Violinist Ari Streisfeld has garnered critical acclaim worldwide for his performances of diverse repertoire and has established himself as one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary classical music. Praised for his “dazzling performance” by the New York Times and “scintillating playing” by New York Classical Review, Dr. Streisfeld has toured worldwide as a founding member of the world renowned JACK Quartet. Together with his wife, mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway, Dr. Streisfeld formed Duo Cortona, a contemporary music ensemble dedicated to the creation of new works for the unique instrumentation of mezzo-soprano and violin. He is also a member of Shir Ami, an ensemble dedicated to the performance and preservation of Jewish art music. Dr. Streisfeld frequently collaborates with some of today’s leading ensembles, including Ensemble Signal, International Contemporary Ensemble, Worldless Music Orchestra, and Weekend of Chamber Music. Hailed as “imaginative” by the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Streisfeld’s arrangements of madrigals and motets for string quartet by Machaut and Gesualdo have been performed to acclaim both at home and abroad. He has recorded for Mode, Albany, Carrier, Innova, Cantaloupe, Another Timbre, New Focus, and New World Records.

A passionate and committed music educator, Dr. Streisfeld holds the position of Assistant Professor of Violin and Violin Pedagogy at the University of South Carolina School of Music. He also serves as head of strings at the Carolina Summer Music Conservatory, Music Director for Point CounterPoint (Vermont), and is on the faculty of the Cortona Sessions for New Music (Italy). Dr. Streisfeld holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (Bachelor of Music), Northwestern University (Master of Music), and Boston University (Doctor of Musical Arts).