The Joan Chambers Concert Series at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg welcomes the Musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, featuring Concertmaster David McCarroll, to the Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center on Tuesday, Feb. 10. This free concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Because of the expected popularity of this concert, it is strongly advised that those planning to attend the concert reserve their seats by registering .
“The Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center provides an intimate setting for our series,” said Chris Bartley, director of music at 51. “This small, intimate setting allows us to showcase the finest instrumentalists from the Pittsburgh Symphony at this February concert.”
The program will feature:
• George Frideric Handel (arr. Halvorsen): Passacaglia for Violin and Viola
• Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in c minor, Op. 18 No. 4
• Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-Flat Major for Strings, Op. 20
The concert will bring the following musicians to the Hempfield Township campus: David McCarroll, violin and concertmaster; Justine Campagna, violin; Dylan Naroff, violin; Jeremy Black, violin; Zhenwei Shi, viola; Tatjana Mead Chamis, viola; Anne Martindale Williams, cello; and Dale Jeong, cello
David McCarroll was appointed concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, holding the Rachel Mellon Walton Concertmaster Chair, starting with the 2022-2023 season. Hailed as a “violinist of mature musicality” by Musik Heute, McCarroll won the 2012 European Young Concert Artists Auditions and debuted with the London Mozart Players in 2002. He has since performed with notable orchestras, including the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Sinfonietta, in prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. His performances have aired on major radio stations such as NPR and the BBC.
As a chamber musician, McCarroll served as violinist of the Vienna Piano Trio from 2015 to 2022, earning accolades including the Echo Klassik prize in 2017 and the Opus Klassik award in 2020. He has collaborated with esteemed musicians like Mitsuko Uchida and Richard Goode and participated in prominent festivals, including Marlboro and Lucerne.
Born in Santa Rosa, California, in 1986, McCarroll began violin studies at four and continued at Berkeley's Crowden School of Music. He attended the Yehudi Menuhin School in England at 13 and later studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, earning a Master’s degree, and at the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin.
Justine Campagna has been dedicated to the violin since she was five years old. As a student of the principal second violin of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Kimberly Fisher, Campagna became passionate about a career in orchestral music. She received a bachelor’s degree in 2013 from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Ida Kavafian and Joseph Silverstein. Furthering her studies with William Preucil at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Campagna received an artist diploma in Concertmaster Studies in 2015.
Prior to joining the Pittsburgh Symphony, she held the position of associate concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony for three seasons, where she also performed numerous times as soloist. Campagna previously held the position of concertmaster with the Canton Symphony Orchestra (2013-2015), the Mansfield Symphony (2013-2014), and the National Philharmonic (2011-2013), as well as associate concertmaster of the Akron Symphony Orchestra (2013-2014). She has performed as guest concertmaster with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Campagna frequently performs with the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras and has participated in the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, and Verbier Festival Orchestras.
Dylan Naroff, assistant concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, began playing violin at age three, studying initially with his mother. By 13, he toured Chile and Argentina with the San Jose Youth Symphony, solidifying his passion for music. Appointed Assistant Concertmaster in 2023 by Manfred Honeck, Naroff previously played with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
A 2013 silver medalist at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, he has collaborated with members of the Tokyo and Vermeer Quartets and performs at the Sun Valley Music Festival. His studies include the Mozarteum Academy, Keshet Eilon Mastercourse, and New York String Orchestra Seminar, with formative summers at Meadowmount School of Music under Ann Setzer.
He earned the Young Artist Award from Interlochen Arts Academy and graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University, studying under Alexander Kerr. At IU, he was concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra and part of the premiere of Mason Bates’ opera, "The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs."
A certified Suzuki teacher, Naroff contributes to youth orchestras in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. His upcoming book explores violin techniques. Born in Raleigh, he grew up in San Jose. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, writing, and Iyengar yoga.
Jeremy Black has served as the principal second violin of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 2017 and previously played in the first violin section from 2002 to 2017. Since 2005, he has been the concertmaster of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. Black has performed as guest concertmaster with several prestigious orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic. His solo performances span concertos by Dvořák, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and others, and he has appeared with orchestras like the Chicago String Ensemble and Evanston Symphony.
