About

 Formed 2015 by Iris Blanco, Myanna Harvey, and Cassia Harvey, the Musicalia Ensemble is a piano trio performing in and around Philadelphia. The trio has performed in concert at area venues including West Chester University, Freedom Village, St. John's Presbyterian Church, and St. Joseph's Manor at Holy Redeemer. The Musicalia Ensemble is a first-prize winner in the American Protégé Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall in Spring 2017. The trio was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer in an article by Beth Kephart.
Bringing music to life by presenting concerts in an exciting and informative atmosphere, the trio is excited to present programs on "Romantic Music", "Musical Forms: Suites, Variations and a Song Cycle", "Gershwin, Bernstein and Cole Porter", and more!

Iris Blanco-Urgelles, piano

Iris Blanco-Urgelles was born and raised in the eastern city of Cuba, Holguin. She began studying piano at an early age, getting into a professional music school and continuing her musical education through college at the University of the Arts in Havana, Cuba. She graduated cum laude from Temple University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy. She also holds Masters Degrees in Piano Performance, and Piano Accompaniment and Chamber Music all from Temple University. Under the guidance of Harvey Wedeen and Lambert Orkis, Iris earned several scholarships and awards: The James H. and Ethel L. M. Beach Book Award, Third Prize Winner in the Pi Kappa Lambda Competition, and the Jacobs Music Company Steinway Award for outstanding graduating pianist in 2009. She was selected by Temple University to be included in the 2008 Edition of Who's Who Among Students in American’s Universities and Colleges and was also selected for induction into the prestigious Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society for Undergraduate and Graduate Students at Temple University. She served as a piano accompanist to the Opera Department, The Women’s Choir, Concert Choir, Jeffrew Solow Cello Studio, Eric Owens’s Voice Studio and Dr. Christine Anderson Voice Studio at Temple University. She recently completed a Master Degree in Piano Pedagogy from West Chester University, where she was awarded the Connie Murray Pedagogy Award and was featured in the “Fig” Magazine as a Master Student from West Chester University. Iris was recently one of two pianists involved in the production of Carmina Burana with the Reading Choral Society, under the direction of the Maestro Graham Bier. Iris is certified in Suzuki Piano and is an active member of the Music Teacher National Association, the Pennsylvania Music Teacher Association, the Main Line Music Teacher Association and the Philadelphia Music Teacher Association. She is the Music Director, Pianist and Organist of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Devon, Pa. Her students have won Festivals and Competitions and have performed at West Chester University, Temple University, Penn State University, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Iris was awarded first prize as a soloist at the American Protege Piano and Strings International Competition in Carnegie Hall, February 2017. 

Myanna Harvey, violin/viola

Photo: Josh Pelta-Heller

Myanna Harvey studied primarily with Estelle Kerner, and performed in masterclasses with Elmar Oliveira and David Cerone. She was a first place winner in the Bournemouth Music Festival Competition, and has premiered works by Ciach, Koprowski, and Clearfield. A dedicated teacher, she teaches more than 60 private violin and viola students, with many of her students going on to pursue music as a career. Myanna has been the strings director at the Upper Moreland Summer Arts Program for the past ten years, on faculty at Point Counterpoint for several years, and was music director and conductor of the Cheltenham Youth Orchestra. She has written and published ten books of string duets as well as a piano accompaniment for a string method, all published by C. Harvey Publications. As a member of the Philmore Ensemble, Myanna has performed in recital at venues such as the Reading Public Museum, the German Society of Pennsylvania, the Trinity Center for Urban Life, An Die Musik LIVE!, Sundays at Central, Swarthmore College Recital Series, and the Ethical Society of Philadelphia. She has performed lecture recitals for Columbia University and Barnard College. In addition to being a member of the Philmore Ensemble and the Musicalia Ensemble, Myanna performs regularly as violinist and violist of the Harvey String Duo. Myanna’s playing is featured on the compact disc release Duos and Trios from Five Centuries.

Cassia Harvey, cello

Photo: Josh Pelta-Heller

A soloist with the Kennett Symphony and the Warminster Symphony and first-place winner of the PADESTA, the Concerto Soloists, and Cafferata-Jackson Competitions, Cassia Harvey's performances have been broadcast on Philadelphia’s Channel 57 and New York Public Television. Recent performances include concerts at the Reading Public Museum, the German Society of Pennsylvania, the Trinity Center for Urban Life, An Die Musik LIVE!, Sundays at Central, Swarthmore College Recital Series, and the Ethical Society of Philadelphia, as well as lecture recitals at Columbia University and Barnard College. Cassia has performed with her sister, Myanna, as part of the Harvey String Duo since 1994. She has been performing with the Philmore Trio since 2011 and as a member of the Musicalia Ensemble since 2015. Her recording, The Russian Cello: Rare Treasures from Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, with pianist Tim Ribchester, is available from Montag Records.
Cassia has authored over one hundred and fifty study books for the classical string instruments, published by C. Harvey Publications. Her books have sold in more than 30 countries and were exhibited at the International Cello Congress in Kobe, Japan and most recently in Kazan, Russia. Cassia was the subject of a 2017 article in the Epoch Times and her contributions about the creative process were featured in 14 Artists Break Down the Creative Process.