Biography

With a deep commitment to musical excellence and understanding of the repertoire, violinist Karisa Chiu has earned numerous accolades around the globe, including the first prize of the Isang Yun Violin Competition, fourth prize and composer prize winner of the Menuhin Violin Competition, second prize of the Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition, third prize and Bach prize of the Stulberg International String Competition, the fourth prize of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, the first prize winner of the Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition, and the fourth prize winner of the Cooper International Competition. She is the recipient of multiple scholarships including the the Luminarts Classical Music Scholarship, the Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship from the Musicians Club of Women Scholarship Audition, and the American Opera Society Scholarship.

Karisa was named winner of the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition in 2023, resulting in a concerto performance in Severance Hall with JoAnn Falletta and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra. Other notable performances include soloing with the KBS Symphony Orchestra under Markus Stenz at the Seoul Arts Center as a part of the 2022 Hanwha Symphony Festival, a recital at the Music in Pyeongchang festival, and a performance in the Casals Forum during the Kronberg Masterclasses. She has been featured as a soloist with several orchestras such as the Asheville Symphony, Tongyeong Festival Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, West Suburban Symphony Orchestra, and the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra.

Having been born into a musical family, Karisa began her studies at age two with her father, Cornelius Chiu, a violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She also performs frequently with her mother, pianist Inah Chiu. The Chiu family has given annual concerts at the Festival of the Arts at Mohonk Mountain House where her immediate family is joined with her uncle, pianist Frederic Chiu. She has performed in many music festivals around the globe including Music@Menlo as an International Program Artist, Chigiana Summer Academy, Four Seasons Winter Workshop, Music from Angel Fire, Aspen Music Festival, and Sarasota Music Festival. In addition to her performance career, Karisa is co-director of the concert series, Plymouth Chamber Players, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In 2018, Karisa won a Chicago Symphony Orchestra substitute violin position and has been performing with them regularly since. She was also invited to give a solo recital at the prestigious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago which was broadcasted live over WFMT radio. The same year, she was also selected to be a participant in the 2017 YoungArts Week where she was awarded the Bronze Medal and nominated to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar. Karisa has appeared on several broadcasts including the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), WFMT, and NPR’s From The Top. She has played in master classes given by renowned artists such as Augustin Hadelich, Leonidas Kavakos, Victor Danchenko, Pamela Frank, Mauricio Fuks, Ilya Kaler, Dora Schwarzberg, and Joel Smirnoff.

An avid chamber music player, Karisa has performed with renowned musicians including Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Todd Phillips, Steven Tenenbom, and Paul Biss. She won first prize at the Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition and Silver Medal at the M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Vieira String Quartet. Her previous chamber group, the Calliope Trio, won first prize at the Discover Chamber Music Competition. As a member of the Atara String Quartet, she won the Gold Medal from the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, Silver Medal from the Pearl G. Barnett Chamber Music Competition, and the Honorable Mention prize from the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

This spring, Karisa will receive her Master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Jaime Laredo and Malcolm Lowe. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Ida Kavafian and was a student of Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. In the fall, she will begin her studies in the Artist Diploma program at the Juilliard School with Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein.