614 MUSIC is a Columbus based quintet comprised of principal musicians in the Columbus scene – Alicia Hui (violin), Karl Pedersen (viola), Pei-An Chao (cello), John Pellegrino (bass) and Orlay Alonso (piano).

Alicia Hui, currently Principal Second Violin of the Columbus Symphony, began her musical studies at the age of four and made her orchestral debut at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland at age nine. Since then, she has soloed with numerous orchestras including the Arlington Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony, the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Zurich Symphony Orchestra, the Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.Ms. Hui was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music of Philadelphia at age 11 where she studied with Mr. Victor Danchenko and received her bachelor’s degree at sixteen.  She received her master’s degree, artist diploma, and professional studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of David Cerone, Paul Kantor, and William Preucil. Ms. Hui is currently the Principal Second Violin of Columbus Symphony. She was guest concertmaster with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra 2011 season. She previously served as assistant concertmaster of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, and as Principal Second Violin of the Canton Symphony Orchestra.Ms. Hui participated and performed at the Ishikawa Musical festival in Japan, Soesterberg Music Festival in Amsterdam, and the Keshet Eilon Master Course in Israel. In addition, she was award fellowships at the Perlman Music Festival, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Aspen Music Festival, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Chamber Music Festival, and the Bowdoin Music Festival.

Karl Pedersen joined the Columbus Symphony as principal viola at the start of the 2011-12 season.  Before that Karl was rotating principal of the New World Symphony for three years and was principal viola of the Breckenridge Music Festival for 2 years. He has recorded and performed with the Kansas City Symphony, and performed with the Virginia Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Cedar Rapids Symphony, Quad Cities Symphony and as concertmaster with the Oskaloosa and Ottumwa Symphonies.  Born in Kansas City Missouri he got his Bachelor of Music degree at University of Iowa under Christine Rutledge.  He completed his Master of Music degree as a student of Victoria Chiang and former Philadelphia Orchestra violist Stephen Wyrczynski.An avid chamber musician he is also a member of the Merdian String Quartet, which has had residencies the past 3 years at the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, CO.  He has performed chamber music with cellists David Hardy and Anne Martindale Williams, and violinists Andres Cardenes and Soovin Kim as well as harmonica player Corkey Siegel.Other than the US, he has performed in France, Spain, Germany and the Dominican Republic.  He has appeared on stage performing before speeches by Colin Powell and Oprah.  In 2005 and 2006 he was awarded the Peabody Career Development Grant.  Soon some of his chamber performances will be heard on Performance Today from public radio.

Pei-An Chao, M.M., San Francisco Conservatory of Music; B.M., Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Chao currently serves as Assistant Principal Cello with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. She joined the CSO in 2000 following two years with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Cs. Chao began her musical studies at age four in her native country, Taiwan. At age 12, her family emigrated to the U.S., where she continued her musical studies at the Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division in New York City majoring in both cello and piano. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Marion Feldman, Ms. Chao pursued her master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory with Bonnie Hampton. At graduation, she was awarded the only distinguished musical achievement award given out by the String Department for Graduate Studies. Ms. Chao was the concerto competition winner the previous year at the conservatory. Her festival appearances include Tanglewood, Kent/Blossom, Pacific, Sarasota, Colorado, Spoleto, Waterloo, and the New York String Seminar. Ms. Chao was on the faculty of Otterbein College from 2008-09. She has performed in North America, Europe, and Asia.

John Pellegrino is the Acting Principal Bass of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Since joining the CSO in 1989, John has performed regularly in the Grand Teton Music Festival and as Principal Bass in the Peninsula Music Festival. Calls from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony have allowed him to play, tour and record with those ensembles. Other orchestral appearances have included concerts with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Alabama Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the New York Virtuosi and the Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York. Before moving to Ohio, John was a section member of the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. He earned degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School, and he has served on the faculties of Ohio Wesleyan University, the Eastern Music Festival, the Warwick Music Festival, Kinhaven Music Camp (VT) and the Chamber Music Connection in Worthington, Ohio. In 2008, John was the recipient of the Ohio Private/Studio Teacher of the Year award given by the Ohio String Teacher’s Association. His students have won competitions held by the International Society of Bassists, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Ohio String Teachers Association, Interlochen Arts Camp and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Pianist Orlay Alonso is gaining widespread recognition as a versatile performing artist throughout the United States. With his communicative gifts Mr. Alonso has captivated audiences at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Sprague Memorial Hall at Yale University, Steinway Hall, Rockwell Hall at Buffalo Sate University, Tishman Hall of the New School University, The Spanish Institute, Lefrak Hall at Queens College, Rosch Recital Hall at SUNY Fredonia, Elebash Hall at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Trinity Church, and the Liederkrantz among others.

Both his personable style in addressing the audience and his projective performances go beyond his career as a recitalist; his orchestral appearances as a soloist have been lauded for keeping “the listener’s imagination stimulated at all times” and for being “capable of fine gradations and subtleties” – The New York Concert Review. Mr. Alonso has performed with the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra, Ossia Symphony Orchestra, and the Bronx Arts Ensemble Orchestra and worked with acclaimed conductors such as Maestro Jonathan Strasser, David Gilbert and Orlando Alonso.

Mr. Alonso has garnered top prizes in numerous piano competitions such as Kingsville International Piano Competition, Artists International Young Artists Piano Award, Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Competition, Queens College Cultural Heritage Competition, The Young Bronx Artists Competition, Yale School of Music Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition and Isabel Scionti International Piano Competition.

Mr. Alonso’s impressive array of teachers includes Lilian Kallir and Claude Frank, fellow Cuban-American Horacio Gutierrez and Juana Zayaz. In addition he has participated in master classes with distinguished artists including Richard Goode, Jerome Rose, Vladimir Feltsman, Philippe Bianconi, Boris Berman, Nelita True, Pavlina Dokovska, Jorge Luis Pratz, Peter Frankl and Pamela Frank.

Considerable intelligence and intense emotions drove Mr. Alonso’s musicianship from the National School of Arts in his native Cuba to F. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York City, where he was awarded the Ann-Marie McDermott Memorial Scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of MusicPreparatory Division with Ubaldo Díaz-Acosta. Mr. Alonso graduated from the Mannes College of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and later continued his graduate studies at Yale Universitywhere he received his Master of Music degree. The thirst for excellence in his performances has no end as he received his Professional Studies degree from the Manhattan School of Music and is currently pursuing his DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) degree as a Graduate Teaching Associate at The Ohio State University with professor Steven Glaser.

For the past several years Mr. Alonso has taught private piano lessons to a diverse group of pupils of all ages and levels. He has served on the staff of Lincoln Bassett School in New Haven, CT, Saint David’s School in NYC, The Spence School in NYC, as a Teaching Assistant at Yale School of Music in CT, and Our Lady of the Assumption School in Bronx, NY. He has been sought after not only as a performing artist but also as an educator by Buffalo State University and The Fredonia School of Music of the State University of New York, where he has given master classes and lectures.