About Lux
Lux is a Twin-Cities based ensemble, bringing a dynamic edge to performance and education since 2013. Avid recitalists, Lux maintains an active presence in a wide array of musical spheres, from concert halls and churches, to coffee shops and podcasts. Their concert series, "Lattes with Lux," established an enthusiastic fan base and is currently hosted by several local, independent coffee houses around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Lux has performed in many concert series including the Schubert Club Courtroom Concert Series, the Waverly Chamber Music Series in Waverly, IA, the Lakes Chamber Music Society in Alexandria, MN, the Music Among Friends Series at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, and the Music @ Lynnhurst in Minneapolis. Each season Lux presents three recitals at The Baroque Room.
Dedicated to music education and instilling a love for their art in the next generation, Lux regularly presents concerts and workshops at elementary schools, early music education programs, and middle and high school orchestra programs in partnership with Schmitt Music. Lux served as MPR ClassNotes Artist in the 17/18, 19/20 and 20/21 seasons. Lux is currently quartet-in-residence at the Colorado Chamber Music Institute, and is formerly quartet-in-residence at the Augsburg University Suzuki Talent Education and the Oskaloosa Music Festival.
A wide spectrum of musical backgrounds and tastes contributes to the group's creativity, which is reflected in their collaborative projects with other artists. During the 22/23 season Lux collaborated with dancer and choreographer Danielle Ricci. In addition to presenting the classics of the string quartet repertoire, Lux frequently collaborates with living composers such as Minnesota-native David Evan Thomas, Australian Nicholas Vines, and David Ludwig.
Stephanie Skor
violin
After spending the last 15 years as a performing artist in Boston, violinist and St. Paul native Stephanie Skor has returned to her hometown. She performed extensively in the New England area, and is now pursuing a busy freelance career in the Twin Cities. Stephanie is thrilled to join the Lux String Quartet!
Stephanie is an honors graduate of the New England Conservatory, where she studied with Nicholas Kitchen, a founding member and first violinist of the Borromeo String Quartet. While studying at NEC she attended Madeline Island Chamber Music, the Mannes Beethoven Institute, and Bowdoin International Music Festival. Stephanie began playing string quartets at the age of 14, and ever since has loved to explore chamber music in all it forms.
In demand for her diversity as a violinist, Stephanie has enjoyed an eclectic performing career – from a U.S. tour with Jethro Tull to concertmaster at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. For six seasons she was a violinist in the critically acclaimed Boston-based chamber orchestra Discovery Ensemble, founded and conducted by Courtney Lewis. Stephanie has performed with such artists as Kim Kashkashian, Paula Robison, Jorja Fleezanis, and the Pacifica Quartet. She was a member of the Gardner Chamber Orchestra and has worked with inspiring conductors including Osmo Vänskä, Michael Stern, Douglas Boyd, Joshua Weilerstein, James Ross, and Larry Rachleff. Stephanie has appeared in performances on WGBH, MPR, TPT, and Newstalk, a national radio station in Ireland.
Passionate about 20th century and contemporary music, Stephanie has premiered over 20 new works. She has enjoyed working with composers Georg Friedrich Haas, Vinko Globokar, Christian Wolff, and Nicholas Vines, and has played works by John Cage, György Ligeti, Cornelius Cardew, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Lei Liang, Thomas Adès, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In Boston Stephanie was a member of the Composers’ Series in Jordan Hall, the NEC Contemporary Ensemble, and Juventas New Music Ensemble. She plays in the Callithumpian Consort and has performed with that Boston-based ensemble in the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, México. Stephanie will be recording a new work by Australian composer Nicholas Vines in June 2019 at Cornell University.
Rosa Thompson-Vieira
cello
Rosa Thompson-Vieira, a native of Minneapolis, enjoys a dynamic and ever evolving career as a professional cellist and teacher in the Twin Cities. She serves as the new cellist of the Lux String Quartet, is on call as a substitute cellist for the Minnesota Opera and South Dakota Symphony, and was formerly the Assistant Principal cellist, (often filling in as Principal) of the Rochester Symphony. To name a few, Thompson-Vieira has appeared with touring professionals such as Michael Buble, 2Cellos and Broadway’s Tony and Grammy-winning Best Musical Hadestown.
Thompson-Vieira thrives in a broad range of musical avenues, which does not exclude her passion for chamber music. She has served as cellist in Roma Duo since 2014, cellist of Quartet Du Nord since 2019 and as a member of the Delphia Cello Quartet since 2018, participating as a Class Notes Artist for Minnesota Public Radio in both the 2018/2019 and 2022/2023 seasons. Thompson-Vieira finds great joy in sharing music through performance as well as education. In 2021 she became a cello instructor for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies Harmony program, focusing on breaking down barriers in music education and creating a more accessible pathway for underrepresented students. She received her Suzuki book 1 Certification in 2015 and uses a combination of traditional and Suzuki teaching methods. In addition to being on faculty at MacPhail, Thompson-Vieira has taught at the University of Minnesota - Morris, and is currently managing a private home studio.
Thompson-Vieira received both her undergraduate degree and masters degree from the University of Minnesota studying under Tanya Remenikova, a former student of the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Previously she studied with Allison Wells at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. In her spare time she enjoys doing yoga, cooking meals with her partner and spending time with her son Guthrie, dog Lewis and cat Iggy.
Kirsti Petraborg
viola
