Zoe Kushubar, Violin
Zoe Kushubar has been hailed by the Mittelbadische Presse as a violinist who “plays with a fiery spirit and top nuance.” She has performed across the United States and in Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic. As a soloist, Zoe has performed with the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, the Converse Symphony Orchestra, and the Carolina Youth Symphony, with whom she made her orchestral debut at fifteen. She has made appearances at a variety of venues including the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Music Center, Imperial Palace in Vienna, Verizon Hall in Philadelphia, Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, and The Village in Summerville, SC.
In the DMV, Zoe enjoys a career as both a modern violinist and as a performer of early music. Her most recent engagements include performances with the Handel Choir of Baltimore, Smithsonian Academy Orchestra, Smithsonian Haydn Quartet Academy, International Pride Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, and District Strings. She is also a rotating member of the Live Wire String Quartet, which gives educational performances at assisted living and retirement communities around Baltimore. She is
thrilled to be joining the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra for their upcoming season as a member of the second violin section.
A lover of chamber music and collaboration, Ms. Kushubar has performed both standard classical repertoire and contemporary works by living composers. For two years, she was a member of the Burgin Quartet, a fellowship ensemble at Florida State University that is dedicated to recording and performing works by student composers. She also coached undergraduate string groups and collaborated with graduate students for their degree recitals. She was the first violinist of the Fellowship String Quartet at the University of Maryland from 2023-2024, and she participated in the Interlochen Adult Chamber Music Camp for two summers, where she served in a mentorship role to adult musicians and prepared two late Beethoven quartets for culminating performances.
Also an experienced orchestral musician, Ms. Kushubar has performed with a number of ensembles including the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Panama City Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic, and Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra. She has attended prestigious orchestral intensives including Aspen Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, and National Youth Orchestra 2; at the latter, she served as Concertmaster for a Side-by-Side Concert at the 23rd Street Armory in Philadelphia, where she performed the concertmaster solos in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Español.
Ms. Kushubar received undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Violin Performance with Honors from Converse University, and she received her Master of Music from Florida State University in 2022. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she studies with David Salness. Over the years, she has had the privilege of playing in masterclasses for David Kim, Elizabeth Pitcairn, Paul Kantor, Andrés Cárdenes, Jennifer Koh, Bayla Keyes, Carolyn Huebl, Hal Grossman, Sean Wang, and members of renowned ensembles including the Takács Quartet, Parker Quartet, Attacca Quartet, Escher Quartet, Cavani Quartet, Gryphon Trio, Brentano Quartet. Her past instructors and mentors include Lyn Acosta, Jennifer John, Sarah Johnson, Courtney LeBauer, and Shannon Thomas.
In addition to teaching undergraduates and music minors at the University of Maryland, Ms. Kushubar also holds teaching positions at the International School of Music, Opal Music Studio, and Stacey Rae Sinclar Music, LLC. She thoroughly enjoys sharing her love of music with students of all ages and backgrounds. She believes anyone can benefit from learning music, whether they partake in it as a hobby or want to pursue it professionally. She challenges her students to new artistic and intellectual heights while providing constructive feedback and ample positive reinforcement. She does her best to cater to the learning needs of every student, and she strongly believes in the power of fostering curiosity and imagination in her teaching approach. She encourages her students to experiment and take risks in the practice rooms, as this allows them to discover both the beauties and challenges of playing the violin in a healthy manner. Ms. Kushubar loves that she learns just as much from teaching, if not more, than from her own practicing. Outside of her musical studies, she enjoys spending time outdoors, exercising, doing jigsaw puzzles, trying new cuisines, and spending time with her husband and two cats, Oliver and Oscar.