Individual bios: Stephanie Matthews, Naira Underwood, Adiza Sanchez-Rahim, Patrice JacksonAdiza Sanchez-Rahim, 19, is a native of Bronx, NY. She started studying violin at the age of six with Roberta Guaspari, founder of The East Harlem Violin Program. She attended Walnut Hill, a performing arts high school just outside of Boston. Before switching to the viola in her junior year, she studied with violinist Will Fedkenheuer. She then commenced her viola studies with violist Carol Rodland.
Ms. Sanchez-Rahim has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Tonhalle in Zurich, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Apollo Theater. She has performed alongside some of today’s leading musicians, namely Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Itzhak Perlman, Mark O’Connor, Regina Carter, Joshua Bell, John Blake, Dave Grusin, Diane Monroe, Amanda Forsythe, Arnold Steinhardt, Natalie MacMaster, and Pinchas Zukerman. She has appeared in concert venues across the globe, from Madison Square Garden to the Teatro Municipal in São Paulo.
Adiza is a founding member of the Ebony Strings Quartet which was established at The Juilliard School in 2006. This summer the quartet will be working with the nationally acclaimed Chiara String Quartet at the Chamber Music Institute at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. In addition to being a solo artist and chamber musician, Ms. Sanchez-Rahim is active in many outreach activities and programs. She works closely with the Music Advancement Program (MAP) at Juilliard, a program designed to address the low representation of African-American and Latino musicians in classical orchestras. Ms. Sanchez-Rahim is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Music at The Juilliard School under the instruction of Masao Kawasaki.