Biographies

Jeremy Cohen, violin: Jeremy Cohen’s electrifying jazz violin performances have earned him nationwide accolades. Classically-trained and a student of Itzhak Perlman and Anne Crowden, 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 has performed 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. {more}

Alisa Rose, violin: Violinist, improviser, and composer Alisa Rose pursues music across many genres. Alisa has played with diverse artists including A.J. Roach and the Strange Pilgrims at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and on PBS’s Song of the Mountains, with Bob Weir at TEDx Alcatraz, with the Keisa Duo at Carnegie Hall, with the Picasso Quartet at Cleveland’s Reinberger Chamber Hall, and with the bluegrass band 49 Special at the 2009 Rockygrass Festival where they took first prize in the band competition in 2008. In addition to Quartet San Francisco, Alisa is also a member the Real Vocal String Quartet.  {more}

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. Lawrence completed his graduate studies at the DePaul University School of Music as a student of Rami Solomonow in 2007. {more}

Kelley Maulbetsch, cello, is an active freelance performer and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She is assistant principal cello of the Sarasota Opera Festival (Sarasota, Fla.) as well as member of the Marin, Santa Rosa, Fresno, Monterey, and Modesto Symphonies.  Kelley played in the San Francisco production of Wicked, Fiddler on the Roof, and South Pacific and has shared the stage with Josh Groban, Harry Connick, Jr., Hugh Jackman, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Mathis, and Kristin Chenowith.  She has participated in music festivals including Tanglewood, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.  An experienced string ensemble coach, Kelley is also a certified Suzuki instructor and has taught at the Nueva School (Hillsborough, Calif.) and the Community School of Music and Arts (Mountain View, Calif.).  {more}