Lidija Peno-Kelly, violinist, was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and received her first violin lesson at age five. As a young violinist Lidija won five first prizes at national level competitions. She studied simultaneously at the Academy of Music in Novi Sad (BM, MM) and at the Academia Internazionale di Musica a Portogruaro —Venice, Italy (Performance Diploma). Further studies were completed at the Richard-Strauss-Konservatorium, Munich, Germany (Post Diploma) and the Boston Conservatory of Music (Perfomance Diploma). Lidija’s teachers include Pavel Vernikov, Ilya Grubert, Martin Albrecht Rohde, G. Jislin, Lynn Cheng,Tamara Smirnova. Lidija has worked with the trio Tchaikovsky and has performed as soloist with the Belgrade Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dubrovnik Philharmonic and La Picolla Symfonia di Venezia. She was also a member of the Gaertnerplatz Theater Orchestra in Munich. Solo performances include various large and chamber ensembles in Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Moscow, Venice, Milan, Munich, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Chicago, San Francisco, Bordeaux, Madrid, Bilbao and others. Mrs. Peno-Kelly has also recorded for the Yugoslavian National Radio, Rai Uno, Italy, ARD and ZDF – Germany, Paris – CD recording. Currently she is playing with Portland Symphony Orchestra, PORTopera, New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra.