American violist, Karina Schmitz, recently settled in Sydney and is thrilled to find herself immersed in the rich and vibrant musical scene in Australia. She is principal violist with Pinchgut Opera/Orchestra of the Antipodes and with the Australian Haydn Ensemble, and has performed with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, Van Diemen’s Band, Salut! Baroque, and Ensemble Galante. In the United States, Karina was principal violist of Handel & Haydn Society in Boston, principal violist of Apollo’s Fire in Cleveland, principal violist of the Carmel Bach Festival in California, and founding violinist/violist with New York based 17th century ensemble ACRONYM.

Karina holds viola performance degrees from New England Conservatory of Music (Boston) and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her early music studies began as an undergraduate at Oberlin Conservatory with Marilyn McDonald, David Breitman, and Miho Hashizume, and she continued her training in the Apollo’s Fire Apprentice Program. A dedicated practitioner of Historically Informed Performance Practice, Karina finds a way to geek out over the expressive possibilities in every period of music she plays, and she is exceedingly grateful for the opportunities in which HIPP has greatly influenced and shaped her career.

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