Wrightwood Ensemble

The Wrightwood Ensemble was started around 1985 by cellist Jan Kelley. The musicians are all very experienced players who have performed for hundreds of weddings and other events. They all have extensive orchestral and studio backgrounds. A very large library of arrangements for different combinations of instruments is available. We often provide arrangements for specially requested titles.

Members of the Wrightwood Ensemble -

Debra Price began learning violin with her mother at age 9, and later studied with Endre Granat, Eudice Shapiro, and Zino Francescatti. She was a recipient of the Jascha Heifetz Scholarship Award from USC. One of the high points of her career was performing the Bach Double Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin. She has appeared as principal violinist and as soloist with several local orchestras, as well as with the Honolulu Symphony, where she was assistant concertmaster for three years. She is a longtime member of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Long Beach Symphony, and she is also an active studio musician. Debra is equally at home as a concert violinist or as an entertainer, where she can perform the gamut of classical favorites to popular hits, and can even throw in some country western for variety!

Joel Lish is a violist, teacher, arranger, and founder/conductor of the Palisades Symphony, which has presented concerts in Pacific Palisades for 53 years. He received his Master’s degree from the L.A. Conservatory of Music. After several years of teaching, he became the chairman of the music department at Palisades High School for 30 years. In addition to the Palisades Symphony, he has established a number of musical programs for both students and adults. Although he is now retired from school teaching, he still teaches viola privately. He has played on numerous motion pictures, and also performs orchestral and chamber music with various groups including the Wrightwood Ensemble. Many of his arrangements for small ensembles are published as Middle Fiddle Music and distributed by Last Resort Music Publishing, Inc.

Cellist Jan Kelley grew up in Wyoming, received most of her musical education at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan, and was graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota. After several seasons with the Florida Symphony and Dallas Symphony, Jan became a free-lance cellist in Los Angeles. Over the years she has played concerts with most of the orchestras from Santa Barbara to San Diego, including a world tour in 1967 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. She has also played on numerous motion pictures, television programs, and commercials. She plays many engagements with small ensembles, including her own group, the Wrightwood Ensemble. She is also president of Last Resort Music Publishing, Inc., which she started in 1996 with her son.