Arborio DUo

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Co-founded in 2023 by violinist Colleen Jennings and pianist Sophie Lippert, The Arborio Duo is a Massachusetts-based ensemble praised for their synergy, sensitivity, expressiveness, and mesmerizing musical interpretations. They have brought innovative classical programs to venues across New England, and are proud champions of underexposed composers from the classical era to modern-day, including Amanda Maier, Ethyl Smyth, Germaine Tailleferre, Grażyna Bacewitz, and Jessie Montgomery. The Arborio Duo's mission is to share fascinating, compelling, enriching musical programs with audiences. This often means emancipating from traditional concert repertoire, and shining a light on underrepresented music from the past several centuries—with a special focus on music written by women.

Colleen and Sophie first met in 2022. Their collaborative relationship blossomed soon afterward, as they discovered a shared passion for emancipating chamber music from its traditional confines, and providing engaging, connective experiences for their audiences. They have created multiple concert programs featuring exclusively music written by female composers, and established themselves as thoughtful, engaging curators and performers. An integral component of Arborio Duo concerts is their emphasis on connection: each concert includes commentary about the pieces being performed, which unanimously elicits rave reviews from their audiences. 

Both Colleen and Sophie are proud graduates of Rice University, which served as partial inspiration for their duo's name. "Arborio" also stands as an emblem of the duo's commitment to creating a metaphorical "arbor"—bringing beauty and structural integrity to musical programs that transcend traditional concert programming, and a space for underexposed music to emerge from the shadows into the light of the concert stage.

Colleen and Sophie are based in Amherst, MA.

 Violinist, Colleen Jennings was formerly an Artist in Residence and Co-Artistic Director at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music and second violinist in the Apple Hill String Quartet. During the regular concert season, in conjunction with Apple Hill’s Playing for Peace program, the Quartet performed concerts and conducted residencies locally in New Hampshire, nationally in major U.S. cities, and internationally around the globe. They performed in venues as diverse as the Ketermaya refugee camp outside of Beirut, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in Lima, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and UCLA in California. The quartet made two recordings which featured works by living composers, Meredith Monk, Philip Glass, premieres by contemporaries and fellow Oberlin alumni, Dana Lyn and Geoff Hudson, forgotten works by Pavel Haas and Ahmet Adnun Saygun, and classics by Haydn and Purcell. In recognition of their work, the organization won the 2016 CMAcclaim award from Chamber Music America.

Colleen is currently a member of Baroklyn, a New York based string ensemble under the direction of pianist, Simone Dinnerstein. The group has performed to date at Merkin Concert Hall in NY, Mechanics Hall in Worcester and the Library of Congress in DC. Their recently released album, Complicité, was met with rave reviews. 

Locally, Colleen co-founded the Arborio Duo with pianist, Sophie Lippert. The Duo is praised for their synergy, sensitivity, expressiveness, and mesmerizing musical interpretations. The group has toured New England since their founding in 2023 creating curated programs showcasing the great wealth of music written for Violin and Piano by underrepresented composers, largely female.

Colleen currently teaches violin and coaches chamber music at the University of Massachusetts and at Greenwood Music Camp. She also teaches privately and runs a chamber music class from her home studio, Up! Music. Her teaching uses the Alexander Technique as a foundation to help students understand their innate sense of kinesthesia which leads to more effortless technique, resonant sound and optimal listening potential. Colleen holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Rice University and from the Schweizerischer Musikpädagogischer Verband in Basel, Switzerland. Her principal teachers include Sergiu Luca, Marilyn McDonald and Antonio Pellegrini.