Violist Hannah Leigh has performed as an orchestral and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Hannah has appeared as the principal violist of the Frost Symphony Orchestra and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in recent seasons, and recorded under the Naxos label with Leonard Slatkin and acclaimed flautist Marina Piccinini.
She has studied and performed at the Aspen Music Festival and School for the past three summers, as well as the Crescendo International Music Festival in Hungary, Foulger International Music Festival, and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. Her viola studies have been aided by leading pedagogues such as Heidi Castleman, James Dunham, and Choong-Jin Chang of the Philadelphia Orchestra. A dedicated chamber musician, Hannah has participated in masterclasses for many prominent groups in the field including the Emerson, Borromeo, Ying, Chiara, Arianna, Ariel, and Calidore String Quartets. She has also received chamber music instruction from Paul Kantor and Donald and Vivian Weilerstein.
An avid promoter of new music, Hannah premiered many works by student composers while at Peabody Conservatory and performed in the Peabody Modern Orchestra. At the Frost School of Music, she was involved with the Viola Project, connecting student violists and composers, and played with Ensemble Ibis.
Hannah is dedicated to serving the community both through music and volunteering. In Baltimore, she worked with traumatized individuals at the Veterans Association Centre and with single homeless women who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. In Miami, she volunteered at the Krome Detention Center, Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care, and worked as a strings instructor with the Shalala MusicReach program at South Miami Senior High School.
Award-winning pianist Lior Leigh performs as a solo and chamber artist in the US and abroad. At the age of 19, he made his New York concerto debut at Carnegie Hall performing Piano Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich. He won grand prize and audience prize in the Camerata Artists International Piano Competition following his performance of Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Prokofiev at Merkin Hall.
An avid chamber musician, Dr. Leigh has collaborated in recitals with musicians of the Boston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. He frequently concertizes with his brother Elisha Willinger, who recently was appointed Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Ball State University, and as part of Duo Ameliora with his wife Hannah Leigh, a violist. Passionate about the music of our time, Dr. Leigh has premiered countless works and has released a commissioning/performance/article series on I CARE IF YOU LISTEN called Active Listening. Each work in the project hopes to bring awareness and action to a social justice issue chosen by the composer.
Dr. Leigh earned the Bachelor of Music degree, the Master of Music degree, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with renowned artist-teacher, Yong Hi Moon. During his graduate studies, Peabody Conservatory honored Dr. Leigh with the Sidney Friedberg Prize in Chamber Music and the Presser Music Award "given to a student demonstrating excellence and outstanding promise for a distinguished career in the field of music.” Towards the end of his doctoral studies, he was appointed to the music theory and keyboard studies faculty at Peabody Conservatory.
Active in the Baltimore community, Dr. Leigh is the Founder/Artistic Director of the If Music Be the Food concert series in Baltimore which acts to increase support and awareness for those struggling with food insecurity. The series, which partners with the Maryland Food Bank, has raised thousands of meals for those in need. Dr. Leigh recently joined the music faculty at Baltimore School for the Arts. His most recent adventure had him touring internationally as Music Director for The Queen's Ball: A Bridgerton Experience, a Netflix/Shondaland/Fever production.