2025 VMAAI Competition Judges
Click a judge's picture to read their biography:
Grace Nakano
Tone - Violin
Ann Weaver
Tone - Viola
Christopher Germain
Workmanship and Varnish
Theodore Buchholz
Tone - Cello
Elena Chernova-Davis
Tone - Violin
Christopher Germain
Workmanship and Varnish
Christopher Germain makes award-winning violins, violas and cellos from his studio in Philadelphia, PA. Mr. Germain graduated from the Chicago School of Violin Making in 1985. From 1985 to 1991 he worked for the Chicago firms, Kenneth Warren & Son Ltd. and Bein and Fushi Inc., focusing on restorations of rare stringed instruments. In 1995, Mr. Germain was invited by legendary restorer Vahahn Nigogosian to be an instructor at the Oberlin Restoration Workshop. Mr. Germain became director of the VSA/Oberlin Violinmaker’s Workshop in 1997, which recently celebrated it’s 20th Anniversary.
Mr. Germain has served as the President of The American Federation of Violin and Bowmakers as well at The Violin Society of America and has also served on the Governing Boards of both organizations. In 2006, he organized The American Violin, a historical perspective on the history of violin making, which took place at The Library of Congress in Washington DC. He is co-author of The American Violin (2016 AFVBM). In addition, Mr. Germain is the author of numerous other articles, which have appeared in publications and scholarly journals, such as The Journal of The Violin Society of America, VSA Letters, The Strad magazine, Strings and others.
Mr. Germain is also a member of Entente Internationale Maitres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art and has served as judge on numerous international violin making competitions, including The Violin Society of America International Competition, the International Triennale in Cremona, Italy, the China International Violinmaking Competition and others. He has lectured on violinmaking and demonstrated his craft at venues around the world.
Grace Nakano
Tone - Violin
Grace Nakano is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. A native of Japan, Grace received her Masters of Music degree in Classical Performance from the Manahattan School of Music with Lucie Robert and Bachelors of Music degree from Boston University with Bayla Keyes. She was a recipient of the Fine Arts Award at the Interlochen Arts Academy with Hal Grossman. Accolades include First Prize Winner of the Duxbury Music Festival Chamber Competition in 2012 and solo performance of Sarasate’s Zigueunerweisen with the National Repertory Orchestra in 2016. She has served as concertmaster at the Spoleto Festival USA in 2017-2018, and guest concertmaster with various ensembles including the Arizona Philharmonic and the Helios Ensemble. Grace has served principal positions with various orchestras and festivals including Spoleto Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Round Top Music Festival, Texas Music Festival.
Elena
Chernova-Davis
Tone - Violin
Prizewinner of the Aleksander Glazunov International Competition (Paris), Dr. Elena Chernova-Davis has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster in her native Uzbekistan and throughout the United States. After graduating with honors as a full-scholarship student from the Tashkent State Conservatory, she came to the United States to continue her studies with Misha Vitenson, Elmar Oliveira, Mikhail Kopelman, and Shmuel Ashkenasi.
Elena performs as Soloist and Concertmaster of National Concerts at Carnegie Hall, and has worked with conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Esa Pekka-Salonen, Gerard Schwarz, Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Jeffrey Tate to name but a few. Collaborating with various New York ensembles including musicians from the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, MET Opera Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony, her recent performing venues include Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Le Poisson Rouge, Madison Square Garden, and Radio City Music Hall. She has appeared as a soloist with the Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Nova, and the National Orchestra of Uzbekistan.
An avid chamber musician, Dr. Elena Chernova-Davis has performed worldwide including appearances in Italy, Panama City, the Brevard Music Center, the Patagonia Opera House, and with colleagues from the Borodin, Orion, and American string quartets. She regularly performs with the Riverside Chamber Players, Con Vivo Music, and the Pedro Giraudo Tango Ensemble. Elena also has a deep passion for interdisciplinary collaboration, having organized and performed in projects involving dancers, visual artists, actors, storytellers, poets, and non-Western composers.
In the greater string playing community, Elena has been published in Strad Magazine (October 2025) and is a member of the American String Teachers Association, where she has served on the Studio Board and been a presenter at the ASTA National Conference. She has adjudicated competitions for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Music Teachers Association, and the Violin Makers Association of Arizona.
As a passionate and dedicated teacher her philosophy is to guide development and tailor an individual approach to each student that encourages growth, curiosity and motivation. Previously, Elena has been a faculty member at Rutgers University and Montclair State University, and at prestigious summer festivals including Brevard Music Center, Killington Music Festival, Summit Music Festival, and InterHarmony International Music Festival in Aqui Terme, Italy. She is currently on the faculty at the University of Arizona School of Music, where she lectures in violin performance and chamber music.
Ann Weaver
Tone - Viola
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ann Weaver began her musical studies at age six with her parents, both of whom were members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the time. She began her college studies at Arizona State University, then completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was given the Annual Viola Award for Outstanding Achievement. She earned her Master’s degree in Music Performance at Rice University, where she graduated with honors. Her teachers include Dr. William Magers, James Van Valkenburg, Heidi Castleman, Wayne Brooks (principal violist of the Houston Symphony), and Roberto Diaz (principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.) Her chamber music coaches have included Anne Epperson and members of the Julliard, Guarneri, and Cleveland String Quartets.
Theodore Buchholz
Cello
Theodore Buchholz is the cello professor at the University of Arizona. Described by newspaper critics as a “virtuosic cellist” with a “warm beautiful sound,” he has performed in prominent venues from New York’s Lincoln Center to international halls in Italy and Tokyo.
Buchholz’s album Afterglow: The Forgotten Works for Cello and Piano by Henry Hadley was released by Centaur Records in 2020. Earning the coveted five-star rating, Fanfare Magazine stated “Afterglow displays the composer’s rich harmonic language, and allows Buchholz to show off his impeccable phrasing during which he caresses each note. Its turns of phrase could simply not be more beautifully conceived and executed.” His recording of Hans Winterberg’s Cello Sonata was released under the Toccata label in 2018. Music for a Prince was released by Toccata Records in 2021, featuring the world premiere of works for cello by Lennox Berkeley, Arthur Bliss, and William Walton. As a nationally recognized researcher, Dr. Buchholz’s book The Cellist’s Guide to Scales and Arpeggios was published and internationally distributed by Mel Bay.
A fervent believer in the power of music education to transform lives, he is the Founding Director of the University of Arizona String Project. During the summers he performs and teaches at the Zephyr Music Festival in Italy. Dr. Buchholz's current and former students perform in orchestras and chamber ensembles around the country and they teach in private studios and in schools around the world. His students have been awarded scholarships to leading conservatories and universities and have won awards in national chamber music and solo competitions. Theodore Buchholz is the recipient of the Taubeneck Superior Teaching Award and he received the Charles and Irene Putnam Award, the College’s most prestigious recognition of excellence in teaching.
