Carla Kountoupes

CARLA KOUNTOUPES began studying violin at the age of seven.  She received a degree in Violin Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Stephen Clapp, Marilyn McDonald, and Gregory Fulkerson.  Ms. Kountoupes was a tenured member of the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra for several years, and taught on the faculty of that orchestra’s Youth Program.

• The Camus Quartet

While in Costa Rica she was also a member of the Latin American Chamber Orchestra and Probus Ensemble (a contemporary music ensemble). Ms. Kountoupes has toured and performed in Central America, Taiwan, the United States, and Europe.  From 1999 through 2002 she was a member of the Bella Cosí String Quartet, based in San Francisco.

As a member of the quartet, she participated in numerous recitals, master classes (including a week long series of “Encounters with Isaac Stern”), and outreach concerts in the Bay Area. An active freelance musician, she has performed with orchestras all over the country including Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, New Century Chamber Orchestra (San Francisco), and the Santa Rosa Symphony. She has attended summer festivals at Tanglewood and Chautauqua.

Ms. Kountoupes is currently a member of the Arizona Opera Orchestra and performs regularly with the Tucson Symphony.  In addition to performing, she has been an active music educator for over ten years. She was on the faculty of the San Francisco Community Music School and the PRIME School of Music in Tucson.

She teaches private violin lessons and is a teaching-artist with the Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA) program in Tucson public schools. Ms. Kountoupes enjoys performing and recording Latin and jazz, as well as classical music.