SFCM’s Strings and Piano Chamber Music degree and diploma stand out as a pioneering program, offering an immersive educational experience that seamlessly combines the refinement of precision instrumental playing with the intensive study of chamber music at the highest artistic level. Beyond private lessons, workshops, and masterclasses, students regularly perform on SFCM’s Chamber Music Tuesdays series, featuring distinguished guest artists in residency. Recent guest artists our students performed alongside have included violinists Benjamin Beilman, Itamar Zorman, violist Kim Kashkashian, cellist Marcy Rosen, pianists Robert McDonald, Shai Wosner* and Inon Barnatan*, as well as the Miró and Esmé String Quartets. Students also frequently collaborate with SFCM’s acclaimed chamber music faculty, including Dimitri Murrath, Jennifer Culp, Julio Elizalde, and Wonhee Bae.
SFCM’s strategic alliances with Opus 3 Artists, Askonas Holt, and Pentatone Records have yielded groundbreaking collaborative projects, offering students exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the evolution of professional initiatives, from theoretical ideas to fully formed products released to the public. Going beyond these unique opportunities, chamber music majors have been selected as the quartet-in-residence at the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival in Honolulu, presenting numerous concerts and imparting their expertise to local young musicians.
The Strings and Piano Chamber Music program is one of SFCM’s most prestigious and selective programs. Each year, only a handful of students are admitted to ensure an abundance of performing opportunities and maintain a high faculty-to-student ratio. SFCM warmly welcomes individual applications in violin, viola, cello, and piano, and encourages pre-formed string quartets or piano trios to apply as well.
