Members

Tamar is employed by Horry County Schools and was the Horry County All County Clinic Conductor in 2024. Long Bay Symphony Music Educator of the Year in 2023-2024. She has been a freelance musician with Long Bay Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Florence Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, and many local and regional performance ensembles, and churches. Tamar has conducted the Youth Orchestra cello sectionals and is a Coastal Carolina University Adjunct Professor (Cello).

She has a Bachelor of Music Performance in Cello at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, in Winston Salem, NC.

Masters of Music in Music Education from Coastal Carolina University.

Doctorate of Music Education from Liberty University, Lynchburg,  Virginia.

In the fall of 2025, we are honored to have Tamar as the Musical Director of Saltwater Chamber Orchestra.

JUDITH NILES

Associate Conductor

Judith Niles earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Potsdam. She furthered her studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, as well as at Ithaca College in New York and Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

Throughout her career, Niles has been an influential figure in the music education landscape. She served as the Orchestra Director at Springfield Schools in Battle Creek, Michigan. Upon her return to New York, she took on the role of Director of Music and Orchestra Director at Bainbridge-Guilford Schools. Her orchestras have been recognized for their excellence, giving performances and clinics at venues such as Ithaca College, SUNY Potsdam, the NYSSMA Conference, and the Empire State Plaza in Albany. As a testament to her expertise, Ms. Niles has been invited as a guest conductor for several All-County and All-City Orchestras and holds the distinction of being a Nationally Registered Music Educator.

In addition to her contributions to music education, Ms. Niles has showcased her talents as a violinist. She has performed professionally with ensembles including the Battle Creek Symphony, Catskill Symphony, BCPops, LongBay Symphony, Binghamton Philharmonic, and the Jericho String Quartet.

In 2016, Judith and her family chose to settle in Market Common, Myrtle Beach, having been enchanted by the area during their frequent visits. A year later, in 2017, she played a pivotal role in the establishment of the SaltWater Chamber Orchestra through the CCU Ollie Program as a non-profit 501c organization. Ms. Niles led as the founding director until February 2022. Today, she continues as a violinist and conductor.

Violin 1

Judith Niles *Principal

Vincent Alaimo

Pam Dunn

Carol Irizarry

Troy Martin

Timothy Pelltier 

Siggi Walton

Stephen Williams

Viola

Julie O’Connell *Principal
Albert Evans
Laura Leedahl
Bri Mangen

Elijah Mangen

Zora Ouhnana

Cello

Joann Manhardt *Principal

Lucas Freeman
Therese Heffernan
Gail McCann

David Morais
Jamie Stein-Muzio
Dirk Tysinger

Kelsey Watts
He-Young (Grace) Weaver

Dixon Withers-Julian

Bass

Paul Manton *Principal

Dominic Fratelli
Gabe Hernandez-Lopez

Anna Grace Wright