Violist Ellen Ruth Rose enjoys a varied career as a soloist, ensemble musician, and teacher. She is a member Empyrean Ensemble, the new music group in residence at UC Davis, Eco Ensemble, the new music ensemble in residence at UC Berkeley, and Earplay, the San Francisco-based contemporary ensemble, for which she has also served as artistic coordinator, fostering programs for one of the Bay Area’s leading sextets. She has performed as soloist with the West German Radio Chorus, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the symphony orchestras of UC Davis and Berkeley, at the Ojai Music Festival and at Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles. Prior to moving to California, she worked extensively throughout Europe with Frankfurt’s Ensemble Modern and the Cologne experimental ensembles Musik Fabrik and Thürmchen Ensemble, appearing at the Cologne Triennial, Berlin Biennial, Salzburg Zeitfluß, Venice Biennial, Budapest Autumn and Kuhmo (Finland) festivals. Traditional chamber music credits include the Marlboro Music Festival, the International Musician’s Seminar in Cornwall, England, the Banff Centre, and chamber music festivals throughout Europe and the US. Ellen holds degrees in viola performance from the Juilliard School and the Northwest German Music Academy in Detmold, Germany, and a B.A. with honors in English and American history and literature from Harvard University. Her viola mentors have included Heidi Castleman, Nobuko Imai, Marcus Thompson, and Karen Tuttle. She teaches at both UC Davis and UC Berkeley, and her own students have gone on to masters and doctoral programs in viola performance throughout the country as well as professional orchestras and string quartets, medical school, veterinary school, law school, music history graduate programs, and other places where good violists enrich the world.