Bianchi Musica
p r o d u c t i o n s
Our Team of Talent
We have a full roster of performers, these are our principal players.
Ariana Rosen
violin
NY.Known for her versatility of musical styles, violinist Ariana Rosen enjoys performing and teaching a wide-ranging repertoire. Since receiving her Bachelor of Music in Classical Violin Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in May of 2005, Ariana has been freelancing and teaching in the greater New York City area. In June of 2007, she received her Suzuki Certification from the School for Strings in NYC. Soon thereafter, Ms. Rosen was employed as an Instrument Coach for Primary Stages Off-Broadway production of Michael Hollingers play, Opus. Her most recent performing endeavors include appearances with NY Opera Society, DCINY, Please Music Works, Silhouette Quartet, Neil Davis, Daniel Zaitchik, Goodbye Picasso, Kiara Duran, Shelly Bhushan, Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Astoria Symphony, New Jersey City University Orchestra (associate concert master), American Idles Irish/Rock Band and Fiddling Fusion violin duo.
She and her sister, Amberly were featured in the 2005 San Luis Obispo, California Mozart Festival where they performed Old-Time Fiddle, International Folk Dance music and their specialty; Fiddle-dancing. The Rosen Sisters returned to California during the summer of 2008 for a series of six concerts, a fiddle workshop and recorded their first album. In January of 2010 and 2011, the Rosen Sisters were featured at the Golden Festival in NYC. Along with her performing, Ms. Rosen teaches privately in Manhattan and is on faculty in the music department at St. James Church in Manhattan and at the Huntington Suzuki Music School in Long Island.
Kate Mollica
violin
Kate Mollica began her musical training with Laurie Cassella, her mother and first teacher, in the Suzuki Violin Program at the age of 3. She went on to study both Violin Performance and English at Peabody Conservatory and Johns Hopkins University, and completed her Bachelors of Music at Manhattan School of Music. She has been fortunate to study with violinists Martin Beaver ofthe Tokyo String Quartet, Burton Kaplan, Raphael Spiro, and her mom. She has also had the great privilege of playing under conductors Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, and Bobby McFerrin. Kate is currently an active freelance and chamber musician in New York City. She has performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Tenri Cultural Institute, Madison Square Garden, 55 Bar, The Living Room, The Cutting Room, Arlene's Grocery and The Bowery Poetry Club. She also performs in a wide variety of orchestral, solo, chamber ensemble, and studio settings. She is a member of Distinguished Concerts International New York. Kate has worked with musicians from a variety of genres including performances and tours with pop stars Clay Aiken and Amy Grant. She can also be heard on recordings with jazz bassist, John Benitez, singer/songwriters Atarah Valentine, Shelly Bhushan, and the rock band
"Kiss Kiss".
In addition to performing, Kate is a Resident Teaching Artist at Bloomingdale School of Music and maintains an active private studio in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Kate currently resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn with her husband, guitarist Mark Mollica.
Nadia Khodakovska
violin
Nadia received her education at National Music Academy, Kyiv (Ukraine). There, while holding a full time position at the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Nadia successfully completed her masters in violin. Now living in New York City, her vibrant and expressive playing, projects an impeccable virtuosity and musicality that captivates audience's to the core. Living in NYC has inspired Nadia to explore and experiment with different music styles and genres. Although Nadia has mastered a tasteful fusion of classical and electric rock violin style, she believes music possibilities are endless and continues to push the boundaries of her instrument. She brings her extensive experience as a first violinist & string quartet Dolce Vita.
Hannah Hens-Piazza
viola
Hannah Hens-Piazza, a classically trained violist, holds a performance degree from New York University, where she was fortunate to study with Stephanie Baer. Raised in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, she is on faculty at the Diller-Quaile School of Music, where she teaches viola, violin, chamber music, and music theory. Hannah also maintains an active freelance career, and has performed at such venues as the Mercury Lounge, Galapagos Art Space, Carnegie Hall, Bowery Poetry Club and Webster Hall. She has played with the New Jersey Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Bronx, and the New York based rock ensemble The Ambitious Orchestra. She is a founding member of Silhouette string quartet and the alternative rock band Two Seconds to Midnight, which released its debut album, Architecture, in May 2010. She can also be heard on recordings by Eli Bolin, The Ambitious Orchestra, and Seymour Glass, and has composed original music for Two Seconds to Midnight and Krankenhaus Blues, a 2005 off-Broadway play. She currently resides in Brooklyn, and is pursuing a graduate degree at NYU.
Lauren Riley-Rigby
cello
Lauren Riley Rigby is a New York City-based freelance and recording cellist and educator. Having completed her PhD from NYU, her research explored issues of musical identity with classically trained cellist-improvisers and how these cellists have resisted the hegemony of classical music indoctrinated in conservatory training. A lover of many types of music, Lauren is a regular cellist with Numinous, Musical Seasons, the Silhouette Quartet, Bianchi Musica, and singer-songwriters Jodelle, Daniel Zaitchik, and Erene. She can be heard on recordings by saxophonist Jason Rigby, jazz pianist Brenda Earle, bassist John Benitez, vocalist Stevie Holland, Cantinero, Seymour Glass, Daniel Zaitchik and the Blue Bottle Collection, and Numinous. She joined the NY Summer Music Festival faculty from 2006-2009 where she also performed original compositions with improvisation for cello and piano. Additionally, she taught at the Great Neck Music Conservatory on Long Island from 2006-2011 and the Sylvan Academy of Music in NJ from 2006-2009. In 2010, Lauren traveled to Sweden for a chamber music tour with the NY and Sweden-based quartet, Musical Seasons, and also to Trinidad for the third time to work as a performer and coach for the National Sinfonia Orchestra of Trinidad and Tobago. In September 2011, she became the new Director of orchestral strings and chamber music at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY.
Jay is a NYC based pianist, producer, award winning composer & educator. He holds a performance certificate from Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, a Master of Music from the University of Miami in jazz studies and a Bachelor of Music from SUNY at Fredonia in music education. Jay has toured and performed internationally with grammy award winning artist Nigel Kennedy and composter/flutist David Heath. He has worked with Bette Midler, Glenn Close, Leslie Gore, producer Angelo DiPippo and most recently with Duncan Sheik. He has performed on Broadway & has 2 critically acclaimed trio CDs released on ilovestree records: Jay is Cool featuring John Patitucci on bass, and 11211. Jay is currently on the piano faculty at The New School for Jazz and Contempory Music.