Violinist Erica Ward is the founder and Director of the Alameda String Academy. Together with her husband an amazing team of colleagues, they perform and teach music -- with a focus on chamber music and collaboration -- to audiences in the Bay Area island city of Alameda, CA.
As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Ward has performed the Complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin twice with pianist Karl Lo. She previously served as Apprentice of Teaching in the San Francisco Conservatory Preparatory Division and as a mentor and coach in the San Francisco Public Schools String Program and the Cleveland Institute of Music Summer Chamber Music Camp. Additionally, Ms. Ward has served violinist and member of the Board of Directors for the Cleveland-based contemporary ensemble FiveOne Music. Outside of the realm of classical music, Ms. Ward has performed with the San Francisco-based Urban-alternative rock band MOVE, and is featured on their album, All of the Above.
Ms. Ward has collaborated, among others, with the Degas Quartet, Luna Nova Quartet, Annie Fullard, Desmond Hoebig, Lynne Ramsey, Mack McCray, and Cary Lewis. She has studied chamber music with Mark Sokol and Ian Swensen, Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet, and the Cavani, Tokyo, Avalon, Ying, and Maia String Quartets. As a guest of the Degas Quartet, Ms. Ward has served as Artist in Residence at Appalachian State University and Guest Lecturer at Western Kentucky University. Ms. Ward has performed with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Stockton Symphony Orchestra, Modesto Symphony, and the Russian Chamber Orchestra, and served as concertmaster of the Suburban Symphony Orchestra in Cleveland, OH. Summer festivals include the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Institute and the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Italy.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Ms. Ward received her BM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and her MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her principal teachers were Camilla Wicks, Wei He, and Paul Kantor. Ms. Ward lives in Alameda with her husband, two young daughters, and their fluffy samoyed, Ollie.
As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Ward has performed the Complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin twice with pianist Karl Lo. She previously served as Apprentice of Teaching in the San Francisco Conservatory Preparatory Division and as a mentor and coach in the San Francisco Public Schools String Program and the Cleveland Institute of Music Summer Chamber Music Camp. Additionally, Ms. Ward has served violinist and member of the Board of Directors for the Cleveland-based contemporary ensemble FiveOne Music. Outside of the realm of classical music, Ms. Ward has performed with the San Francisco-based Urban-alternative rock band MOVE, and is featured on their album, All of the Above.
Ms. Ward has collaborated, among others, with the Degas Quartet, Luna Nova Quartet, Annie Fullard, Desmond Hoebig, Lynne Ramsey, Mack McCray, and Cary Lewis. She has studied chamber music with Mark Sokol and Ian Swensen, Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet, and the Cavani, Tokyo, Avalon, Ying, and Maia String Quartets. As a guest of the Degas Quartet, Ms. Ward has served as Artist in Residence at Appalachian State University and Guest Lecturer at Western Kentucky University. Ms. Ward has performed with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Stockton Symphony Orchestra, Modesto Symphony, and the Russian Chamber Orchestra, and served as concertmaster of the Suburban Symphony Orchestra in Cleveland, OH. Summer festivals include the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Institute and the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Italy.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Ms. Ward received her BM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and her MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her principal teachers were Camilla Wicks, Wei He, and Paul Kantor. Ms. Ward lives in Alameda with her husband, two young daughters, and their fluffy samoyed, Ollie.
