Who We Are
Our team of professional musicians maintains active performing and teaching careers. Our expertise will make your event run seamlessly and enhance your learning experience as a student. Tap each musician's name to learn more about their background. We look forward to working with you!
About Star City Strings
Star City Strings, LLC is a professional performing ensemble and a thriving music lesson studio serving Lincoln, Nebraska and surrounding areas. We believe maintaining an active performance career is essential to inspiring our students, and we prioritize excellence in all endeavors.
In the summer of 2016, Star City Strings was founded by current Director Korynne Bolt and former director Rebecca Vieker. After both completing graduate degrees at UNL and Boston University, the two founders decided to collaborate and formed an ensemble that has played in a diverse array of settings. When Rebecca moved out of state, Korynne expanded the lesson studio branch of Star City Strings and continues to add new musician performers and teachers to the team.
All of our musicians are professional caliber players with degrees in classical music performance. We specialize in a wide repertoire of music, from traditional Classical pieces to arrangements of pop, rock, jazz, and fiddle tunes. Star City Strings has played at a variety of locations for Lincoln’s First Friday festivals, at the Haymarket Farmers’ Market, Indigo Bridge Books, the Burkholder Gallery, and more.
Students of Star City Strings enjoy individualized mentorship from professional musicians. Our students have successfully auditioned for ensembles such as the Youth Ensemble of Strings, Junior Youth Orchestra, Lincoln Youth Symphony, and SAIL Camp Honors Orchestra. Former students have won high school concerto competitions, earned a place in the All-State Orchestra, and gone on to major in music at UNL and other colleges.
Our teaching philosophy emphasizes healthy playing habits, including good posture to support longevity and a strong foundation of technique. We believe music is part of a healthy life, and encourage students of all walks of life to join us. To support our community of students, we offer chamber music ensembles and encourage students to connect with other groups at their schools.
The Star City Cello Choir, formed in 2023, is a community ensemble open to cellists of all ages. It is recommended to be able to read music and play at a Suzuki Book 2 level or the equivalent. The cello choir performs in our full studio recitals as well as community outreach concerts, beginning in August 2023 at Tabitha Health Services.
Full-Length Biographies
Korynne Bolt holds a Master's degree in Cello Performance from UNL and a Bachelor's degree from Boston University, summa cum laude. A full-time member of Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra, Korynne also performs as Associate Principal Cello in the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, section cello in the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and substitute cello in the Rangbrook Ensemble and Omaha Symphony Orchestra. Korynne is the founder and director of Star City Strings, both a professional performing ensemble for events and a multi-teacher studio offering lessons on violin, viola, cello, and piano. Korynne has over 13 years of private teaching experience and also oversees studio Suzuki group classes and small chamber ensembles.
While enrolled at UNL, Korynne studied with Greg Beaver of the Chiara String Quartet. One highlight of her career was performing the Schubert Cello Quintet with the Chiara Quartet in March 2016 as winner of the annual "Play with the Chiaras" competition. Korynne's other previous teachers include Marc Johnson, Karen Buranskas, Carol Ou, Emilie Grondin, and Soo Bae.
In high school, Korynne's piano trio, Trillium, won the Geoffroy Prize at the 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in her hometown of South Bend, Indiana. Korynne also played in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, earning a spot in the selective Encore Chamber Orchestra. As winner of the Young Artist Competition, Korynne performed the Dvorak Concerto with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra in 2007.
Korynne pursued chamber music at summer festivals including Vianden Music Festival in Luxembourg, Manchester Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and UNL Chamber Music Institute. In college, Korynne premiered several solo cello works by colleague composers and has performed in BU’s new music ensemble, Time’s Arrow.
While studying at BU, Korynne became a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society and was named the 2012 Presser Scholar. Korynne worked as a Teaching Assistant for philosophy and interdisciplinary courses at Gordon College and has earned national awards in French, Latin, and writing. Korynne's experience as a TA continued at UNL, where she served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant for Chamber Music Outreach.
Korynne has experience organizing concerts, beginning as a senior in college when she initiated and presented the Boston Strong Benefit Concert, a fundraiser for the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. She coordinated volunteers to perform and staff a three-hour program of music, including a 12-member cello ensemble, at the Old South Church on Boylston St. on May 4, 2013.
Korynne was a member of the Global Leaders Institute in 2020, completing a year of coursework in music entrepreneurship and traveling to Chile to participate in the full cohort residence. For the 2023-2024 season, Korynne performed as auxiliary cello in the Omaha Symphony Orchestra.
Korynne Bolt
Mika Roche is a performer and teacher based in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 2022, Mika received a Bachelor’s degree in viola performance from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, studying under Clark Potter. In their time attending UNL, Mika participated in orchestra, chamber music, and played as an instrumentalist in five operas. They were also a winner of the 2020-2021 Glenn Korff School of Music Concerto Competition.
