Meet these Vitamin String Quartet Musicians

Amanda Lo - violin
Amanda Lo is a multi-genre acoustic and electric violinist.

Originally from Westchester County, Amanda moved to New York City in 2007 to attend New York University, where she studied with Stephanie Chase, before earning her Bachelor's Degree in Violin Performance in 2011.

In 2009, she was featured in Harry Connick Jr.'s music videos "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "Just the Way You Are".

She has recorded and performed with artists including: 50 Cent, Andrew Bird, Bill Whelan, Björk, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Efterklang, Guards, Goldfrapp, Harry Connick Jr., JJ Lin, Judith Hill, Kamasi Washington, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Mono, Natalia Lafourcade, Paul Simon, Pink, Pink Martini, Ra Ra Riot, Rihanna, Robert Glasper, Sampha and Sufjan Stevens.

Amanda has also appeared on America's Got Talent, Good Morning America, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Mozart in the Jungle, Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

She has appeared as a soloist with The Chelsea Symphony, Metro Chamber Ensemble, NYU Symphony Orchestra, SYMPHO, and the Westchester Philharmonic.

In 2013, Amanda was a guest artist in Sleep No More, Punchdrunk Theater Company’s immersive play. In 2014, Amanda premiered and recorded Deon Price's "Violin Concerto for Oneness" with Metro Chamber Orchestra which was released by Cambria Records/NAXOS.

In 2017 she recorded the 2nd movement of Phillip Glass' Violin Concerto which was later mashed up with "Heart of Glass" by Blondie. Her classical experience also includes performances with Artemis Chamber Ensemble, Chelsea Opera, The Knights, Opera Moderne, Nouveau Classical Project and S.E.M. Ensemble.

In addition to her work as a performer, Amanda also serves as the Director of Special Programs and Outreach for SYMPHO Inc. (a New York based contemporary and classical music nonprofit). Amanda is currently the violinist for hardcore string quartet SEVEN)SUNS and The Ludlow Thieves in addition to her roles as Concertmaster and contractor of The Manhattan Camerata, a premiere world music chamber orchestra. Amanda performs as a member of Vitamin String Quartet.

Amanda is endorsed by Mogami and Samson.

Earl Maneein - violin
Earl Maneein was born and raised in Queens, NY. He began studying classical violin at age four. Later, he discovered extreme music in October of 1989 at an all ages show in the basement of Our Lady of Lourdes in Queens Village. There he saw the hardcore band No Redeeming Social Value and was accidentally punched in the face by a “SHARP” skinhead in the mosh pit. He has never been the same since.

He received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Queens College and a Master of Music Degree from the Mannes College of Music in New York City, where he studied with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet.

Earl has made a career for himself by wearing different hats. As a composer, he has received commissions from Rachel Barton Pine (international concert violinist), Tito Muñoz (music director of the Phoenix Symphony), Masumi Rostad (violist of the Pacifica String Quartet), The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, The Dance Theater of Harlem, The Francesca Harper Dance Company, and Zentripetal Duo.

Earl also regularly composes for his two projects, the experimental grindcore-improvisatory-jazz-metal duo Black Heart Sutra, and his new music/hardcore crossover string quartet SEVEN)SUNS, whose first full length album, "For The Hearts Still Beating", was released on Party Smasher Inc. in June 2017.

Earl’s violin concerto "Dependent Arising" received its World Premiere by Rachel Barton Pine with Tito Muñoz conducting the Phoenix Symphony in April of 2017. It is scheduled for more performances for the 2018-19 season with the Orchestre Symphonique Bretagne in Rennes, France and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.

Praised by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo as a “kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries”, Earl’s expertise in extreme music is much sought after by musicians in the hardcore/metal community and beyond. Among the artists Earl has collaborated with as a metal and hardcore specialist are Janet Biggs (visual artist), Blake Fleming (original drummer of The Mars Volta), Jessica Pimentel (Orange is the New Black, Alekhine’s Gun), the bands Blood Has Been Shed, So Hideous, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Earl and his string quartet SEVEN)SUNS were featured prominently on The Dillinger Escape Plan’s final album, “Dissociation”, released at the end of 2016.

