The Portland Chamber Music Festival has hired Grammy Award-nominated violist Melissa Reardon to replace founding artistic director Jennifer Elowitch, who will leave the festival after its 25th season in August.

Reardon, who lives in New York and will begin her duties after this year’s festival, is familiar with Portland. She served as assistant principal violist for the Portland Symphony Orchestra and performed at the festival last year. She will perform again at the festival this summer, when she will be formally introduced.

Melissa Reardon

“I am honored and thrilled to join the PCMF team,” Reardon said in a written statement. “I have such admiration for Jenny Elowitch’s artistic leadership and hope to emulate her ability to connect with musicians and with Portland’s vibrant community. It is no small feat to grow a festival for 25 years, and I hope that the festival will continue to flourish under my leadership for years to come.”

Reardon has toured internationally as a member of the Enso String Quartet, with whom she received the Grammy nomination for best chamber music performance in 2009, and is a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra. She has appeared in numerous festivals across the United States and around the world, and toured with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. A Massachusetts native, she has degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory, and is a graduate of Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where Elowitch serves as director of music.

The festival executive director, Alice Kornhauser, said Reardon brings “a stellar reputation and exciting artistic vision, continuing Jenny’s great work. She will be a great partner and strong asset in Portland’s arts community, bringing the world’s most accomplished and dynamic musicians and enthusiastically engaging with our audiences.”

Reardon is married to cellist Raman Ramakrishnan.

Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:

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