Our Story
Founded in 2023 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Cadence String Quartet brings an energetic approach to the rich and extensive masterwork literature. Comprised of accomplished musicians who each bring a unique expertise and passion for chamber music, the quartet is dedicated to sharing dynamic performances with audiences throughout Eastern Iowa and beyond. The ensemble features John Schultz on violin, Rachel Peters on violin, Alyssa Ottmar on viola, and Joshua DeVries on cello. Together, they draw from a wealth of experience and a varied background in performance, education, and entrepreneurship, striving to create memorable musical experiences for listeners of all backgrounds.
John Schultz
Violin
John Schultz enjoys a wide-ranging career serving in leadership roles in many areas of the industry. John is co-founder, with his wife Rebecca, and President of Schultz Strings which serves over 30 communities with string instrument sales, rentals, repairs, identification and advocation. In addition to leading operations John provides restoration services, identification services and teaches through the Schultz Strings school. As an educator, John has a great love of developing the next generation of musicians and his students have earned spots in major conservatories such as Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and more. They have been featured in and on renowned programs such as From the Top, National Youth Orchestra, Sterling DeLay Symposium and more. His students have been featured soloists with over a dozen symphonies and many have become educators in public and private music programs around the country and are members of major US symphonies. In addition to teaching at Schultz Strings he has taught at institutions such as the Preucil School of Music, Cornell College and has founded several youth orchestras and chamber music and orchestral festivals.
As a performer, John has had a lifelong passion for chamber music. He has performed with numerous chamber music ensembes such as the Kenwood Piano Trio, Arreaux String Quartet, Corridor Piano Trio, and now the Cadence String quartet. He is an active recitalist performing many times a year with collaborators and has been featured as a soloist with many ensembles and orchestras. John enjoys performing regularly with symphonies such as Orchestra Iowa and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony. John most regularly performs on a rare violin from Brescia, Italy c.1550.
John earned a BA and MM from the University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he studied chamber music and violin with Myron Kartman and chamber music Stefan Kartman. John is a proponent of the Suzuki Method and has studied pedagogy with Nancy Jackson, William Preucil Sr., Mark Bjork, and Alice Joy Lewis. John studied viola with Lewis Rosove.
Aside from music, John is very active in volunteer work and has served on leadership roles with numerous boards and has helped to found several not-for-profits. He is actively involved with Rotary serving primarily in youth exchange. John has a deep passion for riding bicycle and has ridden across many countries several times. John resides in Cedar Rapids with his wife Rebecca and their two children.
Rachel Peters
Violin
Rachel Peters is Principal 2nd Violin of Orchestra Iowa and Section Violin in the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Peters is a founding member of the Oak Quartet, which operates all Candlelight Concerts in Iowa. She has performed across the United States, United Kingdom, and Asia. In 2021 she completed her tenure as Assistant Concertmaster in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Collegiate degrees have been obtained from University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (B.M.), Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music (M.M.), and she is currently pursuing a Doctoral Musical Arts degree from the University of Iowa. Peters served for six seasons as Concertmaster of Opera in the Ozarks. She has recorded commercially for Disney+, National Geographic, Cedille Records, the Charleston Symphony, and more. When not on the stage she works with her violin and viola students at Schultz Strings and is brought fluttering joy from her pet bird named Ori.
Alyssa Ottmar
Viola
A native of Coralville, Iowa, Alyssa grew up playing piano and viola at the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City. She studied viola with Bill Preucil Sr. and chamber music with Doris Preucil. Alyssa went on to graduate from the University of Northern Iowa in 2016 with a degree in Viola Performance from the studio of Dr. Julia Bullard. Upon graduation, her musical success earned her the UNI Music Meritorious Award as well as the UNI Conspicuous Award. She also received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Alyssa participated in numerous summer music programs at Madeline Island, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, and Oberlin Conservatory. Following her undergraduate studies, Alyssa went on to obtain her Clinical Doctorate in Audiology at the University of Iowa. Throughout her doctoral studies, Alyssa continued to pursue musical opportunities. She served as the viola section leader for the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra and was an active participant in the School of Music’s prestigious String Quartet Residency Program. She was featured as a Daily Iowan Student Spotlight in 2017 commending her commitment to audiology and music simultaneously.
Through the years, Alyssa has performed with conductors from across the globe including Gerhardt Zimmerman, John Nelson, and Manfredo Schmidt, musicians Brian Stokes Mitchell, Maddie Poppe, Anne Hampton Callaway, Britton-René Collins, Matthew Lipman, Anibal Dos Santos, Emmanuel Ax, Peter Slowick, Rachel Barton Pine and George Li. Additionally, she has worked with quartet members from the Brentano, JACK, Pacifica, Harlem, Daedalus, Jupiter, Fry Street, Cecilia, Kronos, and Ariel Quartet, Fifth House Ensemble, Project Trio, as well as current musicians from the Sarasota Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Baltimore Symphony. In addition to performing across Iowa, Alyssa has performed in the Chicago Symphony Center, Severance Hall, and across the globe including Europe and Asia. In addition to playing in the Cadence String Quartet, Alyssa is a member of Orchestra Iowa and Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony. In her free time, Alyssa is an active long-distance runner and enjoys traveling, reading, and baking.
Joshua DeVries
Cello
Joshua DeVries is a cellist and entrepreneur who founded Just a Theory Press. As a publisher, Josh works directly with some of today’s most in-demand composers, including Joel Thompson, Damien Geter, Kamala Sankaram, and others. As an engraver, he and his team provide preparation services to many of the top ensembles and composers in the world; recent and current projects include an opera by Ellen Reid and Roxy Perkins for Dutch National Opera, new works for the orchestras of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and operas for American Lyric Theater, Virginia Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, and others. Just a Theory recently joined forces with Minnesota Opera on the New Works Initiative, an eight-year partnership that will see the creation of nine new works by a diverse group of composers and librettists. Josh completed his PhD in Music Theory from the University of Michigan and is currently working on a book on George Crumb’s Black Angels. Outside of music, Josh enjoys playing racquetball, spending time with his dogs, and cooking for his friends.
