Artist Bios (scroll down)

Amadi Azikiwe, Viola

Melvin Chen, Piano and Violin

Joe Barbato, Accordian

Amadi Azikiwe, violist, violinist, and conductor, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout the United States, such as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, including an appearance at the US Supreme Court. Mr. Azikiwe has also been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center. Abroad, he has performed throughout Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, Nigeria, India, Japan, and Hong Kong. As a soloist, Mr. Azikiwe has appeared with the Prince George’s Philharmonic, Delaware Symphony, Virginia Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Virginia Beach Symphony, Roanoke Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, the City Island Baroque Ensemble of New York, the National Symphony of Ecuador, and at the Costa Rica International Music Festival. Currently, Mr. Azikiwe is Music Director of the Harlem Symphony Orchestra. He is also Community Engagement Director of the Harlem Chamber Players and a member of the Pressenda Chamber Players. As an orchestral musician, he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and as guest principal violist of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. A native of New York City, Mr. Azikiwe first studied music with his mother, after which he began training at the North Carolina School of the Arts as a student of Sally Peck. His studies continued at the New England Conservatory with Marcus Thompson and at Indiana University as a student of Atar Arad.

Joe Barbato, Accordian

Melvin Chen, Piano and Violin

Joe Barbato, Accordian

Accordionist Joe "Sonny" Barbato is a pioneering voice in jazz accordion. A sought-after performer on both accordion and piano, Joe began lessons at age nine with accordion master Louis Bregoli before starting piano at age thirteen. He attended the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory before touring Europe, Russia and the U.S. performing at festivals and concerts with artists including Ravi Coltrane, Eddie Harris, Stanley Turrentine, Donald Harrison, Joe Locke, Jerry Bergonzi, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Larry Coryell. Joe has played accordion on over thirty recordings ranging in style from country to pop to jazz with artists including Luciana Souza, Lori Mckenna, Kenny Barron, Duke Levine, George Schuller, David Budway, Bobby Previt, Jenifer Jackson, Ben Sher, and Marvin Sewell. Joe’s own album “Crackerjack” (with guitarist Jimmy Ponder) features original songs alongside popular standards and has received critical acclaim. A former resident of New York City and Pittsburgh, Joe currently lives in the Boston area and is regularly heard on accordion and piano at New England’s top venues. He is also an experienced educator providing instruction in instrumental playing and songwriting.

Melvin Chen, Piano and Violin

A native of Tennessee, Dr. Melvin Chen has received acclaim for solo and chamber performances throughout the United States, Canada, and Asia. Chen’s performances have been featured on radio and television stations around the world, including KBS television and radio in Korea, NHK television in Japan, and NPR in the United States. As a Professor in the Practice of Piano, Chen teaches a studio of graduate and undergraduate piano students. In addition, he is the Deputy Dean at the Yale School of Music, a role that involves overseeing academic affairs and general institutional management, and also serves as Director of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival–Yale Summer School of Music, where he also performs. Previously, Chen was Associate Director and on the piano faculty at the Bard College Conservatory of Music and served as Artistic Director of the chamber music program at the Hotchkiss School Summer Portals.Chen earned a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University and holds a double master’s degree from The Juilliard School in piano and violin. He received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry and physics from Yale University, where he studied with Boris Berman, Paul Kantor, and Ida Kavafian. Chen’s notable solo recordings include Beethoven’s “Diabelli” Variations (Bridge Records), which the American Record Guide described as “a classic,” piano music by Joan Tower (Naxos Records), and sonatas and other pianos works by Shostakovich (Bridge Records), among others.

Nancy Dimock, Oboe

Catherine French, Violin

Oboist Nancy Dimock is an active chamber and orchestral musician. She is the Principal Oboe of the Boston Lyric Opera, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and the Springfield and Vermont Symphonies and a core member of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble. She frequently performs as a guest with ensembles around New England, including the Portland Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Musica Viva and A Far Cry. She has been the Principal Oboist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and can be heard performing with the HSO on the Grammy-nominated recording Rosemary Clooney: The Final Concert. She has been on the Prairie Home Companion radio show, NPR's Performance Today, and PBS's Great Performances, and she regularly performs live on Boston's classical radio station, WGBH. Nancy has performed the Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe numerous times with renowned violinist Jaime Laredo, and she has collaborated with such artists as the Jacques Thibaud Trio and the Lydian String Quartet.

Catherine French, Violin

Canadian violinist Catherine French, a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1994, has established herself as a versatile and accomplished soloist and chamber musician in addition to her distinguished orchestral career. Ms. French garnered the grand prize at the Canadian Music Competition, the C.B.C. Radio Competition and the National Competitive Festival of Music, Canada’s three major music competitions. She has performed as soloist with many leading Canadian orchestras and given recitals throughout North America and Argentina. Ms. French was featured with the Juilliard Orchestra and James dePreist, the Boston Pops and John Williams, and at Carnegie Hall in her debut with David Gilbert. Lauded for her “superbly lyric” playing and her “amazing level of artistry” by Strad Magazine, Ms. French is a dedicated member of the Calyx Piano Trio and Collage New Music. Her avid interest in chamber music has led to performances at the Marlboro, Banff, Portland, Missouri and Carolina chamber music festivals, quartet tours of Germany and China, and annual concerts as part of the Prelude series at Tanglewood and the Curtisville Consortium. Ms. French has recorded for Albany Records and is featured in Donald Sur’s Berceuse for Violin and Piano with pianist Christopher Oldfather. Ms. French began Suzuki violin at age four then continued her studies under esteemed Canadian pedagogue Dr. Lise Elson. Ms. French graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s of Music degree and a Performer’s Certificate, then earned a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School. Her teachers were Miriam Fried, Felix Galimir and Joel Smirnoff.

