Since its beginnings in 2003, The Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra has brought a vibrant ensemble of talented local professional musicians to the neighborhood communities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Originally conceived as a choral and orchestra medium, the Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra (formerly the St. Andrew’s Festival Orchestra at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh), soon branched out to perform Chamber music.

In 2016, Paula Tuttle and Mary Beth Malek, both charter members of the Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra, began Chambersite to develop chamber ensembles that have the ability to reach more audience members through it versatility and broad range of repertoires. The Zaffiro Trio, featuring pianist Tina Faigen, clarinetist Mary Beth Malek and cellist Paula Tuttle perform beloved works of the classical and romantic eras and commission new works for this unique combination of instruments.

In 2016 and 2019 Zaffiro presented and premiered commissioned works alongside the Brahms and Beethoven Trios also written for this instrumentation. The Diamante Trio is also very distinct, utilizing cello, clarinet, and Devin Arrington on violin is joined by soprano Lilly Abreu on their first CD No More BLues, performing music of Antonio Jobim and others. Diamante performs music of Latin America, France, Spain, India and a diverse selection of music from many cultures.

Chambersite brings world music to the community, our motto being “The World Through Music”. In 2019 we added the Quartz String Quartet with Ellen-Maria Willis and Katie Wickesburg violins and Louise Farbman, viola. Quartz performs a classical repertoire and is joined by Mary Beth for quintets written for string quartet and clarinet. Also in 2019, Diamante was expanded to the Diamante Orchestra. As a Classical, Latin, Pop crossover orchestra, the Diamante Orchestra has a large repertoire of music encompassing a multitude of styles and cultures.