Jeremy Cohen, Violin

Jeremy Cohen’s electrifying jazz violin performances have earned him nationwide accolades. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Jeremy began violin studies at age seven. Early affections for jazz and gypsy music had him playing along with the family’s hi-fi player as soon as he was old enough to place the records on the turntable. Classically-trained and a student of Itzhak Perlman, Anne Crowden, and Daniel Kobialka, Cohen’s eclectic style reflects his respect for a wide range of violinists from Perlman and Fritz Kreisler to Joe Venuti and Eddie South. Cohen’s orchestral and chamber arrangements have been featured by the San Francisco and San Jose Chamber Orchestras, the Peninsula Symphony, the Reading and Reno Philharmonics, and the Mendocino and Sun Valley Summer Music Festivals. In 2006 the San Francisco Symphony commissioned a tango work for solo violin, orchestra, bandoneon, piano, and percussion which was programmed in their 2006-07 season. Since its inception Cohen has been the primary arranger/composer for Quartet San Francisco. Cohen has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Virginia Symphony, the California Symphony and the Reno Philharmonic. His recording credits include motion picture and television soundtracks including “The Dukes of Hazzard” and Jane Fonda’s “Dollmaker,” and as concertmaster on recordings with Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Aaron Neville, Howard Keel and Cleo Laine. He appeared on Carlos Santana’s Grammy-winning CD “Supernatural” and the original “Star Wars” compilation CD with John Williams. He was the solo violinist in “Forever Tango” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and has toured and recorded with the Turtle Island Quartet. A faculty member of the Henry Mancini Institute (Los Angeles) from 1997 to 2006 and The Jazz School (Berkeley) since 2004, Cohen also taught for six years at the Stanford Jazz Workshop. In addition to those with Quartet San Francisco, Jeremy has recorded two CDs of jazz standards with his “ViolinJazz” quartet (violin, piano, bass, guitar). In 2004 he released “Jeremy Cohen and Friends Celebrate Joe Venuti –100 Years,” his DVD tribute to the great jazz violinist.

Alisa Rose, Violin

Alisa is from Verona, Wisconsin where she started playing the violin at age three and won her first fiddle competition at age five. Involved in many different musical genres, Alisa is a member of the Picasso Quartet, the Real Vocal String Quartet, Homespun Rowdy, 49 Special, and A.J. Roach and the Strange Pilgrims. She performed many times at San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and also appeared at the Strawberry Music Festival, Olympic Music Festival, Carter Fold Festival, Blue Highways Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands, Cleveland’s Reinberger Chamber Hall, Carnegie Hall, and on PBS’ “Songs of the Mountains.” She has also performed with Martha Katz, Ian Swenson, Train, Bauhaus, ALO, Matt Bauer, Rachel Ries, Nels Andrews, Anais Mitchell, Anna Egge, and Josh Ritter. Alisa received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in chamber music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with Camilla Wicks and Bettina Mussumeli. Current director of the SF Conservatory in the School’s program at Starr King Elementary School in San Francisco, she also teaches at the San Francisco Friend’s School and maintains a private studio. She has authored a book that is used in her educational program for second through fifth graders. Alisa joined Quartet San Francisco in 2009.

Keith Lawrence, Viola

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , Keith Lawrence began playing viola at age 11. His study of viola continued at the Creative and Performing Arts Middle and High Schools in Pittsburgh, the Interlochen Arts Academy, and The Winchester Thurston School. After graduating from North Allegheny Senior High School in 1999, Lawrence enrolled as a viola performance major at the Oberlin Conservatory under the tutelage of Peter Slowik and Roger Chase where he received his undergraduate degree in 2003. He attended the Henry Mancini Institute in 1999, 2001 and 2002.Lawrence completed his graduate studies at the DePaul University School of Music as a student of Rami Solomonow in 2007.

Michelle Kwon, Cello

Bay Area native Michelle Kwon holds B.A. and M.M. degrees in Violoncello Performance from Stanford University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. A passionate ensemble player, she has collaborated with artists such as Kenny Endo and the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble, John Vanderslice, and bands Death Cab for Cutie and Hauschka, and has worked with Joel Krosnick, Menahem Pressler, Russell Sherman, and the St. Lawrence and Cypress String Quartets. An equally enthusiastic orchestral player, she recently performed at Carnegie Hall with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, and along with the Fresno Philharmonic, she plays with the Oakland East Bay and Monterey symphonies, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and the Magik*Magik Orchestra of San Francisco. She has worked with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Stefan Asbury, Herbert Blomstedt, and Michael Tilson Thomas. She is currently pursuing a career in chamber music with her piano trio, The Delphi Trio (www.thedelphitrio.com). Her other interests include folk music and percussion, archery, and cooking.