Members
Carmen Abelson
Violinist Carmen Abelson (she/her/hers) works throughout the Chicagoland and Midwest areas as an orchestral, chamber, and solo performer and music educator. Currently assistant principal 2nd violin of the West Michigan Symphony and a tenured member of the Illinois Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, Abelson is also a recent member of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. As well, Abelson teaches violin through the People’s Music School SLAM program, at Glenbard East high school, and maintains a private studio. Abelson holds degrees from Rice, Sam Houston State, and DePaul Universities where she pursued interests in music history, period performance, and pedagogy in addition to violin playing. Having performed chamber music throughout Chicago as a Civic Fellow during her three-year stint with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Abelson is a current member of Varo String Quartet and Four Equals. Outside the world of classical music, she performs in the family band “Susan and Sons” with her mother and sister and with the Bristol Busk ‘n’ Frolic at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.
Hannah Christiansen
Currently a member of the Varo String Quartet, violinist Hannah Christiansen performs regularly with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and has appeared in recent seasons with Ensemble Dal Niente, the Ulster Orchestra (Belfast, Northern Ireland), Washington Island Music Festival, SouthEastern Young Artists, F-PLUS, and the International Contemporary Ensemble in addition to her work from 2017-2021 with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Hannah’s particular interest in nonstandard notation and extended technique has led her to residencies with the composition departments at Northwestern University and Roosevelt University and as a Sponsored Artist of High Concept Laboratories; she has also guest lectured on extended techniques for the violin at the University of Chicago. With percussionist Joe Bricker (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), Hannah designed and runs From Scratch, an education program which introduces young musicians to contemporary music early in their careers. Hannah holds a degree in French Language and Literature from Oberlin College in addition to her violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Northwestern University, and DePaul University, and her major teachers are Milan Vitek, Gerardo Ribeiro, and Janet Sung.
Isidora Nojkovic
Praised for her “great control” (Chicago Classical Review), cellist Isidora Nojkovic is an active soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. She has a passion for contemporary music and commissioning, having premiered over 50 works, and is one half of the contemporary violin/cello duo Orbit (“the new cross-continental duo to pay attention to.” – Classical Post). She performs regularly with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Symphony, Illinois Symphony, Vancouver’s Turning Point Ensemble, and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. She has also completed two tours with Lincoln Center Stage, performing in twenty-two countries as part of a piano quintet.
Violist Lena Vidulich is an adventurous multi-instrumentalist based in Chicago. A tireless advocate for new music, she is also able to move fluidly between the worlds of orchestral music, rock, improvisation, and musical theater. She is a founding member of earspace and has performed with groups including Talea Ensemble, Ensemble Dal Niente, and Contemporaneous. Lena holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Northwestern University with additional studies at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris and Université de Paris 8 – Vincennes-St Denis. She received her master’s degree in contemporary performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Lena is also an AmSAT-certified teacher of the Alexander Technique and has served on faculty at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYC), the Riverside Initiative for the Alexander Technique (NYC), and Alexander Technique Training in Chicago.