Adela Peña

String Department Chair

Adela Peña, violinist, is a native New Yorker. As the founding violinist of the Eroica Trio, a performer with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and a soloist, she has enjoyed touring the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America. Her recordings include several CD’s on the Deutsche Grammophon label, and she can be heard on seven CD’s released by the Eroica Trio on the EMI label; she received two Grammy nominations. She has appeared as soloist in the Beethoven Triple Concerto with notable orchestras worldwide, including the Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh symphonies, as well as the Hong Kong and Budapest philharmonic and Prague Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist and recitalist, she has played with the English Chamber Orchestra, performed at Carnegie Hall, the Sorbonne in Paris, and toured England, Italy, Colombia andVenezuela.

She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School as a student of Margaret Pardee, and was also greatly influenced by her first teacher Rochelle Walton, and her coaches Felix Galimir and Harry Shub. Ms. Pena has participated in various summer festivals , including Ravinia, Caramoor, Opera Saratoga, Bridgehampton, Monadnock and Central Vermont. As an active teacher, Ms. Pena is a faculty member of Mannes Preparatory Division, Manhattan School Preparatory Division, and is College House Music Program Violin/Chamber Music Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. Since starting the violin at the age of four, she has received tremendous support and inspiration from family, friends and colleagues, for which she continues to be very grateful.