Eleva Chamber Players present ‘New Beginnings’ Nov. 9-10

October 30, 2024  |  By Waterbury Roundabout 

Eleva Chamber Players. Courtesy photo

With two upcoming performances in Waterbury and Waitsfield, the Eleva Chamber Players will introduce their newly appointed concertmaster Reginald Pineda. 

On Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 9-10, the ensemble will perform their concert titled “New Beginnings,” first in Waterbury and then in Waitsfield. 

The program will include Vivaldi’s Concerto for Strings in C Maj, RV 114, Janáček;s Idyll Suite for Strings and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence. 

Reginald Pineda takes over as concertmaster for Eleva Chamber Players. Courtesy photo

“We are thrilled to be presenting Reginald Pineda as our new concertmaster. Regie is one of the founding members of Eleva and embodies the Eleva sound and philosophy,” said Willie Docto, founder and president of the Eleva Chamber Players.

Pineda replaces founding concertmaster John Lindsey who retired in 2022 after serving as the Eleva’s musical leader for 17 years.

Pineda hails from a family of musicians in the Philippines where he started taking piano and organ lessons from his mother at the early age of 4. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and came to the United States in 1994. He entered the Boston Conservatory where he studied violin with Lynn Chang, Victor Romanul and Bonnie Bewick Brown and chamber music with Patricia McCarty, Andrew Mark and Ronald Feldman. 

After receiving a Graduate Performance Certificate from the Conservatory in 1997. Pineda returned to the Philippines where he served on the faculty of the University of Santo Tomas and as principal second violinist with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also a founding member and principal violinist of the Clarion Chamber Ensemble. Pineda performs throughout New England and has been on the faculty at Joy of Music since 2004. He is also the music director at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Leominster, Massachusetts.

The upcoming concerts are scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the United Church of Christ/Waterbury Congregational Church and on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. at The Inn at Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield. The Round Barn performance will include a pre-concert reception. 

Admission is $25, $20 for seniors and students. Tickets are available online in advance at elevachamberplayers.com or at the door.  

Founded in Waterbury in 2006, Eleva Chamber Players is Central Vermont’s only professional string chamber orchestra. With the mission of elevating the human spirit through music, Eleva’s concerts feature fine musicianship punctuated with dialogue that aims to be both educational and inspiring. A conductor-less orchestra, the ensemble uses a collaborative process among its professional musicians whose careers have taken them around the world, the U.S. and Vermont.