Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A Major, Opus 81
CARL BLAKE (piano) holds three degrees in piano performance: Bachelor of Music (magna cum laude) from Boston University, Master of Arts from San Jose State University, and Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University. Dr. Blake has performed three times in Weill Recital Hall (formerly, Carnegie Recital Hall) and has toured in Russia, France, England, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands as Artistic Ambassador for the United States Department of State. Currently, he serves as Director of Music of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco and Director of the newly founded piano school at R. Kassman Pianos (Berkeley). Mr. Blake is an advisory board member of SF Noontime Concerts.
BARBARA RICCARDI (violin) graduated magna cum laude from Vassar College where she studied with Russian violinist Boris Koutzen and Casals disciple Luis Garcia-Renart both who kindled her love of chamber music. This inspiration led to a mentorship with the Guarneri String Quartet and its first violinist Arnold Steinhardt who became her sole teacher for many years. She joined the San Francisco Symphony under Seiji Ozawa and subsequently the San Francisco Opera Orchestra where the vocal masters continue to inspire. Ms. Riccardi is a founding member of the Temescal String Quartet as well as the Nipper Piano Trio and performs throughout the Bay Area.
KATHERINE BUTTON (violin) first played with the San Jose Symphony while a student at Stanford University where she graduated with Distinction and Honors in Music. Additional studies took place at Mills College with Colin Hampton, the Royal College of Music (London), and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has been a member of the Columbus (Ohio) Symphony and the Orchestra of Illinois in Chicago. Ms. Button participated in the Berrow Chamber Music Festival in Somerset, England for several years. Currently, Katherine performs with the Temescal String Quartet and freelances in the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, the East Bay Symphony Orchestra (Oakland) and other symphonies in the Bay Area.
JONNA HERVIG (viola) studied at the University of Iowa with William Preucil and later in New York City with Lillian Fuchs at Manhattan School of Music and with William Lincer at the Julliard School. Her chamber music studies took place with Lennox String Quartet, Julliard Quartet, and Guarneri Quartet. Ms. Hervig has played in festival orchestras of Aspen and Grand Teton and currently is a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.
NANCY BIEN (cello) obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University at Hayward and Master of Art in music performance from the University of Iowa. After several years playing and teaching on the East Coast, she returned to the Bay Area where she’s been an active freelance musician for many years. Nancy is assistant principal cellist of the Marin Symphony, is a member of the Berkeley and Vallejo Symphonies, and is the cellist of the Resonance Jazz Ensemble, a Bay Area Jazz octet.
