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The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute (PYOMI) and Settlement Music School are proud to announce a new partnership to offer a comprehensive chamber music program beginning in Fall 2026.
Two of Philadelphia’s most respected music education institutions, PYOMI and Settlement Music School bring decades of artistic excellence and educational leadership to this initiative. By combining PYOMI’s renowned ensemble training with Settlement’s nationally recognized chamber music expertise, this collaboration expands access to high-quality chamber music training for young musicians across the region.
The chamber music program will be available to students enrolled in select PYOMI ensembles and scheduled before and after existing rehearsals at PYOMI. This structure allows students to participate in both large and small ensemble experiences without adding additional days to their schedules, an important benefit for busy families.
Get Involved!
Are you a member of Young Musicians Debut Orchestra (YMDO), Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO), or Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO)?Then you are eligible to join this chamber music program!
LEARN MOREFinancial aid is available.
Expanding Opportunities Through Chamber Music
Chamber music, performed with one player per part, offers a uniquely immersive musical experience. It challenges students to take ownership of their musical roles while developing essential skills in listening, leadership, and ensemble collaboration.
“This partnership opens the door for more students to experience a new level of artistic training,” says Louis Scaglione, President and Music Director of PYOMI. “By expanding access to high-quality chamber music education, we are removing barriers while building a more connected musical community for young artists.”
This new program is rooted in the excellence of Settlement Music School’s Joseph and Marie Field Chamber Music Program, which is nationally recognized for its high standards and outstanding instruction.
“This is an exciting moment for both our institutions and for the many young musicians who are looking to deepen their artistry through chamber music,” says Helen Eaton, CEO of Settlement Music School. “Together, we are not only expanding programming, we are cultivating collaboration, creativity, and a lifelong appreciation for ensemble performance.”
Learn more!
Settlement Music School and PYO Music Institute Chamber Music Partnership Coaches
Hanchien Lee
Pianist Hanchien Lee has established herself as a successful soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Since her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age sixteen, she has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia, appearing at venues such as Steinway Hall in New York, Academy of Music, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, and has given recitals at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Muhlenberg College Piano Series, Hillman Performing Arts Center, Texas International Piano Festival, Basilica San Pietro in Italy, Centro Cultural del Antiguo in Spain and Taipei Convention Center in Taiwan. She has appeared as soloist with the American Elite youth orchestra, Plainfield Symphony, Taiwan National Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Perugia and Poland’s Capella Cracovienses Chamber Orchestra.
Lee is the recipient of the prestigious Chi-Mei Scholarship and Clara Ascherfeld Award. She has won first prize at the Russel C. Wonderlic Piano Competition and top prizes at Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition and Yamaha Piano Competition. As a chamber musician, she has performed in many highly respected music festivals including Sarasota, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Prussia Cove International Music Seminar and Music Academy of the West. She is also a member of the prize-winning quartet that was winner of the Yale School of Music Chamber Music Competition and performed at Stony Brook University, Muhlenberg College and Montana University, where she also conducted a master class.
Hanchien Lee was accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music at age eleven where she studied with Claude Frank and Eleanor Sokoloff. Following graduation from Curtis, Ms. Lee continued her studies at Yale University with Claude Frank, earning both a Master’s degree and an Artists’ Diploma. She holds a doctoral degree at the Peabody Conservatory of John Hopkins University where she was under the tutelage of with Boris Slutsky. Ms. Lee has also studied with such esteemed pianists as Gary Graffman, Richard Goode, Meng-Chieh Liu, Jerome Lowenthal and Fou T’song. She currently serves as a piano faculty at the Peabody Preparatory of the Johns Hopkins University.
Alex Cox
Hailed by the New York Times for his “Fearless, and Ebullient” performances cellist Alex Cox is one of the leading chamber musicians of his generation. Having founded the Omer Quartet at 18 years old as well as serving as cellist of the Thalea Quartet he has performed internationally throughout the great concert halls of Europe and North America for the last 12 years.
He earned his degrees at the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and Cleveland Institute of Music as well as serving as a fellow at Yale University and the University of Maryland College Park, where he taught chamber music studies.
He’s garnered international prizes from the Young Concert Artist Auditions, Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition, Paolo Borciani Competition, and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. He currently serves as artists in resident to the Fischoff Competition where he co-directs an annual chamber music intensive.
Talia Buckbinder
Talia’s music career began at the age of ten, when she picked up the cello for a school project and never put it down. Growing up close to New York City, she attended the Mannes and Juilliard Pre-College programs under cellists Barbara Mallow and Bonnie Hampton, where she soloed with the Juilliard Preparatory Orchestra.
She received her Bachelor’s of Music Degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and her Master’s of Music degree from the Juilliard School, her primary mentors being Paul Katz and Natasha Brofsky. Talia attended the Perlman Music Program and their affiliated residencies from 2007 to 2014 and has participated in summer music festivals at the Banff Centre, Tanglewood, Taos, and Yellow Barn, where she discovered her love for chamber music. Her most memorable experiences are those in which she has worked and performed with chamber music masters such as Itzhak Perlman, the Weilerstein Trio, Alfred Brendel, and members of the Shanghai, Cleveland, Brentano, Cavani, Enso, and Juilliard String Quartets.
After graduating from Juilliard, Talia remained in New York to perform with east coast-based ensembles, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the New York Classical Players, Symphony in C, The Secret Opera Company, Shattered Glass, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. She performed at Carnegie Hall under conductor Alan Gilbert, as well as at Jazz at Lincoln Center with the Astoria Tango Orchestra. During her time in New York Talia was also a member of The Synesthetics, a contemporary band collaborating with the Art of Circus, and published an album of original works that was performed off Broadway in 2016.
In 2017 Talia joined the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, where she worked as their tenured Associate Principal cellist up until the pandemic. With the Symphony, Talia performed hundreds of ballet, contemporary, pop, and traditional classical works, as well as outreach programs for Alzheimer’s patients and underprivileged schoolchildren.Throughout her musical career, Talia has performed in places such as Israel, China, Brazil, the Kosciuszko Foundation, the Neue Galerie, and Thirteen’s Great Performances on the PBS Channel. She finds that she can touch audiences best when she offers a lighthearted, yet genuine presence in her concerts, and hopes to use this blend to inspire others with classical music.
Olga Talanova
Olga Talanova is a music educator, violinist, and chamber music specialist with more than 30 years of experience in performance, teaching, and program leadership. She currently serves as Chamber Music Program Coordinator at the University of Delaware School of Music, where she assists with developing student ensembles, curating repertoire, and leading innovative community outreach and interdisciplinary performance projects.
Previously, Olga founded and directed the Chamber Music Program at the Duke University String School, growing it from a single ensemble into a thriving program of more than 20 chamber groups. Under her coaching, student ensembles earned top prizes in competitions, and many students went on to study at leading institutions, including the Eastman School of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, and New York University.
Throughout her career, Olga has been dedicated to fostering artistic excellence through collaborative music-making, combining a passion for chamber music with a commitment to community engagement and lifelong musical growth.
