Alexandra Tsilibes, section violin in The Phil since 2005, comes from Rochester, N.Y.

She began playing at age 5 and gave her solo debut with the Rochester Philharmonic at age 16. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Music with High Honors from Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music from SUNY at Stony Brook. She also minored in Spanish at the University of Rochester and has an orchestral studies certificate from Wayne State. Tsilibes has been a member of the Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Flint and South Bend symphonies and has participated in numerous festivals, including those in Aspen, CO; Indianola, IA; Heidelberg, Germany; and Spoleto, Italy.  She has performed at Carnegie Hall under the late Sir Georg Solti and Alexander Schneider. She and her husband, Akira Murotani, who plays Third Trumpet with The Phil, have a daughter, Elizabeth.  Besides being a private violin instructor, Tsilibes enjoys cooking and traveling.