“Joining the Key to Change family is the thing I am most looking forward to in this new academic year. I have been inspired and motivated by what I see happening between the students and their mentors and I am so excited and grateful to get to be a part of this incredible and important organization.” – Beth Chu
We are thrilled to announce that Beth Guterman Chu will be joining our staff as a viola instructor. She will be teaching viola lessons in our string studio.
Ms. Chu is one of the most sought after young violists of her generation. Before joining the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2013 as principal, she was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and enjoyed a varied career as a chamber musician and recitalist. Chu still has an avid chamber music career in addition to her role as principal viola, and collaborates with many artists including Gil Shaham, Itzhak Perlman, Joseph Kalichstein, Menahem Pressler, Jaime Laredo, James Ehnes, and members of the Guarneri, Emerson, and Orion quartets. As a recording artist, she has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Tzadik, Naxos, and the CMS Studio Recordings.
“To have someone like Ms. Chu joining our string studio is nothing short of amazing. Her fantastic artistry and values are perfectly aligned with Key to Change’s mission and I’m thrilled for our students”, says Dr. Quinton Morris, executive director and music instructor.
Chu has performed as soloist with many distinguished conductors including Hannu Lintu, Bramwell Tovey, David Robertson, and James DePreist. Of her latest concerto performance with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in October, 2018, the St. Louis Dispatch said “Beth Guterman Chu was up to the challenge as soloist in this amphetamine-paced rendering of the best-known work for viola. She brought out the dazzlingly mellow richness of her instrument… Chu showed off her pyrotechnic chops, plowing through frenzied runs with tremendous feeling and passion.”
During the summer Chu performs and works with young musicians at the Aspen Music Festival and School, National Youth Orchestra-USA, and at the Marlboro Music Festival. In recent years, she has also performed at festivals in Seattle, Washington, Lake Champlain, Vermont, Portland, Maine, as well as Luzerne, Bridgehampton, and Skaneateles, New York.
Beth Guterman Chu received her Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory studying with Kim Kashkashian, and her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School studying with Masao Kawasaki and Misha Amory. She lives in St. Louis with her husband Jonathan, another violist, and their three children.
