Frances Hsieh, Violin

Raised in Chapel Hill, NC, Frances Hsieh (violin) began violin studies at age five with Dorothy Kitchen of the Duke University String School. An A.J. Fletcher scholar at Duke, she earned dual degrees in Music and Biology while studying under Eric Pritchard. Frances completed her Master’s in Violin Performance at the Eastman School of Music with Charles Castleman and performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra through a competitive internship. At Eastman, she received chamber music instruction from Mikail Kopelman, Zvi Zeitlin, George Taylor, and the Ying Quartet.Frances has attended prestigious summer music festivals, including Tanglewood Institute, Eastern Music Festival, and AIMS in Graz. She won the Benenson Award for Aspen Music Festival and Musicorda and toured Austria and Italy with the Eastman Quartet. Professionally, Frances has performed with the North Carolina and Phoenix Symphonies, and has held positions with the Colorado Music Festival, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as Assistant Concertmaster of the Asheville Symphony. She is currently Principal 2nd of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra and plays with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. As a dedicated teacher, Frances runs a private studio, teaches at Ashley Hall’s Carolina Strings Academy, and has been involved with Joyful Noise in Asheville and Luzerne Music Center in NY. She is also a core member of Chamber Music Charleston and has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall.