Program Biographies for the Ives Quartet

BETTINA MUSSUMELI, first violinist; member since 2005; a graduate of the Julliard School. A faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she returned to the United States in 2001 after establishing a major career in Europe, where she became co-concertmaster and soloist with the Italian chamber group I Solisti Veneti. She has performed throughout Europe, Australia, and the Far East. She has collaborated as guest concertmaster with the Orchestra Toscanini of Parma, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bolognia, Orchestra del Teatro di Cagliari, and the Orchestra della Fenice. She also teaches violin at Ars Musica, and has been the chamber music coach at Oberlin at Cassalmaggiore.

SUSAN FREIER, founding member and second violinist; attended Stanford University as a Ford Scholar, graduating with degrees in both music and biology. She completed her graduate study at the Eastman School of Music, where she co-founded the Chester String Quartet, winners of the Cleveland Quartet Competition. With the Chester, she won the Munich, Chicago Discovery, and Portsmouth, England International competitions and was in residence and on the faculty of the University of Indiana, South Bend. She is a former member of the faculty at Stanford University and a former member of the Stanford String Quartet. She has been a participant in the Aspen, Grand Teton, and Newport Music Festivals; the San Francisco Symphony's "Sacred and Profane" Festival; and Chamber Music West. She has performed on NPR, the BBC, and German State Radio. She has been on the faculties of the Garth Newel and Rocky Ridge Music Centers.

JODI LEVITZ, violist; joined the Ives Quartet in 2006. A noted professor of viola and chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Leivitz was launched on her concert career when she was appointed principal viola soloist with the Italian chamber group I Solisti Veneti, a position she attained while still a student at Juilliard. She has performed as soloist throughout Europe, South America, the United States, and the Far East; she has recorded works of Cambini, Giuliani, Hummel, Mendelssohn, Rolla, Schoenberg, and Schubert on the Concerto, Dynamic, and Erato labels. Levitz holds Bachelor and Master of Musical Arts degrees from the Juilliard School.

STEPHEN HARRISON, a founding member of the Ives Quartet, cellist; has been on the Stanford University faculty since 1983. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and Boston University, where he received the Award for Distinction in Graduate Performance. He has toured internationally as solo cellist of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. He has also performed on both the "Sacred and Profane" Festival and the New and Unusual Music Series presented by the San Francisco Symphony, and for Chamber Music West. He is currently an artist/faculty member of the Rocky Ridge Music Center and the San Diego Chamber Music Workshop.

Program Biographies

THE IVES QUARTET