Karisa Chiu
VIOLIN
Nationality: USA
Age: 23
Stage: Final
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Repertoire:
STAGE ONE - SELECTION: Sibelius, Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, I. mov; Saint- Saëns, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28; Faure, Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13
SEMIFINAL: J.S. Bach, Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, Siciliana, Presto
FINALE: E. Ysaÿe, Sonata No. 5 for Violin, Op. 27; N. Paganini, Caprice No. 2 in b minor
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 Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship from the Musicians Club of Women Scholarship Audition, the Luminarts Classical Music Scholarship, and the American Opera Society Scholarship.
Karisa was recently named winner of the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition, and will perform in Severance Hall in 2023. Other recent 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 and a recital at the Music in Pyeongchang festival. She has been featured as a soloist with many orchestras such as the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, the West Suburban Symphony Orchestra, the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra, the Music Institute of Chicago Academy Orchestra, CSA Sinfonia, UIC Orchestra, and the Midwest Young Artists Symphony Orchestra.
Karisa is pursuing 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. Karisa began playing the violin at the age of three with her father Cornelius Chiu, a violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and studied with Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy.