Artist Bios (scroll down)

Amadi Azikiwe, Viola

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.

Calyx Piano Trio

Amadi Azikiwe, Viola

“Dynamic…virtuosic…refined…delightful…a composer’s dream come true…”

Each member of the Calyx Piano Trio has been described as “a shining star in her own right.” Through concerts and recordings, the trio has been exciting listeners with expressive, detailed ensemble playing and brilliant virtuosity since 2001. Performance highlights include those on the Tanglewood Prelude and Linde Center series, Morrison Artist Series (San Francisco); the Sheldon Concert Hall, Kranzberg Arts Center, and Washington University (St. Louis); and on series of the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music (NY), Collage New Music (Boston), Pamlico Musical Society (NC), The Music House (NC), Newton Free Library (MA), Curtisville Consortium (MA) and James Library Center for the Arts (MA). Multi-year festival residencies include those at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival and Missouri Chamber Music Festival. Calyx has also presented educational programs at Washington University and Webster University (St. Louis), East Carolina University (Greenville, NC) and San Fransisco State University. With a repertoire combining classical masterworks with original pieces by living composers, the group’s commitment to expanding the trio repertoire includes commission funding by the Barlow Foundation and Chamber Music America and new works by Derek Bermel, Beth Denisch, Amy Beth Kirsten, James Lee III, Lansing McLoskey, and Christopher Stark.

Nina Ferrigno, Piano

Catherine French, Violin

Nina Ferrigno, pianist, described by the St. Louis Post Dispatch as “a magnificent pianist,” is a collaborative artist at home in a multitude of diverse musical settings. Her playing is said to be, “...always precise with superb accentuation and warmth of feeling...”. Nina is a founding member of the Boston-based Calyx Piano Trio and has appeared in major concert venues throughout North America. She has appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the Boston Pops, and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. Her collaborative large ensemble appearances include those as principal keyboardist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Chicago Symphony and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP). Her recent festival appearances include those at Tanglewood and Summerfest (KC). She has appeared at Banff, Norfolk, and the Skaneateles Festival and regularly appears at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival, and Missouri Chamber Music Festival – the St. Louis Festival she co-founded in 2010 and is Director of. Nina frequently collaborates with Chamber Project St. Louis. She appears frequently on the St. Louis Symphony’s ‘Live at the Pulitzer’ series, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Prelude’ and ‘Community Chamber Concert’ series. Ms. Ferrigno is a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, where she received degrees with distinction in performance. The New Music Connoisseur has said of her, “pianist Nina Ferrigno [brings] out the inherent horizontal logic...all the while imparting sonic beauty from end to end.” Her discography includes chamber music of Lansing McLoskey on Albany Records, Bernard Rands “Canti Triology” on Arsis Audio and a recent release on Bridge Records of “This is Not a Story” by Christopher Stark which garnered “... special mention to pianist Nina Ferrigno who can jazz it up or summon a pianissimo of the quietist order” [JWR]. Her 2010 recording of Elliott Schwartz’s Chamber Concerto III: Another View for the BMOP Sound label was described as “wonderfully musical” by Fanfare magazine. Nina is on the teaching faculty of Washington University and Webster University and lives in St. Louis with her two children.

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.

Wanchi Huang, Violin

Catherine French, Violin

James Lee III, Composer

Wanchi studied both piano and violin in her native Taiwan. Though she won several youth piano competitions as a child, she eventually opted in favor of violin “because I could take the violin anywhere.” She chose well, earning admission to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her violin teachers in this country included Shirley Givens, Jaime Laredo, Jascha Brosdky, Dorothy Delay, Naoko Tanaka and Franco Gulli. Wanchi currently serves as Full Professor of Violin at JMU and as concertmaster of the Waynesboro Symphony. Her CD recordings of the Sonatas of Eugène Ysaÿe, and complete Partitas and Sonatas of J.S. Bach for unaccompanied violin, both on the Centaur Records label, have been excellently reviewed (“. . . her incisive technique and an exceptionally rich and beautiful tone. . .” by Phil's Classical Reviews, Audio Video Club of Atlanta). She is an active solo and chamber music performer at venues including Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Curtis on Tour, and numerous festivals in the world. Her fourth CD on the Centaur label, which presents music by William Walton and Benjamin Britten in a collaboration with longtime friend and pianist Robert Koenig, was released in May 2019. She serves as Concertmaster for the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra since 2014. Wanchi plays a modern American violin made by Feng Jiang of the Greg Alf studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

James Lee III, Composer

James Lee III, Composer in Residence, was born in 1975 and 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.

Jennifer Lucht, Cello

James Lee III, Composer

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.

Keiko Sekino, Piano

James Lee III, Composer

Jennifer Lucht, Cello

Pianist Keiko Sekino enjoys an active career as a solo recitalist and chamber musician in the United States and abroad, having performed at such venues as Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall, Bennett-Gordon Hall at Ravinia Park, and Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in Santander, Spain. She has participated in festivals including Ravinia, Norfolk, and Yellow Barn in the United States and Kuhmo, Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander, La Gesse, and Pontino in Europe. In 2006, Keiko Sekino was one of four pianists invited to participate in the Carnegie Hall Professional Workshop with Thomas Quasthoff. As a duo with soprano Awet Andemicael, she worked with baritone Thomas Quasthoff and pianist Justus Zeyen on Lieder by Schubert, Wolf, and Strauss in public masterclasses and was presented in a recital at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Her performances have also been featured on WFMT (Chicago)’s From Ravinia's Steans Music Institute series and on WDAV (Davidson, North Carolina). An accomplished chamber musician, Ms. Sekino has shared the stage with violinists Ana Chumachenko and MinJung Kang, and members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Daedalus Quartet, and Enso Quartet. In 2016, her recording of Schumann’s complete works for cello and piano with cellist Emanuel Gruber was released from Delos label. Keiko Sekino completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University and holds additional degrees from Yale University in economics and music. Among her teachers are Peter Frankl and Robert McDonald. She has also worked closely with Elisso Virsaladze, Claude Frank, Boris Berman, and Margo Garrett. She serves as Associate Professor of Piano and Director of Applied Piano Studies at the East Carolina University School of Music in Greenville, North Carolina.