Artistic Team

Terrence S. Orr

Artistic Director
Born in Berkeley, California, PBT Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr trained at the San Francisco Ballet School, joining the company in 1959. He joined American Ballet Theatre in 1965, rising to principal dancer in 1972 and ballet master in 1978. A noted teacher and repetiteur, he has staged performances for companies around the world, including New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Boston Ballet, The Royal Ballet (London), Australian Ballet, Teatro al Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera and Korea National Ballet.Mr. Orr was appointed PBT’s Artistic Director in 1997 and since then has cultivated a dynamic repertoire of classics and new works. He has added important ballets by renowned choreographers, including George Balanchine, Mark Morris, John Neumeier, and Jean-Christophe Malliot, and has commissioned 17 world premieres by both seasoned and emerging artists. His passion for innovation, excellence and artistry continues to raise PBT’s national and global stature. Mr. Orr is married to Marianna Tcherkassky, former ABT principal ballerina and PBT’s ballet mistress.

 

Steven Annegarn

Ballet Master
Mr. Annegarn became ballet master after retiring from PBT as a dancer in 2003. Mr. Annegarn received his advanced training from the Royal Ballet School in London, and toured with Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet Company before joining the London City Ballet in 1984. He was promoted to principal dancer two years later. A highly-acclaimed performer with both impeccable classical technique and powerful dramatic ability, Mr. Annegarn has also been a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. His repertoire included Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, George Balanchine’s Apollo and Jiri Kylian’s Return to a Strange Land. Mr. Annegarn is married to former PBT Principal Dancer Erin Halloran, and together they are the proud parents of their sons Aiden, Leo and Ronan.

Marianna Tcherkassky

Ballet Mistress
Marianna Tcherkassky was brought up in Kensington, Maryland, and is of Russian and Japanese descent.  She began her training with her mother, Lillian Oka Tcherkassky, and continued her studies at Mary Day’s Academy of the Washington School of Ballet and on full scholarship at the School of American Ballet in New York.  She joined American Ballet Theatre in 1970, and was elevated to principal dancer in 1976.  She has been recognized as one of the world’s leading ballerinas, and was reviewed as “one of the greatest Giselles that American ballet produced” by Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times.  Since Miss Tcherkassky’s retirement from the stage in 1996, she has taught extensively, and in 1997 she received a Golden Ring Award honoring artistic excellence from the Asian-American Arts Foundation in San Francisco.  On June 11, 1999, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from the University of Cincinnati.  She is married to PBT Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr.

The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra

Charles Barker, Music Director and Principal Conductor

Charles Barker is Principal Conductor of American Ballet Theatre, a position he has held for 25 years. He was Music Director of the Australian Ballet from 1997-2001, and then joined the Royal Ballet in London for two seasons. He reguarly guest conducts for the San Francisco Ballet and Houston Ballet. As Music Director of the American Chamber Orchestra from 1981-87, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in February 1983. He was a member of the Barnard-Columbia Ancient Drama Group, which presents Greek drama in the original language, and wrote music for productions of The Bacchae, Hippolytus and Heracles. He lives in New York with his wife, Miranda Coney, former principal dancer of the Australian Ballet, and their two boys.

Violin I

  • Charles Stegeman, Concert Master
  • Rachel Stegeman, Associate Concert Master
  • Larry Yagello
  • Keiko Rushlander
  • Joan Zelkowicz
  • Jennifer Madge
  • Mary Beth Schotting

Violin II

  • Raymond Eichenmuller, Principal
  • Marjorie Steen
  • Anne Jackovic
  • Eleanor Cameron
  • Rochelle Agnew
  • Juan Jaramillo
  • Frank Ferguson

Viola

  • Jennifer Gerhard, Principal
  • Louise Farbman
  • John McCarthy
  • Justin J. Johnson

Cello

  • Elisa Kohanski, Principal
  • Paula Tuttle
  • Joseph Bishkoff
  • Paul Critser

Bass

  • Jeffrey Mangone, Sr., Principal
  • Andy Kohn
  • Robert Skavronski

Flute/Piccolo

  • Beverly Crawford, Principal
  • Barbara O’Brien
  • Thomas Godfrey

Oboe/English Horn

  • Robin Driscoll, Principal
  • Cynthia Anderson

Clarinet

  • Mary Beth Malek, Principal
  • Jack Howell

Bassoon

  • Linda Morton Fisher, Principal
  • Don Hollis

French Horn

  • David Lintz, Principal
  • Matthew Litterini
  • Marie Claude Driscoll
  • Scott Bohannon

Trumpet

  • Charles Daval, Principal
  • Karen Sloneker

Trombone

  • Peter Howell, Principal
  • Keith Jackson
  • Glenn Wayland

Tuba

  • Phillip Van Ouse, Principal

Timpani

  • Jack DiIanni, Principal

Percussion

  • Albert Wrublesky, Principal
  • Jan Fung

Harp

  • Nuiko Wadden

Piano

  • Yoland Collin

Orchestra Manager

  • Frank Ostrowski