The Meltdown Incentive ~ Bios ~ Tanya Maggi

Violist Tanya Maggi, originally from Hopewell Junction, New York, currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts where she is the Director of Performance Outreach for New England Conservatory. Ms. Maggi holds a BA in history and English Literature from Oberlin College, a MM in viola performance from the University of Akron, and an Artist Diploma from Brandeis University. Her teachers have included Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Roland Vamos, Alan Bodman, Mary Ruth Ray and the Lydian String Quartet.

Ms. Maggi was a member of the New World Symphony from 1998-2000 where she was awarded the distinguished prize of “Musician of the Year,” and was a fellow at the Aspen Music School in 2000 where she performed as a member of the contemporary ensemble-in-residence, Furious Band. She has previously performed with many orchestras and chamber groups including the Youngstown Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Ashlawn-Highland Opera Festival Orchestra and the Russian-American Young Artists Chamber Ensemble, among others. A strong advocate and performer of new music, Ms. Maggi has collaborated with various contemporary music ensembles including Phantom Arts Ensemble (Boston) and Daedalus (Akron) and has been involved in contemporary music concerts with the New World Symphony under the direction of Oliver Knussen, Reinbert de Leeuw, Peter Eotvos, and John Adams. Ms. Maggi is also a member of the Harvard Middle Eastern Ensemble and has studied Arabic music with renowned violinist and oud player, Simon Shaheen.

Extensively involved with community outreach projects across the country, Ms. Maggi has worked with musicians from the London Symphony to create music programs for developmentally disabled adults in Florida, has brought chamber music to rural communities in Kentucky in conjunction with the New Performing Arts Organization of Kentucky, has created programs for youth in partnership with community institutions at the Aspen Music School, and has helped create concerts for senior citizens in Dallas through the Texas Winds Musical Outreach organization. In addition to her work as a performer and educator, she has recently been involved in several cross-disciplinary projects including work with the Mid-Western Theater group and a collaboration with the Berlin-based performance art ensemble, Die Audio Gruppe, on a project that involved the interaction between sound and dancers wearing audio acoustical clothing.