Bios

Pyxis Piano Trio

The Pyxis Piano Trio has been lauded for presenting a wide range of chamber works drawn from the sonata, duo, and trio repertoire. Continuing the legacy of the Pyxis Piano Quartet (founded in 2009), which was praised by music critic Christine Facciolo for their "balance, superb intonation, and sensitive interpretation," the Trio has become a vibrant presence in the mid-Atlantic region known for compelling, engaging, and informative interpretations.

Now in their second decade, Pyxis remains artists in residence at Market Street Music’s Festival Concerts in Wilmington, Delaware. After ending their 15 year residency at the Delaware Art Museum, they have recently performed concerts at OperaDE Studios, the Mallery Concerts series at Rutgers University, Music Transforms Series at Wayne Presbyterian Church, the German Society of Pennsylvania, Newark (DE) Free Library and in the Philadelphia-based regional concert series Artcinia. Other notable performances include the Delaware Symphony’s Champagne Chamber Series at the DuPont Hotel Gold Ballroom, Concerts on the Square at Holy Trinity Church Rittenhouse (Philadelphia), the Delaware Chamber Music Festival and at Villanova University.

Pyxis enjoys collaborating with esteemed musical guests, most recently with baritone, Grant Youngblood and clarinetist, J.C. Barker. Past guests have been faculty members from the University of Delaware, James Madison University, Pennsylvania’s School of the Arts, College of New Jersey and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, Arkansas Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Relache Ensemble, Serafin String Quartet, and Copeland String Quartet and composers Ingrid Arauco, Chuck Holdeman, and David Schelat.

The musicians of Pyxis are also committed educators teaching as private instructors and at Rowan University and the Music School of Delaware. The ensemble has performed and coached sectionals and chamber music for the Delaware Orchestral and Chamber Music Institute and the American String Teachers’ Association festival in Washington Township, NJ. They have presented educational concerts for children at the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington Montessori School, Saint Monica’s School, and in southern Delaware under the auspices of Coastal Concerts, Inc.

The group takes its name from the Pyxis constellation, also known as the Mariners’ Compass, whose symbol is the compass rose. The points of the compass rose represent the new artistic directions that the group strives to take together while recognizing the different backgrounds and experiences of its musicians.

Luigi Mazzocchi, violin

Luigi Mazzocchi was born in Venezuela where he studied music in the System of Youth Orchestras ("El Sistema"), the "Sojo" Conservatory, and the Latin American Violin Academy with José del Castillo. Mr. Mazzocchi was a founder of the Lara State Symphony Orchestra as principal second violin, Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Venezuela, and a first violinist of the "Simón Bolívar" Symphony Orchestra, touring Latin America and Europe, and recording a number of CDs on the Dorian Record label.

Mr. Mazzocchi has performed as soloist with all the leading Venezuelan symphony orchestras and attended international music festivals in the US, Panama, Spain, France and Australia. He is a prizewinner in solo competitions such as the 1995 "Del Castillo" Latin American Competition, the 1997 South Orange Symphony Artist Competition, the 1999 FOSJA Solo Competition in Puerto Rico (performing as soloist at the Casals Festival), and the 2000 Temple University Concerto Competition.

Since 1996, he has been living in the United States where he studied violin with Liliana Ciulei and Helen Kwalwasser. He holds a Bachelor's of Music degree from Rowan University and a Master's of Music degree from Temple University. He has coached with David Arben, Margaret Pardee, Zakhar Bron, Olivier Charlier, Naoko Tanaka, William de Pasquale, Luis Biava, Charles Parker, as well as the Emerson, Guarneri, and Orion String Quartets.

Currently, Mr. Mazzocchi is the Concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Ocean City Pops Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the Delaware Symphony, and a member of Opera Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Philly Pops, the West Jersey Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Philadelphia, as well as the Gaudeamus and the Caçhasa Ensembles. He has served as substitute violinist and a teaching artist for the Philadelphia Orchestra and as Guest Concertmaster for the Lancaster Symphony. He has also performed with Orchestra 2001, the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, the Serafin and Dalí String Quartets, the Pagode Project, and Alô Brasil. Mr. Mazzocchi has been a featured artist for Intercultural Journeys' 2015-16 season.

Jie Jin, cello

Jennifer Jie Jin is an active performer and passionate music educator whose career has taken her to stages across North America, Europe, and Asia. She has performed with the Houston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, New World Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Princeton Symphony, Philly Pops, Philadelphia Ballet, Orchestra 2001, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Lancaster Symphony and Allentown Symphony.

Currently, Jennifer is the cellist of the Pyxis Piano Trio (Artist-in-Residence at the Delaware Art Museum for 15 years) and the Copeland String Quartet. She is also a member of the Delaware Symphony and Principal Cello of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. Her previous orchestral roles include principal cello of the Bay Atlantic Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, and member of the Harrisburg Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and Symphony in C.

Jennifer was the founding member of the Tang-gu-la String Quartet, and appeared in the Oscar-winning documentary From Mao to Mozart. The quartet also performed for President Bill Clinton.

She has participated in many renowned festivals including Ravinia, Aspen, Tanglewood, Pacific and Taos Chamber Music Festival, and international festivals in Europe and Asia.

Outside of performing, Jennifer is deeply committed to music education. She is Co-Director of the Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra and Chamber Strings Music Camp, and serves as Director of Service for the Music Angels Non-Profit Organization. In 2016, she was honored as the grand prize winner of the Ovation Award for outstanding leadership and inspiration in music education by the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra. She was the director of string ensemble at Archbishop John Carroll High School.

Hiroko Yamazaki, piano

Hiroko Yamazaki has performed in the United States and abroad in Rome, Italy; Helsinki and Imatra, Finland; and Lausanne, Switzerland. She has collaborated with instrumentalists and vocalists including members of Tonhalle Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Delaware Symphony in performances at venues including the Smithsonian Institution, Kennedy Center, Swarthmore College, Aspen Music Festival, Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum, New York City and Puerto Rico. Her appearances at summer festivals include the Aspen Music Festival, the Rome Festival, the Luzerne Music Festival, and the International Festival-Institute at Round Top in Texas, where her performance with Minnesota Orchestra principal oboist Basil Reeve was recorded for NPR.

Currently, she is the pianist for Pyxis Piano Trio and Lewes Chambers Players. Ms. Yamazaki has been the soloist with the Wilmington Community Orchestra, and as an orchestral pianist, she has performed on numerous occasions with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra and the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic.

Ms. Yamazaki was the winner of the Austrian-American Society Musical Scholarship Competition, which sponsored her summer studies at the Mozarteum Hochschule für Music und Darstellende Kunst in Salzburg, Austria. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in piano performance from the University of Maryland, where she was a Creative and Performing Arts Scholarship student of Anne Koscielny, and was a recipient of the Presser Foundation Award and initiated into Pi Kappa Lambda. She later received the University of Maryland’s Collaborative Piano Award and completed her Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano as a student of Rita Sloan.

Ms. Yamazaki also has extensive teaching experience in private lessons, class piano and coaching chamber music. She was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Delaware, Darlington Fine Arts Center and Luzerne Music Center. After spending several summers as a Fellow in the Collaborative Piano Program at the Aspen Music Festival and School, she was named Accompanying Coordinator and Teaching Assistant to Rita Sloan, Director of Collaborative Arts Program. Currently, she is on the Master Piano Faculty with Distinction at The Music School of Delaware, where she is formerly Head and Associate Head of the Piano Department and also on the faculty of the Summer Piano Institute.