Judge 2015: Marka Gustavsson

Marka Gustavsson, violist, has performed chamber music in major halls across Europe, Canada, and the U.S., as well as Japan and Israel. She has been invited to chamber music festivals including Bard, Mostly Mozart, Skaneateles, Portland, Bennington, and Newport. She has appeared as a guest of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, on WQXR’s Showcase Concerts, with the Yale Faculty Artists’ Series, at Banff, and in Wall-to-wall and Music of Our Time at Symphony Space. Performing and recording contemporary solo and chamber repertoire, Ms. Gustavsson has worked closely with many composers including John Halle, Joan Tower, Kyle Gann, George Tsontakis, Yinam Leef, Katherine Hoover, Martin Bresnick, Richard Wernick, Harold Farberman, Tania Leon, and Tan Dun. In 2000, Marka joined the Colorado Quartet, an active touring ensemble offering traditional and new repertoire. She performed with them for 14 years. The quartet’s discography includes the complete Beethoven Quartets on Parnassus Records. Highlights of recent seasons include premiering a viola concerto by Harold Farberman, teaching in the YAP program at Yellow Barn, completing a Beethoven cycle at Virginia Tech, and collaborating with Tamar Muskal and Lucy Shelton on Music of Our Time at Symphony Space in NYC. With the Colorado Quartet she has served as faculty and co-artistic director at Soundfest Chamber Music Festival and Quartet Institute. Currently, Ms. Gustavsson holds a teaching position at Bard College and Conservatory, where she oversees the chamber music program and performs as a member of the Bardian Ensemble.