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“Chamber Music is the basis of all music.”   --Isaac Stern
We all have fond memories of learning to play chamber music starting at a young age. We made good friends with our fellow musicians. Our mentors provided inspiration that has lasted a lifetime.
We have been teaching private lessons and coaching chamber music for many years. In the summer of 2015 we decided to offer a chamber music program, which has developed into year-round coaching sessions and concerts for all ages, including adults.

OUr Teachers

Director Claudia Bloom, violin, began her studies in Berkeley with Anne Crowden.  She earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music as a full scholarship student under Raphael Bronstein and Ariana Bronne.  Upon graduation Ms. Bloom received the Karl Kraeuter Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chamber Music.  She completed her Master of Music degree as a teaching assistant at the Yale School of Music where she studied with Syoko Aki Erle.  From 1982 to 1990 Ms. Bloom was a member of the Ciompi Quartet in residence at Duke University as a well as a full-time member of the faculty.  From 1990 to 1992 she was co-concertmaster of the Zurich (Switzerland) Symphony Orchestra.  Ms. Bloom has performed as a member of the Bloom Duo and Trio with twin sister, Madeline Bloom, (pianist) and brother, Jonathan (cello).  Concert engagements as a member of the Bloom Duo have included performances in the United States, Canada and Colombia, South America.  Currently she plays principal second violin in Opera San Jose, is a member of the Grace Note Chamber Players, the Corina Quartet,  the Kineret Quartet as well as performing as a recitalist.
Lucinda Breed Lenicheck plays Principal Cello with Opera San Jose, performs free-lance and chamber music, and teaches in her Palo Alto studio.  Ms. Lenicheck has taught at Mills College, Stanford University, and San Jose State University.  She was former Principal Cello, S.J. Chamber Orchestra and Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus; and taught at Kenyon College, Otterbein College, and Capital University.  Her background includes The Banff School, Tanglewood,  the Spoleto Festival, and Stanford BA and MA degrees.
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Virginia Smedberg, violinist and violist, began her studies in Palo Alto with Elizabeth Kincade, under whose coaching she also studied and performed piano trios for six years.  She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music in violin performance at the Manhattan School of Music as a full scholarship student of Raphael Bronstein.  On her return to California she joined the San Jose Symphony, and later the orchestras of Opera San Jose and West Bay Opera where she has been a violinist and sometimes concertmaster for 30 years.  Virginia studied chamber music with Colin and Bonnie Hampton among others, and she was violinist with the Manzanita Piano Quartet for over 20 years.  She is an active freelancer in the Bay Area, and teaches violin, viola and chamber music privately at her studio in Palo Alto as well as with the Palo Alto Chamber Music School.
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A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Jill Cohen began her studies on the violin at age 4, and switched to the viola at the end of high school. She has served as principal violist of the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic, the Santa Cruz Symphony, and the Monterey Symphony. Jill has played in orchestras and chamber groups in Italy, as well as the United States. She is currently a member of Symphony Silicon Valley and plays in a number of chamber groups throughout the Bay area. Jill teaches violin and viola in her home studio in Palo Alto.
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Composer, conductor, violinist, and violist Be'eri Moalem has performed all over the world in genres varying from Classical to Klezmer to ethnic Middle Eastern to Electronica. He currently lives in Palo Alto where he teaches music lessons and performs in local orchestras or as soloist in various classical and non-classical improvising ensembles. He has played as violist and violinist with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Monterey Symphony and as concertmaster with the choral-orchestral Viva La Musica.  His compositions have been performed by the Fremont Symphony, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, and the Kineret Quartet. His 2016 album entitled "Exile" is available at beeri.org. 
Yueh Chou 
Dr. Chou earned Certificate Diploma (2007) on both Baroque and Classical Bassoon at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag, the Netherlands, Masters and Doctorate (2000) degrees in Music from the University of Southern California and Bachelor’s degree in Music from the Juilliard School.  She returned to the Bay Area in 2000 as a performing musician and a music teacher and maintains a thriving private teaching studio in the peninsula and the surrounding area.  She has had numerous students who have been accepted into the All State Honor Band.  Dr. Chou has been the bassoon professor at San Jose State University since 2012 and has been teaching bassoon in the pre-college division at San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 2001.