About Us

Co-Founder

Marisa Ishikawa is an avid performer, educator, and entrepreneur based in Houston, TX. As a violin teacher and a founder and faculty member of Opus 1 Chamber Music School, she is passionate about cultivating a love for music in her students. As a performer in the internationally renowned Carpe Diem String Quartet and co-founder of the arts non-profit Austin Camerata, she is devoted to curating and presenting inclusive and engaging performances that showcase diverse composers and styles of music. In her free time, Marisa enjoys cooking and practicing yoga.

As a performer, Marisa has performed in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Jordan Hall, as well as throughout Europe and China. She serves as the second violinist of the internationally recognized Carpe Diem String Quartet, a boundary-breaking ensemble that has earned widespread critical and audience acclaim for its innovative programming and electrifying performances. With the Quartet, she appears on the quartet’s recording, Dances of the Yogurt Maker, which features the string chamber works of Turkish composer Erberk Eryilmaz. This album was released in May 2021 on the MSR label, was produced by Grammy Award winner Judith Sherman, and received Gold Prize in the Global Music Awards. Marisa also composed her first work for string quartet as part of the quartet’s interactive virtual performance An American Story. This performance was sponsored by the PNC Arts Alive Grant and was released in May 2021.

In 2021, Marisa co-founded Opus 1 Chamber Music School, Houston’s chamber music program. Opus 1’s goal is to create experiences and ensembles – tailored to the unique personality and playing of every student – that foster a sense of community, high standards, and enthusiasm for each other and chamber music. Whether a student intends to pursue music as a career or as a lifelong hobby, Opus 1 equips them with the interpersonal and musical skills and passions that chamber music uniquely provides.

Marisa was born in Boulder, Colorado and began playing the violin at the age of three. Between 2011 and 2015, she earned a Bachelor of Music with Highest Honors from the University of Colorado Boulder. Additionally, she received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with High Distinction from CU Leeds School of Business. From 2015 to 2017, Marisa studied with Brian Lewis at the University of Texas Austin, where she received the Starling Distinguished Violinist Scholarship and earned a Master of Music degree. In 2020, she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from CU Boulder under Charles Wetherbee. Her final thesis, Keeping and Retaining Audiences in Today’s Classical World, explored reasons for and solutions to classical music’s declining audience population.

Marisa has worked with numerous artists, such as Glenn Dicterow, Naoko Tanaka, Alexander Kerr, Rachel Barton Pine, Ani Kavafian, Peter Otto, and Stephen Rose, the Takács String Quartet, and the Miró String Quartet. As a soloist, Marisa has performed with the National Repertory Orchestra, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra. Additionally, she has participated in the National Repertory Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival.

www.marisafrances.com
www.cdsq.org
www.opus1cms.com

Co-Founder

Violinist Sophie Verhaeghe maintains a year-round schedule of performing and teaching. Currently based in Austin, TX, she is member of both the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the Austin Opera Orchestra. Her love of orchestral music has led her to perform with the crossover duo 2Cellos, singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, the Houston Symphony, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the San Antonio Symphony as a contracted member. As a chamber musician, Sophie has collaborated with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Cordova Quartet, and Latitude 49, as well as clarinetist Dimitri Ashkenazy and pianist Anton Nel.

A passionate educator as well as performer, Sophie maintains a private studio in Austin of students of all ages and is on the summer faculty of the Manitou Chamber Music Festival in Colorado. She was previously the violin instructor at Texas Lutheran University. Sophie is also a co-founder, violinist, and Director of Operations for Austin Camerata, a collective ensemble that brings artistic collaborations and classical chamber music to unconventional venues.

Sophie began playing the violin at age 3 and made her solo debut at the age of 12. She has performed in Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center. Summer festival appearances include Aspen Music Festival and School, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Talis Festival and Academy in Switzerland, and the National Repertory Orchestra, where she was a featured soloist.

Sophie holds degrees from the University of Michigan (Bachelor of Music, with Highest Honors), Boston University (Master of Music), and the University of Texas at Austin (Artist Diploma). Her previous teachers include Jeri Jorgensen, Aaron Berofsky, Bayla Keyes, and William Fedkenheuer. In her spare time, Sophie enjoys cooking, running (she recently completed her first marathon in February 2023), reading, watching college football, and knitting.