Voxare String Quartet

Voxare String Quartet

Emily Ondracek, violin
David Marks, violin
Erik Peterson, viola
Adrian Daurov, cello

Emily Ondracek, violin

A native of Chicago, Emily Ondracek started playing the violin at the age of 5, and began giving public concerts soon thereafter. At 16, Ms. Ondracek gave her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Concertos. Since that time, she has performed throughout the United States and Europe, and at festivals such as Aspen, Italy’s Festival de Due Mondi, and the Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Summer Music festival, where she was awarded the Joseph Gingold prize for outstanding performance.

In New York, Ms. Ondracek frequently gives recitals, recently giving the debut of Histoire de Babar for violin and piano at the Steinway Hall Recital Series. She has also performed with jazz artists such as Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis. Ms. Ondracek records frequently for film and television, and has recorded for Naxos records.

As a teacher, Ms. Ondracek is in high demand. For the past two years, she has received the Morse Fellowship, a grant for resident teaching artists in the New York Public School system. Ms. Ondracek also maintains a private violin studio in New York City.

Ms. Ondracek received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Masao Kawasaki. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Columbia University, where she is a researching new methods of music education. Ms. Ondracek performs on a violin made by Francois Pique in 1815.

David Marks, violin

Violinist David Marks has performed across the globe, from Disney Hall in Los Angeles, to the Bargemusic concert series in New York City, to Grosse Hall in Salzburg, Austria. A native of Chicago, David Marks began violin lessons at the age of three. By the time he had completed high school in 2002, David had already acquired numerous national accolades of recognition, including prizes at the Midwest Young Artist's Concerto Competitions, and the Society of American Musicians' Concerto Competitions.

Upon his acceptance to The Juilliard School, David joined the studio of Masao Kawasaki, and that same year was named the recipient of the prestigious Union League Club Scholarship. He has also been coached by Professor Andre Emilianoff and Rohan DeSilva. Mr. Marks has previously been under the tutelage of Mark Zinger, Cyrus Forough and Gerard Ribeiro. On the international front, Mr. Marks has performed in numerous master classes with renowned pedagogues and violin masters such as Zakhar Bron, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Frank Almond and Eduard Wulfson.

Performances at summer music festivals have brought him to the Idyllwild Arts Festival, California, and the Chateau de Champs Master Classes in Paris, France. In addition, David has performed at Symphony Center in Chicago, and Paul Hall, Morse Hall, the Juilliard Theater and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Naxos American Classics record label released his first commercial CD, featuring chamber works and a world-premiere work by Sean Hickey.

Erik Peterson, viola

Violist Erik Peterson started playing the viola at age 10 in his native Chicago. As an orchestral musician, Mr. Peterson has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Milwaukee and New World Symphonies. He has participated in the music festivals of Sarasota, Blossom, Aspen, and Grant Park, as well as the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy and the Encore School for Strings, where he was awarded the Kay H. Logan Award for chamber music performance. Mr. Peterson has performed on WFMT in Chicago, and been heard as the subject of a feature on NPR radio.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Peterson has collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Brentano, and Cleveland Quartets, and also members of the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, leading him to perform in Carnegie, Alice Tully, and Avery Fisher Halls. This past fall, he worked with contemporary composers to record a CD for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, about which a documentary is also being produced. This spring, Mr. Peterson will give the world-premiere of Mark Nowakowski's Viola Concerto.

Mr. Peterson received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory, and his Master’s Degree from the Cleveland Institute of music, where he is currently a Doctoral Candidate and teaching assistant to Stanley Konopka.

Adrian Daurov, cello

Cellist Adrian Daurov maintains an active performing schedule on three continents. Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Adrian currently resides in New York City, where he is a frequent performer on many recital series, including Bargemusic. This spring, Mr. Daurov will be appearing as soloist under conductor Valery Gergiev. Adrian is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with David Soyer of the Guarneri Quartet and Andre Emelianoff.