaikovsky’s Ballet “Swan Lake”. It was then at the age of 10 that she decided playing the harp was what beauty she needed to help give to the world. Laura graduated from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Music Degree in 2011. Shortly after graduation, Laura also heard the calling to help others and focus on more direct healing and is currently a Registered Nurse at Corewell Royal Oak where she specializes in vascular access. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Nursing at Oakland University with a focus on vascular access and music research. From Meadowbrook Hall to Mackinac Island, Laura has made music for over 500 weddings and other special events. You can find Laura performing with the International Symphony Orchestra, Royal Oak Symphony, and many other community orchestras in addition to Detroit Medical Orchestra. Laura has been a member of the Detroit Medical Orchestra for ~10 years and currently serves on the Board of Directors as the chamber music liaison between DMO and our many hospital partners. 

Sydney LaDuke began playing flute in the fifth grade in Derby, Kansas, and went on to study at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she earned dual degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Music Performance under the instruction of Dr. John Bailey. After graduating, she moved to Detroit for work and has been with Ford Motor Company for nearly 15 years, currently working as a Feature Strategy Manager, leading strategic efforts in software-enabled feature development. Sydney joined the Detroit Medical Orchestra in 2013 and has been an active member both as a musician and a leader. She currently serves as the orchestra’s principal flutist, Music Librarian, and Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Beyond music and engineering, her most cherished role is being a new mother—she and her husband, John, welcomed their first child, Camille, in September.

Award-winning concert pianist, Julia Siciliano has been heralded as a musician with “fabulous creative power” by the Bonn General-Anzeiger. Ms. Siciliano has become a well-

respected and rising talent on the world stage, being invited as a solo artist by many prestigious orchestras, and festivals, most recently with the Orquestra Sinfónica de la Region de Murcia for the MurciArt Music Festival. A winner of many local and international piano competitions, Julia has won top prizes at the Sicily International Piano Competition, Heida Hermanns International Competition, Iowa Piano Competition, and MTNA National Competition. A highly active chamber musician, Julia has been invited to perform on concert series and festivals with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players, the Euskadiko Orchestra’s “Miramon Matinees”, Donostia Musika series at Teatro Victoria Eugenia in San Sebastián, Spain, and the La Verdi chamber music series in Teatro Gerolamo di Milano. She has given recitals with Metropolitan Opera stars Amanda Pabyan, Eric Owens, and Marina Domashenko, and internationally acclaimed instrumentalists Hayoung Choi, Simone Lamsma, and Alexei Ogrintchouk. Most notably, Julia performed the complete “accompanied sonatas” of Beethoven in the year 2020 at the Teatro Victoria Eugenia in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, and in various venues throughout the United States, France, and Sweden.

Julia’s artistic presence and engaging programming have made her highly sought after in stages across North America, Central America, Europe and Asia. She has performed live on classical radio stations in Chicago (WFMT), and New York City (WQXR), Detroit’s historic Scarab Club, Cincinnati Music Hall, and the Bulgarian Consulate, National Arts Club, and Symphony Space in New York City. Internationally, she has performed at the Teatro Nacional of Gautemala, MalmöLive in Malmö, Sweden, Teatro Victoria Eugenia in San Sebastián, Spain, Palazzo Biscari in Catania, Italy, Teatro Gerolamo in Milan, Italy, Parvis de l’église Notre-Dame d’Espérance in Cannes, Deutsche Telekom Headquarters in Bonn, Clairmont Hall in Tel Aviv, Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow, and Kioi Hall in Tokyo. Audiences enjoy her performances so much that she is frequently invited to return for multi-concert series, like her Beethoven Cycle (9 concerts) in 2020 and Brahms/Mozart cycle (7 concerts) in Donostia Musika (San Sebastián, Spain). The Kerrytown Concert House (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) has even devoted a recital series to her titled the “Siciliano Salon Series”.

Her debut solo album “Dream Catchers”, a two disc album featuring small scale works by Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Ravel and Debussy, released in 2016 to great acclaim. Fanfare Magazine declared “this release has merit as a career milestone” and leaves “no doubt about the devotion and seriousness of Siciliano’s approach to music.” Gramophone Magazine praised her “fine technique and natural musicality” pinpointing her “masterful delicacy, harmonic motion, and timing” in Debussy’s Images II.

Since opening a private teaching studio in Chicago in 2023, Siciliano has established herself as a respected educator, already earning the Steinway Top Teacher Award in 2024. She has been invited to give masterclasses at the University of Chicago, Eastern Michigan University, and Oakland University, and is on the faculty of prestigious institutions such as the Interlochen Arts Camp, Reinhardt Piano Festival and Academy, and the Schoolcraft College Summer Piano Camp.