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Ida Kavafian enjoys an international reputation as one of the most versatile musicians performing today. With a repertoire as diverse as her talents, Ms. Kavafian has electrified recital stages throughout North America, the Far East and Europe. She has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras both nationally and internationally, and her commitment to contemporary music has led to many world premieres by composers as varied as Toru Takemitsu, who wrote a concerto for her, and jazz greats Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis, both of whom with which she has toured and recorded. Her television credits include a solo feature on CBS Sunday Morning. Since her founding membership in the innovative group TASHI twenty-five years ago, Ms. Kavafian's chamber music appearances have included many renowned festivals and series throughout the world. She has toured and recorded with the Guarneri Quartet (as violist) and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, of which she is an Artist Member. She and her sister, Ani continue to perform together regularly in recital and with major orchestras. Their television credits together include features on CBS Sunday Morning and NBC's Today Show, and they have recorded for Nonesuch.
Ms. Kavafian was the violinist of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio for six years. Some of their honors during her tenure included being named "Ensemble of the Year" by Musical America for 1997 and a 1998 Grammy nomination. She has recently formed a new ensemble, called OPUS ONE, along with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, violist Steven Tenenbom and cellist Peter Wiley.
For seventeen years, Ida Kavafian has been the Artistic Director of the highly successful festival, Music from Angel Fire. She also founded and guided Bravo! Colorado in Vail as Music Director for ten years, building it into one of the leading festivals in the country. As an educator, she is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute, and has served on numerous boards, including Chamber Music America.
Born in Istanbul, Turkey of Armenian descent, Ms. Kavafian's family immigrated to the United States when she was three, settling in Detroit. She began her studies at age six with Ara Zerounian, continuing with Mischa Mischakoff, and ultimately earned her Master of Music degree with honors from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Oscar Shumsky. Ms. Kavafian made her New York debut at the 92nd Street "Y" with pianist Peter Serkin as a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. She was a recipient of the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1988. Her violin is a J.B. Guadagnini, made in Milan in 1751, and her viola was made in 1987 by Peter and Wendela Moes. Ms. Kavafian resides in Connecticut and Philadelphia, where she and her husband, violist Steven Tenenbom can be found passionately pursuing their hobby of breeding, training and showing prize winning champion Hungarian Vizsla dogs under the kennel name, "Opus One Vizslas".
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