James Lee III, Composer

Catherine French, Violin

Rachel Harmatuk Pino, Violin

James Lee III, born in 1975 graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 2005. James Lee III’s orchestral works have been commissioned and premiered by the National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, and the orchestras of Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and many others. His works have been conducted by Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Michael Tilson Thomas, Juanjo Mena, and others. During the 2021-2022 season, Amer’ican, was premiered by the Detroit Symphony in October. Niiji Memories, his flute concerto was premiered by Julietta Curenton and the Columbia Orchestra also in October. In November the Calyx Piano Trio premiered Tones of Clay at Tanglewood and the Saint Louis Symphony performed Emotive Transformations. Other world premieres in early 2022 include Freedom’s Genuine Dawn, which was premiered by the Baltimore Symphony in January, Arukah Symphony was premiered by the Maryland Symphony in February, and Violin Concerto No. 2 “Teshuah” to be premiered by Carla Trynchuk and the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra on March 12. A Double Standard for Karen Slack and the Pacifica String Quartet was premiered on June 18 and 19 at Carnegie Hall and Shriver Hall.

Rachel Harmatuk Pino, Violin

Rachel Pino is a professional concert violinist and violin teacher. She actively performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Rachel is Principal 2nd Violinist for the Long Bay Symphony (Myrtle Beach, SC), Executive Director & Concertmaster of the Trent River Chamber Orchestra, and Concertmaster/Associate Director of New Bern Civic Strings. Rachel was President of the North Carolina Suzuki Association (2015) and now serves on the board for the NC Suzuki Association and Greenville Suzuki Association (NC). Rachel appears as a clinician at the NC Suzuki Institute at East Carolina University, the STAHR Workshop (VA), Wilmington Suzuki Workshop (NC), and the Greenville Suzuki Saturdays (NC), and has taught at Craven Community College. Rachel performs annually as a guest artist at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival and serves on the CCMF Education Committee. She performed as Principal 2nd Violin with the Amman Symphony Orchestra (Jordan), performed as a soloist in Sweden, played with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra (NC), Opera Carolina (NC) and has shared the stage with some really fun artists like The Moody Blues, The Tams, The Association, Ben Vereen, Joan Hess (Leggy Blonde, Flight of the Conchords), and Jodi Benson (Ariel, The Little Mermaid). Rachel’s ever-growing social media following has led her to collaborate with well-known and developing brands in the music industry. She was recently named a Beaumont Artist, alongside some of the top classical musicians in the online community. She is a social media consultant and manager for individual artists and groups in the music industry. Born in New Bern, NC, Rachel’s primary teacher was Joanne Bath (NC), and she also studied at the UNC School of the Arts. She earned her undergraduate degree in Violin Performance with Lucy Chapmann at The Boston Conservatory, where her quartet won first place in the 2002 Chamber Music Competition.

Jennifer Lucht, Cello

Rachel Harmatuk Pino, Violin

Jennifer Lucht, Cello

Jennifer Lucht, cellist and CCMF Director, is a native of Greenville, NC. After musical training on violin as a student of Joanne Bath beginning at age three, she switched to cello at age eleven under the tutelage of NC Symphony cellist Leonid Zilper. As a chamber musician, she has performed at the Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y, and Tanglewood; the Ravinia, Portland (ME), and Bravo! Vail Festivals; and on the Greater Philadelphia Performing Artists Series, Prairie Home Companion, and NPR’s live broadcast “Performance Today.” Praised for “superb” playing by the Boston Globe and “beautiful, finely detailed sound” by the Boston Herald, she has been concerto soloist with orchestras including the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, Vermont Symphony, and the Winston-Salem and Raleigh Symphonies. Ms. Lucht is a member of the Calyx Piano Trio and performs with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in concerts throughout the US, Canada, and Japan. She can be heard in chamber music recordings on the Albany, Archetype, Bridge, and New World labels. She received her Bachelor and Master of music degrees with a Performer’s Certificate at Indiana University with post-graduate studies at New England Conservatory. Her former teachers include Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Laurence Lesser, Colin Carr, and Carter Brey. Ms. Lucht is also an Orientation and Mobility Specialist with the Carroll Center for the Blind.

Anna Reinersman, Harp

Rachel Harmatuk Pino, Violin

Jennifer Lucht, Cello

Anna Reinersman, harpist, began her harp studies at the age of 7, holding her first position as Principal Harp for the Rocky Mountain Symphony in Utah, in the United States, at the age of 14. Praised by The New York Times as “an elegant harpist”, she performed extensively throughout New York and Boston before relocating to London. She has played the complete Ring Cycle with the Royal Opera House, London, and with the Metropolitan Opera, New York on their Grammy winning recording, as well as touring Japan with the Metropolitan Opera, playing “La Boheme”. UK adventures included "Sleeping Beauty" on tour with the Birmingham Royal Ballet and her 6-month-old daughter, and "Tosca" with Placido Domingo conducting at Covent Garden. Before that Ms. Reinersman was in the Broadway pit for the revival of “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever” starring Harry Connick, Jr., and was the harpist for the entire run of the Broadway smash hit “The Producers”. She has toured the United States with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and maintains an active career as a chamber musician. Comfortable in a variety of musical settings, she has performed with such contemporary pop artists as Joni Mitchell, Diana Krall, Alicia Keyes, and the indie band Hem. Ms. Reinersman is also cofounder of the Carolina Chamber Music Festival and served as codirector for 11 years. She can be heard on the soundtrack of the“The Producers” movie musical, the cast album for the Broadway revival of “Finian’s Rainbow”, and various other commercial recordings. She currently lives Basel, Switzerland, although as the Principal Harpist for the New York Pops, she regularly returns to New York City.