Artists

Aleck Belcher joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra bass section in 2019. Aleck has performed with orchestras at the Pacific Music Festival throughout Japan and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. As a native of Indiana, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to perform as a substitute bassist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Aleck attended the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music on a full scholarship, where he studied with Kurt Muroki. His primary instructors also include Robert Goodlett and Rachel Calin. Aleck is passionate about music education and is on a mission to promote music education in our community. When Aleck is not performing, he enjoys spending time with his family.  

Before joining the SLSO, flutist and piccolo player Ann served in that position with the  Richmond Symphony for nine seasons. Ann has performed in numerous music festivals including Festival Lyrique en Mer, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Music Academy of the West, Kent-Blossom Chamber Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center. She spends her summers as a faculty member at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. A graduate of Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Ann completed her master’s degree at New England Conservatory in Boston. Her teachers include Bonita Boyd, Paula Robison, and Damian Bursill-Hall.

Melody Lee is a member of the first violin section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She is from Vancouver Canada and studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles where she received her Bachelor of Music Diploma and Professional Studies Certificate as a student of Robert Lipsett. Melody has appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Colburn Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has been Concertmaster of the Colburn Orchestra as well as being Associate Concertmaster at the YMF Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles. Recently, she performed Joan Towers’ Second String Force for solo violin in the Symphony’s Equal Play concert series, which highlights female composers. As a winner of the Seattle Musical Club Competition in 2011, she gave a recital tour throughout Western Washington. Melody has also attended the Aspen Music Festival for six summers, three of which were with a fellowship.

Joey Antico has quickly become a sought after drummer to share the stage in the greater DMV area.  Although his roots are in jazz, Antico strives to bridge the gap of old and new music, staying true to the traditions of jazz music while incorporating new ideas and electronics where they appropriately fit.  As a gigging and touring musician, Antico has had the opportunity of sharing the stage with acts including BØRNS, Logan Smith, Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, Chuck Redd, and Chris Vadala.  In addition to his live performances, Joey works heavily as a studio musician and can be found on numerous recordings. Currently, Antico is a drummer, educator and composer living in Silver Spring, Maryland. He received a degree in Jazz Performance, under the instruction of Chuck Redd and Grammy-Award winning saxophonist Chris Vadala, and a degree in Music Education from The University of Maryland as well.  During this time, he has had a few honorable achievements including the Steve Marcus Jazz Scholarship, a spot as a 2016-2017 Artist in Residence for Strathmore, and a position in the 2017 Mid Atlantic Collegiate Jazz Orchestra under direction of Delfeayo Marsalis.  While the drum set is Antico’s primary instrument, he also works a considerable amount with hand, mallet and auxiliary percussion, under the instruction and collaborations of Bob Novak

Conductor Andrew Greene is one of the leading authorities on orchestral ragtime and silent film accompaniment in the United States. Andrew founded Peacherine while a freshman at the University of Maryland in 2010, hoping to draw attention to this neglected but historically important music. He is the curator of several prominent orchestral collections, notably the John. S. Maddox, Eastman Theater (Rochester NY), Arthur C. Ziegler, Arthur O. Newberry, and Fred G. Bauer Collections, along with his own personal collection of American popular music. The collection totals over 15,000 selections, and focuses heavily on the music of 1882 to 1935. Andrew has appeared at the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The Library of Congress, and the American Film Institute, among others. His lecturing, guest conducting, and concert activities have taken him across the United States, with notable recent performances with The South Dakota Symphony, The Fremont Symphony, Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival, West Coast Ragtime Festival, and the Central Pennsylvania Ragtime Festival. Andrew resides in the greater Annapolis, MD area. He is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (www.grammy.org). His personal website is www.greeneragtime.com.

Yin Xiong joined the cello section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2016. Previously she won a position with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta at age 20 and performed regularly with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Yin has also served as the principal cellist of the Hong Kong Academy Orchestra, the Oberlin Orchestra, and was co-principal of the Juilliard Orchestra. She was the principal cellist of the Pacific Music Festival from 2006-2009 where she worked with conductors Valery Gergiev, Riccardo Muti, Christoph Eschenbach and Michael Tilson Thomas. Born in Shanghai, China, Yin attended the Shanghai Conservatory, and attended the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on a full scholarship. She holds a Professional Diploma With Distinction from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and an Artist Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory. She graduated from the accelerated Bachelor and Master of Music degree program at the Juilliard School. Yin was awarded notable prestigious prizes from an early age, including the 4th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians as well as top prizes at the 4th and 5th National Cello Competition of China. She won the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts concerto competition for an unprecedented consecutive five years. As a soloist, Yin made her debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra at age 17 under conductor Edo de Waart. An avid chamber and orchestral musician, Yin was strongly influenced by her parents, themselves both professional cellists. As a member of the Academy String Quartet, she served as a representative of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and gave concerts regularly in Asia and Europe.  As part of the Hong Kong based cello ensemble, Cellistra, Yin presented concerts and community engagement activities throughout Asia. Yin served as a faculty member of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Macau Youth Orchestra. She was also a teaching assistant at the Oberlin Conservatory. Yin participated in the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Kronberg Academy in Germany, Kneisel Hall, Banff Chamber Music Residency, and the Taos School of Music. Besides playing the cello, Yin also enjoys playing the baroque cello and viola da gamba.