As a freelance violinist and violist Earl is comfortable and skilled in varied styles including but not limited to classical, bluegrass, orthodox Jewish music, jazz and rock.

Earl tours as a featured player of Vitamin String Quartet.

He has recorded and played with such varied artists and groups as Albert Hammond Jr. of the Strokes, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Avraham Fried, Florence+The Machine, Jay-Z, Mordechai Ben David, Paul Weller of The Jam, Rhianna, The Roots, and Sean Lennon, among others.

Earl has played on countless commercial recording works including: the 2010 Monster.com Superbowl ad; incidental music for the Nickelodeon show Team Umizoomi; and “Rising Sun”, the theme song for the WWE wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura.

Earl lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife (and SEVEN)SUNS cellist), Jennifer and their daughter.

ENDORSEMENTS: D'Addario strings, Kemper Profiler Amps, Jim Dunlop Pedals, and Arcus Bows.

Thomas Lea - viola
Thomas Lea is a California native. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and his Masters of Music in Viola Performance from UCLA.

Lea has been a member of and performed with such orchestras as the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, New World Symphony, San Diego Lyric Opera (principal viola), Dakah Hiphop Orchestra, Fort Smith Symphony, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

He has also performed, recorded, and arranged for artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Mann, Donna Summer, Beck, Roger Waters, Annie Lennox, Celine Dion, Earth Wind and Fire, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach, Natalie Cole, Leon Ware, Roxy Music, Arthur Verocai, Babyface, Lana Del Rey, Father John Misty, Logic, Kamasi Washington, Nikka Costa, Jonathan Wilson, Florence and the Machine, Lily Allen, Josh Groban, Kelis, Hi-Tek, Karen O, India Arie, NASA, Everlast, Kenny Loggins, Bear McCreary, Jessica Simpson, Sara Brightman, Paul Oakenfold, Mos Def, Common, Raury, Rancid, De La Soul, Bilal, Dwele, Talib Kweli, Saul Williams, Terrence Howard, Laura Welsh, Kimbre, Spiritualized, Rhye, Quadron, Liam Gallagher of Oasis, and many more.

Lea has recorded on scores for popular Television shows such as The 2018 Emmy’s, Marvel's: Agents Of Shield, Empire, Battle Star Galactica, and The Walking Dead, just to name a few.

Thomas has worked extensively as a Viola/Violin Teacher for the Harmony Project, working with both classical, and HipHop/Popular Music Youth Orchestras. He has also taught for String Project Los Angeles, an intensive program for young bowed string players which focus on Alternative Musical Styles including Improvisation, Rock, HipHop, Jazz, and Latin.

Currently, Lea’s busy professional career includes session work, arranging, production, and extensive work as a freelance violist.

For the past 5 years Thomas Lea has toured nationally, and overseas with the highly acclaimed musical act Rhye, and is currently a member of Vitamin String Quartet.

Derek Stein - cello
Described by the Los Angeles Times as “compellingly, vehemently virtuosic,” Derek Stein is a cellist whose active performance schedule knows virtually no bounds and is met with the same committed abandon he brings to his playing.

Whether in the intimate intensity of a contemporary music concert, the rhythm section of an indie rock show, or in the cello section of an orchestra, his energetic and distinctive performing style can be heard in virtually any musical context and venue across Los Angeles and Southern California.

Derek can be heard on the GRAMMY-winning Bridge Records release Harry Partch: Plectra and Percussion Dances performing on the composer's unique invention, The Adapted Viola. His recorded playing can also be heard on a number of releases from Bedroom Community, Cold Blue, Populist, New World, Bôłt, and The Industry record labels.

Derek is a founding member of the new music ensemble gnarwhallaby, as well as the easily recognizable cellist, with the critically acclaimed Wild Up Modern Music Collective. As a contemporary classical musician, Derek has premiered hundreds of new works, collaborating with some of the finest composers of our time.

His flair for rock and pop styles can be heard in his work as both cellist and arranger for Vitamin String Quartet.

Derek has earned degrees in music performance from Arizona State University (BM) and the California Institute of the Arts (MFA).