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About Lux
Lux String Quartet is a Twin-Cities based ensemble that brings a dynamic edge to performance and education. Since 2013, Lux has maintained an active presence in a wide array of musical spheres, from concert halls and churches to coffee shops and podcasts.
The members of this creative quartet contribute a wide spectrum of musical perspectives, and frequently collaborate with local and international artists. The group is committed to performing 20th and 21st-century repertoire, as well as works by living composers, including Twin Cities' own David Evan Thomas and the Dean of Music at The Juilliard School, David Ludwig. During the 22/23 season Lux performed David Evan Thomas's Trio innocente with Minnesota-based dancer and choreographer Danielle Ricci. In the 24/25 season, the quartet will premiere the first work written for and dedicated to Lux, Confessions of a Pangolin by Australian composer, Nicholas Vines.
Lux performs in several concert series including the Schubert Club Courtroom Concert Series, the Waverly Chamber Music Series, the Lakes Chamber Music Society, Music Among Friends Series at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, and the Music @ Lynnhurst in Minneapolis. Dedicated to music education and instilling a love for art in the next generation, Lux regularly presents recitals and workshops at elementary schools, early music education programs, and middle and high school orchestra programs in partnership with Schmitt Music. The quartet has served as MPR ClassNotes Artist for four seasons and is currently quartet-in-residence at the Colorado Chamber Music Institute.
Stephanie Skor
violin
After spending 15 years as a performing artist in Boston, violinist and St. Paul native Stephanie Skor returned to her hometown. She joined Lux String Quartet in 2018.
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.
Stephanie maintains a busy and exciting freelance career in the Twin Cities. She performs with many musical organizations including the 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.
Passionate about 20th century and contemporary music, Stephanie has premiered over 25 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 played in the Callithumpian Consort and with that Boston-based ensemble in the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, México.
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, 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 in St. Paul.
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 sheltie, Leo.
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
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.
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