Program

Wine Down Monday: Why Melissa Reardon Loves the Viola

Navigation

You may navigate to any part of the video by using the chapters below while the video is playing
  1. Introduction

  2. Quinn Mason "In Memory" for Solo Viola

  3. Melissa's Childhood and Background

  4. Beethoven String Quartet, op. 74 III. Presto

  5. The History of the Viola

  6. Mozart Divertimento for String Trio, I. Allegro

  7. Evolution of the Viola

  8. Challenges of playing the Viola

  9. Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings with East Coast Chamber Orchestra

Violist Melissa Reardon shares her multifaceted career as a violist, the challenges and beauty of playing in her practice room, and why she loves the viola.

Navigation

You may navigate to any part of the video by using the chapters below while the video is playing
  1. Introduction

  2. Quinn Mason "In Memory" for Solo Viola

  3. Melissa's Childhood and Background

  4. Beethoven String Quartet, op. 74 III. Presto

  5. The History of the Viola

  6. Mozart Divertimento for String Trio, I. Allegro

  7. Evolution of the Viola

  8. Challenges of playing the Viola

  9. Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings with East Coast Chamber Orchestra

Artists

Melissa Reardon

Viola

Bio

Grammy-nominated violist Melissa Reardon is an internationally renowned performer whose solo and chamber playing spans all musical genres.  Melissa is a member of the Borromeo String Quartet,  Artistic Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival in Portland, ME, Artist in Residence at Bard College and Conservatory, a faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music and a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO).  As a member of the Ensō String Quartet from 2006 until its final season in 2018, Melissa toured both nationally and internationally, with highlight performances in Sydney, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center to name a few.  Lauded by Classical Voice for her “elegant” and “virtuosic” performances, the New Hampshire-born musician won first prize at the Washington International Competition, and is the only violist to win top prizes in consecutive HAMS International viola competitions.  A sought-after collaborative musician and teacher, Melissa has appeared in numerous festivals across the United States and around the world, and has toured with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and with Musicians from Marlboro.  She held the post of Associate Professor of Viola at East Carolina University from 2007-2013,  and earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory. Melissa is married to the cellist Raman Ramakrishnan and they live in Rhinebeck, NY/Brookline, MA with their son Linus.

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