About

Moonlit in the Sun

Moonlit In The Sun was founded in 2006 originally as a small trio of piano and two violins. Over the years, our ranks have grown and we now consist of several core members as well as many other musicians with whom we collaborate. Today our group includes flute, violins, viola, cellos, and piano. (Scroll below to see our individual bios.) What makes Moonlit In The Sun special?

QUALITY PERFORMANCE. Our experience isn't limited to background music where people may or may not hear our musical capabilities. We are performing musicians and recording artists. You can hear the difference!

CONFIDENCE. We have years of experience with events. For example, we have been performing for weddings for over 20 years.

CHOICE OF MUSIC. We offer elegant classical chamber music, lively ragtime, as well as nostalgic popular favorites.

CHOICE OF ENSEMBLE. We offer the flexibility of performing as any combination of flute, violin, viola, cello or piano.

Alban Deniz

Alban has been performing violin in the Washington, DC area since 1987. He has been a member of the Prince Georges Philharmonic, the Mount Vernon Chamber Orchestra, the Mclean Orchestra, and the Washington Savoyards (a theater group dedicated to performing operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan). His violin instructors have included Evan Paris of the Ysaye Quartet and Ricardo Cyncynates (assistant concertmaster of the National Symphony). Currently, he is a member of Moonlit In The Sun and the Loudoun Symphony.

Carla Deniz

Carla is the executive director and violist of Moonlit In The Sun. Carla received her music degree from George Mason University in 1993 where she won the George Mason University Concerto Competition. She has been performing throughout the D.C. Metropolitan area since 1990, including performances at the Barns of Wolf Trap and the Kennedy Center. Carla has studied under Richard Parnas (recent principal violist of the National Symphony Orchestra) and Doris Lederer, violist of the Audobon String Quartet. She is currently a section violist in the Loudoun Symphony and performs locally with as a solo violist. Carla provides enrichment classes in strings for local elementary schools in Loudoun County; provides violin and viola lessons from her private studio in Leesburg, VA; and works with Valerie Wride in developing the MITSKids performing student ensemble program.

Frank Peracchia

Frank has been performing as an orchestral and chamber musician since graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1992. He was a founding member of the Del Sol String Quartet in San Francisco, CA from 1992-1995 and second violinist with the Sausalito String Quartet from 1995 to 1998. The Sausalito went on to win top prizes in both the Fischoff and Coleman National Chamber Music Competitions. He is indebted to all of the wonderful instructors in his training: the Suzuki Method with Joyce Dumm and Virginia Wensel in Penfield, NY; Orchestral training with John Turner, Howard Weiss and Carl Topilow in Rochester, NY and Cleveland, OH; Studio instruction from Oliver Steiner, Paul Statsky, James Stern, David Updegraff and Donald Weilerstein from the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Frank is proud father of two wonderful boys, cellist Camillo, age 10 and violinist Giovanni, age 8.

Lanny Meyers

has won two Primetime Emmys and four Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and composition. As Musical Director, Arranger/Orchestrator, Keyboard Artist, and Composer, Mr. Meyers has appeared on well over 100 commercially released albums for record companies such as Columbia, Ampex, Varese-Sarabande,Dancing Bareback, and Fynsworth Alley. We are honored to have him as our extraordinary in-house arranger and pianist.

Lauren Sileo

Lauren has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia at prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic's Avery Fisher Hall, The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Dai-Ichi Seimei Hall in Tokyo and The Kennedy Center. She has both performed and taught at New York University during the summer of 2007. The Virginia born flutist was accepted to The Juilliard School with the highest honor of Presidential Distinction, and was the only undergraduate flutist worldwide to be accepted for the 2002-2003 academic year. She graduated from Juilliard with an Undergraduate Artist Diploma in 2005. Lauren is currently Principal Flute of the Prince William Symphony Orchestra and plays with the PWSO Principal Wind Players Woodwind Quintet. She is on the music faculty at The Wakefield School in The Plains, VA. Ms. Sileo enjoys freelancing in the Washington Metropolitan area as well as teaching privately in Northern Virginia.

Roman Placzek

Roman studied cello in the Czech Republic, his home country, at Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria. He continued his studies at The Boston Conservatory, and UMass Amherst. Mr. Placzek’s major teachers are Nathaniel Rosen, Ronald Feldman, and Wilfried Tachezi. Roman has participated in master-classes with Yo-Yo Ma, who commented "Bravo!" on his playing, Jan Hollinger, Jurgen Wolf, and Carlos Prietto. His professional colleagues include violinist James Buswell, pianist Konstantin Lifschitz, cellist Carol Ou, and many other distinguished performers of today. Roman Placzek is founder of International Chamber Music Festival 'Golden Mountain Summer' in Zlate Hory, Czech Republic. Currently, Mr. Placzek is pursuing D.M.A. in cello performance at Shenandoah University in Winchester.

Valerie Wride

Valerie has been a cellist for the Camellia Symphony (Sacramento, CA) and Lima Women's Chorale (Lima, Peru); is the principal cellist of the Mormon Orchestra of Washington DC; and has been a member of the Loudoun Symphony since 1997. She has studied with David Freed (principal cellist of the Utah Symphony), Elizabeth Kellogg, John Magee (solista for the Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid) and Robert Battey. Valerie maintains a thriving private cello studio in her home in Leesburg and works with Carla Deniz in developing the MITSKids performing student ensemble program.