Jo Nardolillo

Jo Nardolillo violin & viola

Violinist Jo Nardolillo performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist, concertmaster, chamber musician and orchestra member throughout the United States and in Europe. As a champion of music by living American composers, she has commissioned, recorded, and given the world premieres of new works. She has been heard around the country on radio and television broadcasts, and performed with many of the world's leading musicians.

Dr. Nardolillo is presented the world premiere of a new viola concerto by renowned American composer Thomas Pasatieri in April 2013 with Seattle's LUCO orchestra. Her other recent performances include the Berg Violin Concerto with the St. Petersburg State Symphony in Russia, and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Olympia Chamber Orchestra; live radio broadcast concerts, guest concertmaster appearances with American orchestras, recitals and masterclasses across the country, and recital tours of Ireland and Russia. Dr. Nardolillo is a founding member of the innovate new-music ensemble TangleTown Trio and the gypsy jazz band Touché.

Dr. Nardolillo has served as Concertmaster of Seattle's 5th Avenue Theater, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and the Skagit Opera; Acting Principal Second Violin and Associate Concertmaster of the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra; Associate Concertmaster of the Maryland Symphony; Principal Second of the Boulder Philharmonic; visiting Concertmaster of the Bangor and Waterloo Symphonies; Assistant Principal Second of the Annapolis Symphony; and has been a member of the Alabama Symphony and Youngstown Symphony. Dr. Nardolillo has also performed with the New World Symphony and served as Principal Second at the National Orchestral Institute.

Dr. Nardolillo was an award-winner in both the recital and concerto divisions of the Seattle Young Artist Competition and was selected as a featured soloist in Dr. Suzuki's 88th birthday celebration at Seattle's Meany Hall. She was Washington State's nominated representative to the National Honors Orchestra, and while still in high school, toured Spain and Germany as a member of the Munich Youth Orchestra.

Dr. Nardolillo earned the Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Master of Music degree from Rice University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the Certificate in Pedagogy from the Institute for Music Leadership and was Mikhail Kopelman’s teaching assistant. Dr. Nardolillo has taught at the Eastman School of Music, where she received the prestigious TA Award for excellence in teaching, as well as Rice University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Rochester, Asbury University, the University of Puget Sound, the Hochstein School of Music, the Levine School of Music, and the Gadsden Center for the Arts. She served as Assistant Professor of Music at Mercer University, where she was named 2007-2008 Outstanding Faculty of the Year.

Dr. Nardolillo's first book "The Canon of Violin Literature" was published in 2011 by Scarecrow Press as part of the "Music Finders" Series and her second book "A Dictionary for the Modern String Player" was released in March 2014.

Dr. Nardolillo plays on a 1791 Johannes Cuypers violin, a 1991 John Newton viola, and a 2009 Brad Higgins fiddle.