A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Mika started playing the viola at age eight through the University of Northern Iowa Suzuki School, studying with Ms. Ute Brandenberg and Dr. Julia Bullard. More recently, Mika has attended the Brevard Music Center Institute, performed as a substitute in the Lincoln, Omaha, Kearney, and Sioux City Symphony Orchestra viola sections, and is a frequent gig performer. Mika also served as co-arranger and performer in Madeline Reddel’s Garden Party concert series in Omaha, Nebraska. Mika aims to help students discover and cultivate a love for music, just as their teachers have done for them throughout their journey with the viola.
Mika Roche
Sarah Wibben
A current Master of Music student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Sarah Wibben is a vocal performer and music educator, having previously taught piano and voice in the Northeast Nebraska area. Her hometown is Wayne, NE. Sarah also enjoys teaching guitar, percussion, and ukulele. As a piano teacher, she taught at the Wayne State College Music Academy for several years. She also had a group of privately taught students. Sarah earned her BA from Wayne State College in K-12 Vocal Music Education and Vocal Performance.
Sam Stanley
Sam Stanley has a Bachelor of Music Degree in Cello Performance and a minor in music technology from the UNL Glenn Korff School of Music. They studied cello under Dr. Karen Becker, composition under Dr. Greg Simon, and have also studied composition under Dr. Tyler White. They were awarded the Vreeland award in Music Composition by the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing arts in 2021 and received honorable mention for their piece “Black as the Void” in the Sheldon Art Gallery’s art competition: Conversation Black in 2019.
In 2021, Sam was commissioned to write incidental music for the Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s production of Dracula: Mina’s Quest. Sam also enjoys film scoring, and has written music for over 5 short films. They were a fellow at the Cortona Sessions for New music in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Sam is passionate about teaching music, and studied Music Theory Pedagogy under Dr. Gretchen Foley in 2021. They currently teach private piano, cello, and composition lessons at several studios in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Cami Berta
Cami has been avidly playing the piano since the age of 7. Cami is originally from Dallas, Texas, where they attended a performing arts high school and gave multiple recitals for both the piano and french horn. At the age of 15 Cami attended their first music festival at the Music in the Mountains Conservatory in Durango Colorado, where they took private lessons, performed in master classes, and participated in both solo and chamber recitals. Since then, Cami has attended music festivals around the world, including the Amalfi Coast Festival in Italy, and the Vienna International Piano Academy in Vienna, Austria.
After high school, Cami moved to Lincoln and graduated from UNL with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance. At the university, Cami studied pedagogy, music history, piano literature, orchestration, and various music theory courses including aural skills, counterpoint, and advanced tonal and atonal theory.
Since then, Cami has been teaching and performing in multiple capacities here in Lincoln, and has plenty of experience accompanying, improvising, arranging, and composing. Music has always been an essential part of Cami’s life, and she is so excited for the opportunity to share that passion with her new students!
Jennifer Lochhead
Jennifer Lochhead has a growing career as both a performer and a teacher. She is originally from St. Joseph, Missouri and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance from the University of Missouri in 2023, studying under Dr. Eli Lara. She is currently working towards her Master’s degree in Cello Performance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studying under Dr. Karen Becker and serving as a graduate teaching assistant.
As a performer, Jennifer played with the Columbia Civic Orchestra for three years, serving as assistant principal, and has substituted with both the Missouri Symphony Orchestra and Hastings Symphony Orchestra. She has also
performed with the Odyssey Chamber Music Series. She was co-principal of the University of Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra and currently serves as co-principal of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Symphony Orchestra. Jennifer has also played in
masterclasses with Richard Harwood and Amit Peled. She was also accepted into the 2025 Arianna Chamber Music Festival in St. Louis, Missouri, and received a scholarship to attend. As a teacher, Jennifer began her career in 2021, teaching private cello
lessons at the Saint Joseph Arts Academy in her hometown, and later went on to teach cello lessons for the Community Music Program at the University of Missouri.
Jennifer was also a teaching artist at the Missouri Academy of Music and the Missouri Symphony Conservatory, coaching both cello sectionals and chamber music. Additionally, she has also taught at the Missouri String Project and served as the
assistant librarian intern for the Missouri Symphony. After completing her Master’s degree, Jennifer hopes to continue performing and teaching, and hopes to share her joy for music and passion for teaching.
Jenna Olson
Jenna Olson is a Sophomore Music Education major with an emphasis in cello at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She currently studies the cello under Dr. Karen Becker and has been a passionate musician since the fourth grade. In high school, she took private lessons for cello with Korynne Bolt and piano with Sarah Wibben under Star City Strings, as well as participated in the Nebraska All State Orchestra, Lincoln Youth Symphony, and various other honors orchestras for multiple years. She has gained experience working with beginning string players as a teacher through the UNL-LPS String Project. When she’s not practicing, she enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, and being active outdoors!