About the Quartet
The Glass House String Quartet unites four longtime friends and collaborators—violinists Allion Salvador and Vanessa Moss, violist Gerald Liu, and cellist Lauren McShane—whose shared history spans a decade of music-making across the Pacific Northwest.
Their name honors the Glass House of Fern Grove on Vashon Island, a striking architectural space designed by Seth Grizzle and owned by Ruth True, where the quartet gave their first performance. With the Puget Sound to one side and forest on the other, that glowing space became both a home for the ensemble: a meeting place of artistry, friendship, and the natural world.
Performances of Glass House invite the audience to join them in the intimacy of chamber music. They create artistic experiences celebrating small communities, the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and the love of family.
Collectively, the members of the Glass House String Quartet perform with orchestras across Washington and beyond, teach and mentor the next generation of musicians, and champion chamber music as a space for shared listening and genuine human connection. Whether in a concert hall, a woodland glasshouse, or a small community gathering, their performances invite audiences into that same spirit of light, reflection, and joy.
About the Individuals
Allion Salvador performs across the Pacific Northwest as both violinist and conductor. He served as music director of Federal Way Youth Orchestra from 2023 to 2025. He doubled the orchestra's size, led a side-by-side with Central Washington University orchestra students, and collaborated with CWU’s Mariachi Ensemble. In Fall 2024, he led a full production of The Nutcracker at CWU in collaboration with Ellensburg Dance Ensemble. He performs as a pops conductor for Candlelight Concerts and leads West Seattle Community Orchestra’s Concert Orchestra. He has conducted professional and community ensembles in the Pacific Northwest including the Spokane Symphony, Missoula Symphony, Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Sammamish Symphony, and Seattle Philharmonic. He also founded and led a community string ensemble, the Seattle Philharmonic Strings, from 2015 to 2018. SPO Strings performed free concerts at Seattle Central Library, Norse Home Seattle, and Horizon House Retirement Community. He studied at the Pierre Monteux School with Ludovic Morlot and Michael Jinbo, and at CWU with Nikolas Caoile. He has conducted in workshops with James Ross, James Lowe, and Ken Kiesler. As a violinist, Mr. Salvador is a founder of Seattle-based Glass House String Quartet, member of Spokane Symphony’s awesome second violin section, a concertmaster at Seattle’s Paramount Theater, and a leader at Missoula-based String Orchestra of the Rockies. He was the 1st prize winner of the 2021 Music International Grand Prix, and completed graduate work in violin at Manhattan School of Music with Lisa Kim and Peter Winograd. Allion holds degrees in conducting from CWU, and in Neurobiology and Violin from University of Washington. A student of Ronald Patterson, Allion plays on a 1986 Italian violin by Cesare Magrini. He is kindly supported by Barb Thorne, Pierre Vauthy, and his family.
Lauren McShane is a passionate cellist based in Seattle, Washington, whose love for music began at an early age. She was introduced to the cello at the age of seven and immediately fell in love with its rich and soulful sound. After receiving her Bachelors degree at Brown University, she moved to Seattle where she began to enjoy exploring alternative music. She began performing regularly with Portland Cello Project, a group aimed to take the cello to places you wouldn’t normally experience a cello. She also performs with Boise Philharmonic, Seattle Rock Orchestra, and the Seattle Metropolitan Orchestra. Lauren is a dedicated music educator, with a full private cello studio and coaching with Seattle Youth Symphony. Lauren has studied Suzuki teacher training with Pam Devenport and Sylvie Spengler. Outside of music, Lauren enjoys spending time with her family on Vashon island and running in the crazy Seattle weather.
“What wonderful tone and viola playing!” Hank Dutt, violist of the Kronos Quartet.
Praised for his expressive sound and commanding artistry, Gerald Liu is a seasoned performer and has most recently held section violist with the Seattle Symphony during its 2024–25 season and is a member of Spokane Symphony and Symphony Tacoma. Gerald has held fellowships with the National Repertory Orchestra and the Round Top Festival Institute
Gerald is deeply committed to sharing music through education. He coaches through Seattle, Federal Way, and Bellevue Youth Symphonies. He also helps teach music to underserved communities in Seattle through the Michael J Owen Music Education Fund.
Gerald holds a BS in Physics and MM in Viola performance from The University of Texas at Austin. His mentors include Roger Myers, Mara Gearman, and Wayne Brooks. In his free time, Gerald enjoys hiking, going to the gym, photography, and painting landscapes.
Violinist Vanessa Moss has built a career on shaping phrases. For her, the process matters most: weaving exploration, discipline, and humanity into musical performance.
Vanessa serves as Concertmaster of the Walla Walla Symphony and the Mid-Columbia Symphony, and as violinist with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, Ms. Moss is violinist with the Glass House String Quartet. She was the founder and Artistic Director of Sempre Chamber Music, a chamber series that reimagined itself during the pandemic through streamed concerts in collaboration with Pat Strosahl (1947–2022) and The Seasons Performance Hall.
An enthusiastic educator, Ms. Moss runs Moss Violin Studio based in Yakima, WA. She cultivates determination, creativity, and a view of music as both discipline and joy. Her students regularly win concerto competitions, advance to State Solo and Ensemble, and have gone on to study music at the collegiate level. Her teaching is inextricably shaped by her own teachers including Katrin St. Clair, Rhonda Marsh, Carrie Rehkopf-Michel, and mentorship from Denise Dillenbeck.
Outside of music, she is an adventurer transfixed by the outdoors. Recent pursuits include trekking the 93‑mile Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier and a 15‑day rafting trip playing string quartets through the Grand Canyon. Vanessa takes any opportunity to embrace presence and honesty, whether while backpacking in the wilderness, running long distances, or performing on stage. Vanessa lives in Ellensburg, WA with her percussionist husband Joshua Gianola, their black lab Gilly, and two quarrellings cats.