NAS QUARTET - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor of Violin at the Conservatory of Music
• Member of Trio 180
• Program Director for Strings / University of the Pacific

Celebrated violinist Dr. Ann Miller has appeared in concert halls throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. At home performing music spanning the Baroque era to the present day, Ms. Miller enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, soloist, and educator. A proponent of new music, Dr. Miller made her New York debut as a soloist with the New Juilliard Ensemble in Alice Tully Hall in the North American premiere of David Matthews' Concerto No. 2. She has performed with the ensemble Continuum in Mongolia and Ukraine as well as New York City. In addition, Ms. Miller participated in an exchange program between the Juilliard School and the Lucerne Festival Academy that culminated in performances in Switzerland and New York under the direction of Pierre Boulez. Recent solo appearances include performances of Tartini's Devil's Trill with the Zion Chamber Orchestra, the Brahms Violin Concerto with the University of the Pacific's Symphony Orchestra, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the St. John's Chamber Orchestra, and Brahms's Double Concerto with cellist Ira Lehn and the Mariposa Symphony in Yosemite National Park. As a recitalist, Ms. Miller frequently collaborates with pianist Sonia Leong and has appeared on Old First Concerts in San Francisco and the University of the Pacific's Resident Artist Series. Their debut album, Perspectives on Light and Shadow: Sonatas by Beaser, Ysaÿe, and Bartók was released in December of 2015. An avid chamber musician, Ann Miller is a member of Trio 180, the piano trio-in-residence at the University of the Pacific. In addition to performing in Canada, Mexico, Maryland, Oregon, and Nevada, the trio has concertized throughout California in such venues as the Mondavi Center, Dinkelspiel Auditorium at Stanford University, and the Center for New Music in San Francisco. Trio 180 has also performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the St. John's Chamber Orchestra. The trio released its first album, featuring trios by Dvořák, Suk, and Schumann, in 2015. Ms. Miller is an associate professor of violin at the Conservatory of Music of the University of the Pacific. She holds her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Juilliard School, and she received her Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, from Rice University. Her teachers have included Ronald Copes and Kathleen Winkler. Her chamber music coaches have included Jerome Lowenthal, Seymour Lipkin, Robert McDonald, Norman Fischer, James Dunham, Paul Katz, and members of the Juilliard and Tokyo string quartets. Dr. Miller has participated in the New York String Orchestra Seminar and has spent summers at Kneisel Hall, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Yale School of Music's Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. In addition to her passion for music, she enjoys running, reading, and vegetarian food. Education BM, Rice University MM, DMA, Julliard School of Music

Job Titles:

• Retired

Eleanor Tatton retired from teaching for Harmony Stockton and the Lodi Unified School District, where she specialized in string education for grades 4-12. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Ellie has also been active as a string clinician throughout California and Oregon. She graduated from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelors Degree in music education and received her Masters Degree and teaching credentials from Kansas State Teachers College. As a young musician growing up in Los Angeles, Ellie played in the Peter Meremblum Junior Symphony. She also participated in chamber music workshops at the University of Southern California, and had the privilege of working under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas in the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra. While Ellie continues to be an active performer with the Stockton Symphony and other ensembles, she has retired from her position as principal violist of most to enjoy greater freedom for visits with grandchildren.

Ira Lehn has a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Ira has served as assistant principal ‘cellist of the Rochester Philharmonic, principal ‘cellist in the Tulsa Philharmonic, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Modesto and Stockton Symp honies and as ‘cellist in the Alard and Sierra Quartets. As a soloist, he has appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, with Eugene Ormandy conducting. Some of his more recent solo appearances include appearances with the Mariposa Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Les Marsden. Audiences in the central valley and the Yosemite Valley at the Ahwahnee Hotel enjoyed performances of the Dvorak Concerto and the Brahms Double Concerto, with the brilliant collaboration of Ann Miller, violinist. Mr. Lehn has previously been a part time member of the cello faculty of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, before his nine-year tenure as cellist in residence at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Since retiring from his position as ‘cellist in residence at University Of The Pacific he continues to teach privately at his home in Modesto.