Sara Maria Blanton is the founder and executive director of The Raleigh Music Collective as well as the executive director of the CODA Strings Camp. She graduated from Christopher Newport University (CNU) where she received her Bachelors of Music with a double concentration in violin performance and music education and a minor in leadership. She studied under Yun Zhang, the associate concert master of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. While at CNU, she served for three yeas as the concert master in the CNU University Orchestra. She also played first violin for the CNU quartet and the CNU string ensemble. Her senior year at CNU, she won the CNU Concerto Competition and performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor with the CNU orchestra. She performs with The Raleigh Symphony, Durham Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, DITA Orchestra, and has recorded with artists such as Jess Ray, Mission House and Ryan of Sleeping at Last. Mrs. Blanton has been teaching private violin, viola, and cello lessons for over six years. She is a certified as a Bornoff Level I instructor.
Meet our Staff
Executive DirectorSara Maria Blanton (she/her)
Operations ManagerMatthew Holt (he/him)
Matthew (Matt) Holt is a former educator in the North Carolina Public Schools system. He previously taught for seven years as an Associate Director of Orchestras at the Durham School of the Arts and as the Director of Orchestras at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Holt studied cello with Lisa Olsen, Lila Ainsworth, Andrew Rammon, and David Meyer.
Matt currently performs as principal cellist for the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra and is the cellist for the Triangle String Quartet. He has also made several guest conducting appearances in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. He has studied conducting under David Itkin, Steven Smith, Gerard Schwartz, David Glover, Gregory Grabowsky, Julia Thorn, and Eric Hinton.
Matt holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (BM '15) from Susquehanna University with emphasis in cello, baroque music, and conducting and a Master of Music (MM '21) in Music Education from UNC Greensboro. He received the North Carolina Symphony Musicians Award in 2020. He currently serves as Music Director at NewHope Church in Durham, NC.
Maria Fernanda Rodriguez (she/her)
Marketing and Development DirectorMaria Rodriguez is a Venezuelan cellist, teaching artist, and arts administrator whose musical journey began at age nine through El Sistema in Cantaura, Venezuela. She studied at the Simón Bolívar Conservatories in Puerto La Cruz and Caracas, as well as the Academia Latinoamericana de Violoncello, while also pursuing studies in Modern Languages. As a teenager, she served as principal cellist of youth orchestras and began teaching younger musicians.
In 2020, Maria received the President’s International Quartet Scholarship to attend Western Illinois University, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance with a minor in Music Business under the guidance of Kenny Lee. Since graduating in 2024, she has remained active as a performer with ensembles in North Carolina while expanding her work in music education and nonprofit leadership.
Maria currently serves as Marketing & Development Director and Teaching Artist at The Raleigh Music Collective, where she combines her passion for music education, community engagement, and arts advocacy to help expand access to high-quality music instruction for young people.
Program ManagerJose Olea-Vico (he/him)
Site Coordinator Soup Powell (he/they/them)
