Elbert Tsai
Violin
About
Virtuoso violinist Elbert Tsai leads a multifaceted career as a recitalist and sought-after pedagogue. His recitals, which often celebrate the short showpieces and gems of the instrument’s 450-year musical history, have been featured recently at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Three Rivers Performing Arts Institute, YES Foundation for the Arts, Throckmorton Theatre, Scripps College, Le Petit Trianon Theatre, and Colburn School for the Performing Arts. As a soloist, Elbert has appeared with the Bear Valley Music Festival, Oakland Opera Theater, National Repertory Orchestra, and Sacramento Symphony, often performing concertos featuring his own original cadenzas. Before embarking on a solo and chamber music career, Elbert was an orchestral violinist, winning positions with the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Symphony orchestras. From 2006 to 2016, he shared the stage with many of the world’s greatest conductors and soloists and toured to renowned concert halls in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Widely praised as a teacher and educator, Elbert has taught violin and chamber music as a faculty member of Center Stage Strings and the Luzerne Music Center. As a guest artist, he has presented masterclasses at the University of Michigan School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory. Additionally, he has been appointed to the violin faculty of the SFCM Pre- College Division and coaches chamber music at the Crowden School in Berkeley.
Elbert holds degrees from the University of Southern California, Rice University, and Oberlin College, where he majored in violin and computer science and completed a minor in piano performance. His principal teachers and musical mentors include Robert Lipsett, Paul Kantor, Greg Fulkerson, Ken Goldsmith, Anne Crowden, Joel Smirnoff, and Paul Katz.
Elbert performs on an outstanding violin made by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, the “ex-Sophie Hummler.” For more information, please visit www.elberttsai.com.
Music
previous Groupmuse material includes:
Korngold Suite - Much Ado About Nothing
De Falla - Danse Espagnole
Granados - Spanish Dance "Andaluza"
Albeniz - Tango trans. Kreisler
Franck - Sonata for Violin and Piano
Poulenc - Sonata for Violin and Piano
Saint-Saens - Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano
Beethoven - Archduke Trio
Beethoven - Trio Op. 70 No. 2 in E-flat Major
Brahms - Trio No. 3 in C minor
Videos
Past groupmuses (15)
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Outdoors
Backyard views of the Sierra (quartet)
Saturday, Dec 4, 2021 2:00 PM PST
- Neighborhood: Golden Gate, Oakland
- Composers: Palestrina, Alberga, Mozart
- Instruments: String Quartet
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened almost 3 years ago
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Virtual Premiere
Festival Rolland 2021: Beethoven op. 59 no. 1 with the Sierra Quartet
Thursday, Oct 28, 2021 6:00 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: San Francisco
- Composers: Beethoven!
- Instruments: String Quartet
- Price: $5 to reserve, $15+ at event
Happened about 3 years ago
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Virtual Premiere
Festival Rolland 2021: Dvořák Piano Quintet with Ian Scarfe and the Sierra Quartet
Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 3:00 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: San Francisco
- Composers: Dvořák
- Instruments: Piano Quintet
- Price: $5 to reserve, $15+ at event
Happened about 3 years ago
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Outdoors
Friday, Sep 17, 2021 7:00 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Old Palo Alto, Palo Alto
- Composers: Beethoven, Montgomery, Bryant
- Instruments: String quartet
- Price: Free to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened about 3 years ago
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Saturday, Dec 7, 2019 7:30 PM PST
- Neighborhood: South of Market, San Francisco
- Composers: Prokofiev, Dvořák
- Instruments: Piano Quartet
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened almost 5 years ago
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Hot Summer Strings--Janacek and Schubert
Saturday, Jul 20, 2019 7:30 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: San Jose/Rosegarden
- Composers: Janacek, Schubert
- Instruments: String Quartet
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 5 years ago
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Saturday, Mar 16, 2019 2:00 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: San Jose
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 5 years ago
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Saturday, Mar 17, 2018 7:30 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Kensington, CA
- Composers: Beethoven, Dvořák, Fauré
- Instruments: Piano, Violin, Cello
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 6 years ago
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Encore, Encore, in Kensington!
Friday, Feb 9, 2018 7:30 PM PST
- Neighborhood: Kensington, CA
- Composers: Mendelssohn, Smetana
- Instruments: Violin, Cello, Piano
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened almost 7 years ago
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Former San Francisco Symphony violinist plays virtuoso program of Dvořák, Beethoven and Saint-Saëns!
Friday, Sep 8, 2017 6:30 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Upper Civic Center, SF
- Instruments: Violin
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened about 7 years ago
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Sunday, Jul 30, 2017 7:30 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Lower Haight, San Francisco
- Composers: Beethoven, Schumann
- Instruments: Violin, Cello, and Piano
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 7 years ago
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Chamber Duos and Trio in a Beautiful Setting
Saturday, Apr 15, 2017 7:00 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 7 years ago
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Saturday, Apr 8, 2017 7:00 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Berkeley Hills
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 7 years ago
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Friday, Apr 7, 2017 8:00 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Cole Valley, SF
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 7 years ago
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Massivemuse
Brahms Clarinet Quintet Massivemuse at Monument
Wednesday, Feb 8, 2017 6:00 PM PST
- Neighborhood: South of Market, SF
- Price: $20 tickets ($10 for Supermusers)
Happened almost 8 years ago