Picking up the violin at six, Claire embarked on her journey through music and has been happily performing ever since.
As the years passed, she eventually joined the pop string group, Vivace and later toured the West Coast, and went on to perform in the prestigious and famed Carnegie Hall. Additionally, Claire was both a soloist and a member of the Pathos Quintet as well as the Duende Quartet in the Young Artist Showcase. In this past year, she earned 3rd place in the New York International Laureate Competition.
During her time in the classical music world, she studied with great teachers such as the Director of the Westport and Suzuki School Andrew Smith as well as a member of the New York Philharmonic, Anna Rabinova. She has since been studying with Professor Stephan Tieszan.
Driven by curiosity, Claire has also explored other genres of music outside of classical. She studied bluegrass with the local fiddle legend Stacy Phillips and performed in traditional contra dances and at the Vermont Basin Bluegrass Festival and has since become a recording artist. She has played everything from folk to hip-hop, and even hard rock.
Claire is the happiest when she is making music with friends especially when it is into the late hours of the evening.
Hannah Alexander is a classically trained cellist based in the Southern Connecticut area. She is currently studying for a BM in Classical Performance at Western Connecticut State University, under cellist Marcia Wiley.
At the age of 9, she started playing cello under the instruction of John Trader, and later, Stephen Tieszen, and continued her studies with Rebecca Patterson up until college. In addition to the cello, she studies classical tenor and bass trombone under Fernando Jimenez at WCSU. There, she is an accomplished member of the Orchestra, numerous string chamber groups, Wind ensemble and Symphonic band, even getting the chance to play in the pit of Legally Blonde, the Musical.
At Southbury Music, she is looking forward to enhancing students’ love of cello as well as instilling a passion for music that lasts a lifetime.