An esteemed teacher, Black coaches Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s Montgomery Fellowship Quartet and is the first violin coach for the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and Three Rivers Young People’s Orchestra. He has delivered master classes at prominent institutions like Roosevelt University and Penn State University. His early talent was recognized with first prizes in various competitions, including the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. A native of Evanston, Illinois, Black studied under notable instructors and holds degrees from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Michigan. He resides in Pittsburgh with his family, playing a 1783 Carcassi violin.
Zhenwei Shi is the newly appointed principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and also serves as principal violist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, having been appointed by Robert Spano at 23. A distinguished musician, Shi is a prizewinner of prestigious competitions such as the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, the Johansen International String Competition, and the International String Competition in Hong Kong, celebrated for his rich tone and nuanced artistry.
Shi has performed as guest principal with the Mainly Mozart Music Festival and the Lakes Area Music Festival and collaborates in chamber music settings with renowned artists like Steven Isserlis, Joshua Bell, Robert Spano, and Jeremy Denk. His performances have graced venues such as Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Buckingham Palace, and Shanghai Concert Hall, and have been featured on major broadcasts including BBC Radio and Performance Today.
In addition to his performance career, Shi is on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Tatjana Mead Chamis, acting principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) since 2018, has held the role of associate principal viola since 2003. Joining the PSO in 1993 under Lorin Maazel while at the Curtis Institute of Music, she has been a prominent soloist, performing new and rare works like Elgar's Cello Concerto and Alan Shulman’s Theme and Variations. Mead Chamis, a Latin Grammy-nominated artist, is also known for her advocacy of underheard music and her innovative approach to new compositions.
In 2015, she founded the Clarion Quartet with PSO members, dedicated to performing works by suppressed composers. Their debut album, "Breaking the Silence," was released in 2018, and they have performed at significant venues like the Theresienstadt concentration camp, the Berlin American Academy, and with Matthias Goerne. The quartet collaborates with Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum for a global concert series.
Mead Chamis’s solo project "Viola Brasil," featuring Brazilian works, earned a 2017 Latin Grammy nomination. She is set to perform at the 2024 International Viola Congress in Brazil. An educator, she teaches at Carnegie Mellon University and is a frequent lecturer.
Anne Martindale Williams, principal cello of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 1979, joined in 1976 and holds the Pittsburgh Symphony Association Chair. Renowned for her solo performances, she has been featured in Pittsburgh and on tours, including Carnegie Hall. Notable performances include the Pittsburgh premiere of "The Giving Tree" with Lorin Maazel and Jake Heggie’s "The Work at Hand" with Jamie Barton. Williams has collaborated with Yehudi Menuhin, André Previn, and the Emerson Quartet, among others. Her London debut featured Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic under Previn.
Williams balances her time between the orchestra, teaching at Carnegie Mellon University, and performing solo and chamber music. She has appeared in televised productions like "Concertos" by the BBC and "Previn and the Pittsburgh" by WQED. She has given master classes at prestigious institutions and performed at major festivals, including Aspen and Marlboro. Her performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony include works by Schumann, Elgar, and Dvořák. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, she studied with Orlando Cole and plays a 1701 Tecchler cello. Williams resides in Pittsburgh's South Hills.
Dale Jeong, born in Korea and raised in Toronto, was appointed associate principal cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at 21. He holds a Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Clara Minhye Kim. Before that, he was a full scholarship student at the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy, studying under Toronto Symphony Orchestra musicians David Hetherington and Joseph Johnson.
Jeong has served as principal cello with ensembles such as the Juilliard Orchestra and the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra and as assistant principal at the Moritzburg Festival Orchestra in Germany. He has performed as a soloist with the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Oakville Chamber Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, CBC Music recognized him as one of Canada's top 30 classical musicians under 30.
During summers, Jeong has participated in festivals like the Pacific Music Festival and the Toronto Summer Music. Passionate about chamber music, he has collaborated with artists like Martin Beaver and Jennifer Stumm. He has performed in prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Suntory Hall. Jeong currently plays a Canadian cello by Guy Harrison.