Principal Accompanist - Holly Chatham

Holly Chatham

Holly Chatham is a performer of wide range and skill, sought after for her continuo and improvisational skills on early keyboards as well as her virtuosity on the modern piano. An "elegantly florid" (San Francisco Classical Voice) player and a "leader in the field" (Counterpoint), Ms. Chatham is hailed as possessing "a wonderful improvisational flair" (Atlanta Early Music News) on the keyboard. She has played under directors such as Jos van Immerseel, Paul Hillier and Stanley Ritchie, and in such venues as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, Spivey Hall, The Krannert Center at University of Illinois, Schubert Hall and Schoenberg Hall at UCLA, to name a few. She has performed at the Bloomington Early Music Festival, Miami Bach Festival, Musica Viva, Festival San Luis, Festival Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado and Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley. She will be spending five weeks as a pianist in the Carmel Bach Festival (CA) this summer. 

Ms. Chatham is a founding member and harpsichordist for the critically-acclaimed ensemble reconstruction. Recent seasons found reconstruction performing in such venues as the Lane Series at University of Vermont, Ford Hall at Ithaca College, The Cutting Room in NYC, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University of Maryland, and embarking on two tours of Mexico.
(Website: www.reconstructionmusic.com)

Ms. Chatham toured the U.S. extensively as harpsichordist for the ground-breaking ensemble Bimbettafrom 1998 until 2003, performing in major concert series throughout the country and giving workshops and master classes at many colleges and universities.  Bimbetta was honored in 2003 by Chamber Music America as one of the ensembles to have changed the face of chamber music in the United States.

As pianist in The Chatham-Wood Duo, she performs regularly with violinist Patrick Wood. The Duo's recent engagements include concerts at The Ugbrooke Chamber Music Festival (UK), The Austin Chamber Music Center, Bickford Theatre (Morristown, NJ) and Friends of Music Series (Princeton). The Duo’s live performances of works by Chávez and Ponce, as well as their own transcriptions of Gershwin songs, have been broadcast nationwide on WWFM The Classical Network. 
(Website: www.ChathamWoodDuo.com)

Ms. Chatham and Mr. Wood are also the founding members of Fiat Lux Chamber Players, which is Ensemble-in-Residence in the Lile Hall Concert Series at Christ Church in Summit, NJ. 
(Website: www.FiatLuxChamberPlayers.org)

Ms. Chatham received her Master of Music degree in Harpsichord and Fortepiano Performance from the Early Music Institute at Indiana University (Bloomington) where she studied with Elisabeth Wright and Colin Tilney. At IU she was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate.  She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Clayton State University (Atlanta), where she studied with George Lucktenberg, Michiko Otaki and Lyle Nordstrom.  She is currently a DMA candidate in Collaborative Piano at Rutgers University.  Ms. Chatham has been a church organist since the age of 14, having begun pipe organ studies with Calvert Johnson and later continuing study with Richard Morris. She has served churches of various denominations throughout the U.S. and is now Director of Music at Christ Church in Summit, NJ.  Ms. Chatham was Director of Middle and Upper School Music at Marymount School in New York for five years, having previously been Director of Music at Chatham Hall (Virginia) for a year.