Carpe Diem String Quartet Appoints New Member

Columbus, OH, September 8, 2023– Carpe Diem String Quartet (CDSQ), embarking on its 18th season, announces the immediate appointment of Sam Weiser as the quartet's first violinist.

Sam Weiser, violin, formerly a member of the award-winning Del Sol Quartet, is a lifelong chamber musician and advocate of contemporary music.

Weiser has performed all over the country, from the Herbst Theater and the Kennedy Center to a raft floating along the Yampa River. He has premiered over 150 new works by composers such as Vijay Iyer, Huang Ruo, and Chen Yi. He is the violinist in sfSound, a member of One Found Sound, and the Assistant Concertmaster of the California Symphony. He studied with Ian Swensen, Lucy Chapman, James Buswell, and Patinka Kopec. Weiser holds bachelor's degrees from Tufts University (computer science) and the New England Conservatory (violin), as well as a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (chamber music).

Korine Fujiwara, CDSQ’s violist and Executive Director, said: “During our thoughtful search over the last eight months, we auditioned and interviewed some wonderful and exciting candidates. However, we knew immediately that we had found our new partner in Sam. He has an adventurous and multilingual musical spirit and his warm and compelling personality both onstage and off engages everyone around him and draws them into the magical musical storytelling world created onstage. We are thrilled that he has joined us in this new chapter of the quartet’s journey.” 

The quartet’s 2023-24 season, “Forward in all directions,” begins November 4 and 5, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. The season features works by Paul Wianko, Emilie Mayer, Joaquín Turina, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Arensky, Ravel, and Dohnanyi. CDSQ will also present world premieres by Akshaya Avril Tucker, Reza Vali, Mark Lomax II, and Paul Frucht as part of their “15 for 15” commissioning project. In addition to violinist Sam Weiser and violist Korine Fujiwara, the other quartet members include violinist Marisa Ishikawa and cellist Ariana Nelson. 

For more information, visit cdsq.org.