Pioneers in the use of four-hands piano in jazz, Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi have earned widespread success with their arrangements of classics from the stride piano, ragtime, and boogie woogie repertoires, as well as from the swing era and the Great American Songbook. They have performed across the United States, Europe, and Japan, winning the acclaim of critics and fans alike. Blending impeccable technique and mature musicality with humor and showmanship, they are considered the most engaging piano duo dedicated to the repertoire of classic jazz. Stephanie (from St. Louis), a leading exponent of stride piano, and Paolo (from Milan), one of Italy’s foremost jazz pianists, met at a piano festival in Switzerland in 2008. Three years later, they started to collaborate on a four-hands piano project dedicated to classic jazz, preparing arrangements of songs from the swing era, as well as drawing from the ragtime and blues repertoire. Following the release of their first album, Two for One (2012), they have been invited to perform widely in the United States, Europe, and Japan. A second CD, Sentimental Journey (2014), shows Stephanie and Paolo’s commitment to the formula of four-hands duets on one piano, rarely used in jazz. Their partnership continued with Double Trio Live 2015 and Double Trio Always (2016), recorded in the piano trio setting, but with two pianists instead of one. In 2018, they released their first album on two pianos, Broadway and More. The husband-and-wife duo has performed in a variety of venues, including the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Jazz at Filoli, the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, the Kobe Jazz Street Festival in Japan, the London Jazz Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, the Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Silkeborg Riverboat Jazz Festival in Denmark, the Bohém Ragtime & Jazz Festival in Hungary, Teatro Dal Verme Milano, Jazzland in Vienna, Jazz Bistro in Toronto, and other jazz clubs.

Hannah Ji joined the first violin section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2020 after spending two seasons as a replacement member. Previously Hannah has collaborated with renowned groups and artists such as Jamie Laredo, Jennifer Koh, Roberto Díaz, The Borromeo String Quartet, The Calidore String Quartet and Time for Three. She has worked with members of the Borromeo, Brentano, Shanghai, Emerson, Guarneri and Orion String Quartets. She has been an active participant in The Juilliard School’s ChamberFest and Focus! Festival, which features U.S. and world premieres. She was also a contemporary ensemble artist at Atlantic Music Festival. She performed in Canada Day concerts with Pinchas Zukerman in Centre National des Artes, with pianist Jeremy Denk for “The Art of Giving Back,” and a gala concert with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble at Lincoln Center. Other performances have taken Hannah to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, David Geffen Hall, Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and A. Mickiewicz University Hall in Poland. She has also recently performed at the United States Embassy of Canada. Hannah has served as Concertmaster and Principal Second with Symphony in C, Spoleto Festival USA, YMF Debut Orchestra, The Colburn School, The Juilliard School Orchestra and Curtis Symphony Orchestra. She has been a participant at the Sarasota Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, Taos School of Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Summit Music Festival and the National Arts Centre’s Young Artist Programme. Hannah holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Curtis Institute of Music, studying with the late Aaron Rosand, a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, studying with Ida Kavafian, and an Artist Diploma degree from The Colburn School, studying with Robert Lipsett. She began her musical studies at the age of seven in South Korea and previously attended Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege Division, studying with Grigory Kalinovsky. Hannah has held Artist Faculty positions at The Danbury Music Centre’s Chamber Music Intensive, The Bronx Conservatory of Music, Manhattan in the Mountains, and The Curtis Institute’s SummerFest Young Artists Program & Adult Chamber Music Program. She was a substitute faculty member at The Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, and had a large studio in New York City, the students of which have been accepted to conservatories and summer festivals across the country. She currently enjoys working as a mentor through the SLSO’s Mentoring the Music: Peer to Peer program.

Tage Larsen joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra trumpet section in 2002, having previously served as Second Trumpet with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his tenure in St. Louis he was Principal Trumpet with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, and also served as solo cornet with “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University, and did graduate work at the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Barbara Butler. In addition to his duties with CSO, he is a member of the trumpet faculty at the DePaul University School of Music. Tage is a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is the father of two sons, Zachary and Ethan.

Xiomara Mass is currently acting second oboe with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she began her musical training at the age of four and made her solo debut with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra when she was thirteen. Two years later Xiomara was accepted into the “Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico” where she studied with David Bourns, former Principal Oboe of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and Pedro Díaz, solo English Horn of the Metropolitan Opera. Xiomara has worked with such renowned oboists as Elaine Douvas, Humbert Lucarelli, Hansjörg Schellenberger, Eugene Izotov and Scott Hostetler. Xiomara participated in many prestigious music festivals, including “Tercer Festival de Dobles Cañas” in Panama, The Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Domaine Forget, St. Barth’s Music Festival, The Sunflower Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland and The New Hampshire Music Festival. She was selected to participate in the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra during its residency at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, which included a live Internet simulcast to over 30 million viewers worldwide. In 2014,  Xiomara won The Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship award at the Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago. She is also the first prizewinner of the Tuesday Musical State Scholarship Competition in Akron, Ohio, and the first Chamber Music Competition at the “Conservatorio de Música” as a member of her woodwind quintet. A former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Xiomara was a featured soloist with Civic in J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin. During her years in Chicago she was an active freelancer and often performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Winds, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She also substituted with the San Francisco Symphony as Assistant Principal Oboe. Xiomara taught as an adjunct professor at the DePaul University School of Music and is currently teaching at Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a BM in Oboe Performance and an Artist Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory, where she graduated with highest honors under the tutelage of Alex Klein and Robert Walters.