About Lux
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Based in the Twin Cities, Lux String Quartet is an award-winning ensemble that brings a dynamic edge to performance and education. Since 2013, Lux has maintained an active presence in musical spheres ranging from concert halls and churches to breweries and podcasts. Lux seeks to inspire audiences with unique and meaningful programs that highlight the beauty and diversity of 20th and 21st century music.
Collaboration is a cornerstone of Lux’s mission. The quartet partners with living composers to bring new art to life. Past collaborations include Twin Cities' own David Evan Thomas, Julliard’s Dean of Music David Ludwig, and Australian composer Nicholas Vines. In the 24/25 season Lux premiered Vines’ Confessions of a Pangolin, the first piece commissioned by the quartet. Lux will record all of Vines’ quartets in the fall of 2027.
Lux performs with other Twin Cities artists on a regular basis. In the 22/23 season Lux collaborated with dancer and choreographer Danielle Ricci. In 2026 Lux performed with the Belle Chanter Treble Choir, the Twin Cities Bronze Bell Choir, and participated in the Violins of Hope Minnesota residency. Lux will present a collaborative recital series with mezzo-soprano Kristina Rodel Sorum in 2027.
In addition to their own recitals, Lux performs in several concert series including Schubert Club’s Courtroom Concerts, the Waverly Chamber Music Series, Saint Mark’s Music Series, Bayfield Summer Concerts, Hastings Art Center Series, Live @ Lynnhurst, the Wayzata Community Church Series, Laurel Chamber Music Series, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Music Among Friends Series in Winona. In 2025 Lux was awarded first prize in the Charleston International Music Competition.
Dedicated to music education and instilling a love for art in the next generation, Lux regularly presents recitals and workshops to students throughout the Twin Cities metro. MPR has selected the quartet as a ClassNotes Artist six times, and Lux is currently quartet-in-residence at the Colorado Chamber Music Institute. Lux recently mentored University of Minnesota graduate composition students and performed their original compositions in the Twin Cities New Music Festival.
Visit luxstringquartet.com to learn more and support Lux’s mission.
Stephanie Skor, violin
After spending 15 years as a performing artist in Boston, violinist Stephanie Skor returned to her hometown – Saint Paul. Upon her return she joined Lux String Quartet. In addition to her work with Lux, Stephanie maintains a busy and exciting freelance career in the Twin Cities. She performs and solos with many musical organizations including Twin Cities’ Gay Men’s Chorus, the South Dakota Symphony, the National Lutheran Choir, VocalEssence, House of Hope, the Minnesota Oratorio Society, and MPR concert events. Stephanie particularly loves ballet and has performed with the Loyce Holton Nutcracker Fantasy at the State Theater, the Joffrey Ballet, and the Georgia State Ballet.
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. She enjoyed an eclectic performing career in Boston and was in demand for her range as an artist. For six seasons she was of member of the critically acclaimed chamber orchestra Discovery Ensemble, founded and conducted by Courtney Lewis. She toured with Jethro Tull, appeared with Andrea Bocelli and in the HBO Game of Thrones tour, and was concertmaster at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. Stephanie has performed with such artists as Kim Kashkashian, Paula Robison, Jorja Fleezanis, and the Pacifica Quartet. She has worked with many 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.
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Passionate about 20th century and contemporary music Stephanie has premiered over 25 new works. She has been a member of Callithumpian Consort, Composers’ Series in Jordan Hall, the NEC Contemporary Ensemble, and Juventas New Music Ensemble. She was featured in the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, México in 2016. 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.
Stephanie is violin faculty at the St Paul Conservatory of Music, and also serves as Executive Director of the Minnesota Bach Ensemble.
Ellen Hacker, violin
Ellen Hacker is a freelance musician and educator in the Twin Cities. Her musical career includes performances with Artistry Theater, Theater Latté Da, Illusion Theater, Yellow Tree Theater, Lux String Quartet, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Michael Bublé. She is a founding member and manager of The Watercress Trio, a women-owned string collective that regularly performs throughout Minnesota and surrounding states, and she currently serves as Organist/Accompanist at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and First Lutheran Church.
Ellen maintains a private violin & viola studio in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of Saint Paul, and she guides her students to become independent and reflective young musicians. Many of her students participate and have been confident section leaders in local music organizations including the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS), Minnesota Youth Symphonies (MYS), and the Stringwood Summer Music Camp.
Ellen holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Instrumental Music Education from St. Olaf College and a Master’s of Music degree in Violin Performance & String Pedagogy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. While studying at UWM, Ellen was Darcy Drexler’s Graduate Assistant and worked as a faculty member at the String Academy of Wisconsin. She has a rich understanding of violin technique that draws influence from the Suzuki method and other violin pedagogues, including Dorothy Delay, Ivan Galamian, and Mimi Zweig. Her previous teachers include Dr. Andrea Een, Nancy Shows of the Artaria Quartet, and Dr. Bernard Zinck.
Aside from music, Ellen enjoys cooking and baking with her husband, Jonah. She is also an avid animal lover and likes spending afternoons at the Minnehaha Dog Park with her shelties, Leo & Ruby.
Kirsti Petraborg, viola
Violist Kirsti Petraborg is a versatile chamber musician and a passionate teacher. As member of Lux String Quartet, Kirsti has performed on concert series throughout the Midwest as well as teaching and performing in Colorado. Kirsti began her career as a chamber musician as a founding member of the Meadowlark Quartet. She currently performs with the Clear Water Chamber Players. Not only a Classical musician, Kirsti is a member of Charanga Tropical, one the few Cuban-style charanga groups in the United States.
Not only a chamber musician, Kirsti has soloed with Exultate Chamber Orchestra, the Southwest Minnesota Orchestra and the Oskaloosa Music Festival Chamber Orchestra. Her orchestral experience includes playing with the LaCrosse and Sioux City Symphony Orchestras. Kirsti has been an adjunct faculty member at Southwest Minnesota State University as well as Luther College. At her teaching studios in the Twin Cities area, her students hone their technique as well as learn the art of making music. She teaches at the Colorado Chamber Music Institute in the summers. She has spent several summers at Lutheran Summer Music Festival and the Southwest Minnesota String Festival.
Energetic about sharing her love of the viola with others, Kirsti is currently on the board of the Minnesota Viola Society in the capacity of Past President. She received her doctoral degree in Viola Performance at the University of Minnesota, where she also earned her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees. She has studied with Korey Konkol, Sabina Thatcher, and Dr. Andrea Een.
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.
