Mia Nardi-Huffman

Violinist Mia Nardi-Huffman’s passion lies in pushing the boundaries of classical music through self-expression and collaboration with other musicians, composers, performance artists, and dancers. She has performed across both North America and Europe, in venues that include Carnegie Hall, SF JAZZ Center, The National Arts Club, and Castello di Introd. 

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Mia is a founding member of the Astraeus String Quartet, with whom she performs exciting works of the past and present in innovative spaces throughout the Bay Area. She is also the resident violinist for the contemporary chamber music ensemble Wild Rumpus, a collective dedicated to the performance and commission of new works. Mia regularly performs as a member of other chamber music ensembles and orchestras in the Bay Area, including Elevate Ensemble, the Livermore Valley Opera, Opera Paralelle, Island City Opera, and the Juxtapositions Chamber Ensemble.

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In the realm of crossover music, Mia has recently performed with Evanescence and Lindsey Stirling on their 2018 tour, played alongside Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman at SFJAZZ, collaborated with The Singer and The Songwriter on their track "Apparent Brightness", and recorded for groups including Streetlight Manifesto, Marcus McCauley and Portrait Maker.

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Mia studied the violin with Shirley Givens and Akiko Silver, as well as at the Mannes Pre-College Program in New York City before moving to California in 2010. She earned her BM in 2014 and her MM in 2016, both from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying under the tutelage of violinist Bettina Mussumeli. While at SFCM, she was concertmaster of the Conservatory Orchestra and the recipient of the Sergei Barsukov Violin Scholarship. 

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A dedicated violin teacher since 2009, Mia teaches her youngest students through the 'Adventures in Violinland' method books, which were written by her late teacher, the renowned Juilliard pedagogue Shirley Givens. Other books that are used in violin lessons include the Suzuki method books, Hrimaly and Carl Flesch Scale Studies, Introducing the Positions and Yost shifting exercises, various etudes, sonatas, and concerti. Her students have won concerto competitions, regularly participate in the All-City Orchestra, and have gained entry to the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. Mia works to inspire a love of music and the violin with her students through high standards for performance, music theory knowledge, and ear training. 

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You can check out Mia's website here:  mianardihuffman.com