Violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt has appeared as a soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Sphinx Chamber orchestra, and has performed recitals and chamber music throughout the country and in Europe. She has been privileged to collaborate with such artists as Itzhak Perlman, Andres Cardenes, Peter Wiley, Michael Tree, Joseph Silverstein, David Jolley, Paul Katz, Ida Kavafian, Sergiu Schwartz, Yehuda Hanani, Steven Tenenbom, Renee Jolles, Cyrus Forough, Peter Basquin and Jen Montone. A violin student of Sergiu Schwartz and Melissa Pierson-Barrett for several years, she began studying viola with Michael Klotz at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in 2005. She participated in the 2005 New York String Orchestra Seminar and was principal viola in the 2008 seminar, under Jaime Laredo, at Carnegie Hall. In 2010 she won First Prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and, as part of her prize, had her London debut at Wigmore Hall in 2011. She won 4th prize at the Tokyo International Viola Competition in 2009 and, in 2006, the 2nd prize at the Sphinx Competition. Milena has spent summers at the Marlboro, Bowdoin, Sarasota, and Eastern Music festivals, as well as at Meadowmount, Strings Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Perlman Music Program. She has served as principal violist of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in the 2008-2009 season, and is principal violist of Symphony in C in Camden, New Jersey under Rossen Milanov. She has also performed under the batons of Seiji Ozawa, Christoph Eschenbach, Alan Gilbert, Corrado Rovaris, and Otto-Werner Mueller, among others. In 2010 Milena, on full scholarship as a Guna M. Mundheim Fellow, received her Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance at the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Roberto Diaz, Michael Tree, Misha Amory and Joseph DePasquale, and will receive her Artist Diploma from Curtis in May, 2011. She is a member of The Old City String Quartet, Gold Medal and Grand Prize winner of the 2010 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and finalist of the 2009 Young Concert Artists International Auditions.
