Meet Christopher Herz

Violinist Christopher Herz is an internationally recognized soloist and chamber musician. He has performed solo and chamber recitals in Tokyo, Japan with Tokyo Philharmonic first violinist Yoshiyuki Asami. During his time at the Borromeo International Music Festival in Altdorf Switzerland, Mr. Herz performed the Mendelssohn Octet alongside faculty members Lorenz Gamma, Joan Kwuon, Bui Cong Duy, Juan Miguel Hernandez, and Ben Hong. At the Foulger International Music Festival, Mr. Herz performed the Ravel String Quartet at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

Meet Christopher Herz

Community outreach is a crucial element to performing classical music for Mr. Herz. He is currently the Beginning Strings Instructor for the Monroe County School System, teaching violin, viola, cello, and bass to students.

Teaching Students

Chris has also taught as part of the Fairview Violin Project, teaching students from diverse backgrounds focusing on learning violin. As part of Eastman’s Graduate Chamber Seminar, he performed in the outreach concert for students at St. John Fisher College’s Visual and Performing Arts Minor Program. He also served as assistant instructor for the Eastman Community Music School “Pathways” program, which works to teach students from inner Rochester.

Chamber Music in Rochester

He has also served as Audience Experience Manager Society for Chamber Music in Rochester, where he fostered a more personal relationship between SCMR and the Rochester community through mailings, concert promotion, and social media interactions.

Certificates and Education

Mr. Herz is currently completing his doctoral studies in violin performance at the Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Professor Mark Kaplan. He is also pursuing minors in both music education from the Jacobs School and informatics at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering.

Master's Degree

He has received his masters degree at the Eastman School of Music along with the Arts Leadership Program Certificate from Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership. He received a Bachelor of Music with High Distinction and minor in East Asian Languages from the Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music, studying under Mark Kaplan. He has received masterclasses from Dmitri Berlinsky, Sergiu Schwartz, Joan Kwon, Ivan Zenati, as well as from members of the Pacifica Quartet and Jupiter Quartets.

Master's Degree

He has also coached with Menahem Pressler, Elinor Freer, Nicholas Goluses, Janet Ying, Margery Hwang, and Allison Eldredge. Aside from traditional classical performances, Mr. Herz also performs in the subways of San Francisco, transcribing popular songs by the Beatles and other artists for violin and recording his own accompaniment. In his free time, he enjoys trout fishing, playing the guitar, and spending time with his cats, Choco and Pippa.