Eva Karasik

Second Violin

San Francisco native Eva Karasik achieved a childhood dream in 1973, when she became the youngest member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. She had always hoped to follow in the footsteps of her father, who spent 40 years as a violist in the San Francisco Opera and Symphony.

Eva’s early violin studies with her father led to admission at the Cleveland Institute, where she studied violin with Elmer Setzer, Daniel Majeske, and Donald Weilerstein, and with the conductor James Levine. During her years in Cleveland, she traveled extensively throughout the country as the violinist in a rock’n’roll band.

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When Eva first joined the Opera Orchestra, she was also in demand as a freelance musician, using her crossover skills to play in the exclusive club scene and theaters and hotels.

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She has played with symphony orchestras in Phoenix, Tampa, and Dallas, and with the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, the Aspen Festival, and the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico.

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Those who know Eva know of her love for all things Russian. She studies the language in order to understand her own roots, and to learn Russian operas. She has performed as an invited guest in St. Petersburg and Moscow with the Russian National Orchestra, conducted by Mikhail Pletnev and Vladimir Spivakov. She performs locally with the Russian Chamber Orchestra and with Midsummer Mozart.

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"My Russian studies, my violin, my literature club, and of course my nephew, Daniel keep me happy and busy."