Meet The Pinnacle String Ensemble
Kim Neidlinger, Conductor and Artistic Director
Kim Neidlinger is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. She attended junior high and high school in Jonesboro, Georgia and was active in elementary and junior high bands (clarinet) and choruses (alto, piano accompanist). After graduating high school, Mrs. Neidlinger attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where she earned the B.S. in Music Education (voice, piano) and the M. Mus. in Choral Conducting studying under Don Neuen. Mid career, she attended Georgia Southern University, Statesboro and received the Education Specialist degree in Music Education (ABD). She has taught at all levels - elementary, middle, and high school teaching general music, chorus, beginning guitar, and piano lab in South Carolina and Georgia. She has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus under the direction of Robert Shaw, The Warwick Choral Festival with the King’s Singers and the London Symphony Festival Orchestra under the direction of Simon Halsey, and as a vocal soloist with the Savannah Symphony Chorus. She has performed on double bass with the Oconee Regional Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Victor Vallo and Dr. David Johnson; the Athens Symphony under the direction of Albert Ligotti, Susan Dinwiddie and Brad Maffett. She has performed with the Blue Ridge Orchestra directed by Dr. Milton Crotts, the former Western Carolina Civic Orchestra, the WCU Wind Ensemble with the Grammy Award - winning bluegrass group Balsam Range in 2017; a guest artist with the Hot Club of Cullowhee; and with the acoustic duo Twelfth Fret with her husband Craig Neidlinger.
Mrs. Neidlinger currently resides in Sylva and teaches at Western Carolina University as an instructor. She has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Carolina Morning News and Savannah News Press in 1999 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who's Who in August 2018. She has presented sessions at GMEA, NAfME Southern Division, NCMEA and TNMEA In-Service Conferences.
Musicians of the Pinnacle String Ensemble
Spring 2025
Flute Violin I
Lisa Gaetano Matt Barrett, Concert Master
Adrian Holt
Elena Rizek*
Clarinet Violin II
Harold Buckman Megan Eckardt
Susan Davis
Daniela Rizek*
Bassoon Viola
Madeline Heaton* Cathy Arps
Kathy Zoss
Piano Cello
Andrew Adams + Toby Pope
Leonidas Lagrimas + Steph Bank
Double Bass
Michael Houtzer*
Tim Skaggs*
*WCU student
+ WCU faculty or staff
Fall 2025
Violin French Horn
Matt Barrett, Concertmaster Bruno Dippolito
Elena Rizek Liam Peach
Daniela Rizek
Cello Trumpet
Janiyah Jackson Jacob Meiring
Caleb Todd
Double Bass
Timothy Skaggs Trombone
Connor Cooper
Flute Ashlyn Douglas
Ollie Lovstrom Jacob Ruggiero
Abi Watson
Oboe Euphonium
Whitney Durham Emily McManus
JC Marks
Percussion Tuba
Tatum Gast Robert Hart
Jake Long
Email Inquiries at: pinnaclestringensemble@liberation.email
