Susan Rishik is a violinist in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, a position she has held since 1999. In addition to her appearances with LACO, Susan performs regularly with LA Opera and other local orchestras and chamber music groups. She was a faculty member of the Gold Coast Chamber Music Festival for many years, and has served as a teacher and coach for the Junior Chamber Music and the Elemental Music programs in Los Angeles. In recent years, she performed annually with the International Chamber Orchestra in Puerto Rico. Before joining LACO, Susan was assistant concertmaster for the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra. In 1998, she served as the concertmaster for a two-month run of Matthew Bourne’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake at the Ahmanson Theatre.
Prior to moving to Los Angeles in 1994, Susan was immersed in the world of string quartets. As a member of the Anacapa and Rider quartets, she performed throughout the United States and collaborated with such distinguished groups as the Colorado and Muir String quartets.
Susan has recorded on the Nonesuch label in Steve Reich’s You Are and on CRI in William Kraft’s Quartet for the Love of Time. She has also recorded with LACO in Ned Rorem’s More than a Day featuring Brian Asawa on BMG and in the Bach violin concertos with Hilary Hahn, Margaret Batjer and Allan Vogel as soloists on Deutsche Grammophon. She can be heard on many pop and jazz albums, as well as on the soundtracks of many major motion pictures.
Susan holds a Bachelor’s degree in performance from Indiana University and a Master’s degree from UCSB, where she was in the Young Artists String Quartet program.