Rachel Kitagawa Shapiro

Brooklyn-based violinist Rachel Kitagawa Shapiro enjoys a vibrant and diverse career as a chamber musician and educator. She is a founding member and second violinist of the critically acclaimed Aeolus Quartet, now in their thirteenth season together and performing across the globe at venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Seoul Arts Center. An active collaborator, Ms. Shapiro frequently appears as a guest with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, and the Mark Morris Dance Group Music Ensemble. A devoted and dynamic educator, she has served as Professorial Lecturer at George Washington University and as guest Teaching Artist at the Brooklyn High School of the Arts, as well as on violin and chamber music faculties at summer programs such as Bennington Chamber Music Conference, TCU College of Fine Arts Intensive Quartet Workshop, and Kinhaven Music School. She has recorded for Naxos and Azica record labels and on a recent album by The National. Ms. Shapiro holds an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland. Her work has been published in Strings magazine. She performs on a 1991 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin graciously on loan to her through the Five Partners Foundation.