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Meet our Staff

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.

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Sara Maria Blanton (she/her)

Executive Director
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Matthew Holt (he/him)

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Operations Manager

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)

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Marketing and Development Director

Maria 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.

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Program Director

Jose Olea Vico is a versatile violinist, educator, and arts administrator dedicated to expanding access to classical music. Based in North Carolina, Jose serves as a Durham Fellow with The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle (The COT). In this role, he performs on the main stage, plays in opera productions, and brings classical music to unique community venues through the UpClose and BEERthoven concert series.

Passionate about community engagement and mentorship, Jose is also the Program Manager and a Teaching Artist for the Raleigh Music Collective. He oversees strategic operations and delivers high-quality string instruction to youth across the Raleigh area, frequently leading clinics and workshops to dismantle barriers to music education. His work in shaping the next generation of musicians and public artistic identity has been featured on classical media outlets like The Classical Station (WCPE).

Jose completed his advanced musical training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under the guidance of renowned pedagogue Kevin Lawrence.

Soup Powell (he/they/them)

Site Cordinator
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Soup Powell graduated from The Raleigh Music Collective in 2024. They participated in the Enloe orchestra program, private lessons and classes with RMC, before applying for an internship with RMC. They moved into an admin position as site coordinator in January of 2025 and manages all on site administrative needs as well as storage unit maintenance, instrument maintenance, and online systems for student records.

Jose Olea-Vico