Biography

Kate Stenberg’s violin playing has been described as “highly virtuosic and deeply communicative…full of character and presence” (NewMusicBox), as heard in performances in a dozen countries and on numerous CDs including Other Minds and New World Records, Sono Luminous, Newport Classics, Decca Records and New Albion.  She is a leading interpreter of contemporary chamber music having premiered over one hundred solo and chamber works, including pieces incorporating multimedia and improvisation.  Stenberg has premiered new works by renowned composers Tania León, Jack Body, Mason Bates, Gabriela Lena Frank,  Chinary Ung, Per Nørgård, Kui Dong and many others.  Her CD Scenes from a New Music Séance, produced on the Other Minds label with pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann, received widespread praise and features groundbreaking, innovative works by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Ruth Crawford Seeger and George Antheil, as well as works dedicated to her by living composers Charles Amirkhanian, Amy X Neuburg, and Ronald Bruce Smith.  She has also received dedications from Robert Honstein, David Evan Jones, Aaron Gervais, and most recently from Larry Polansky released on New World Records in 2020.

Currently, Stenberg performs regularly with pianist Sarah Cahill.  The Stenberg|Cahill Duo is dedicated to promoting the American experimental music tradition and expanding it through the commissioning of new work.  “It’s difficult to believe that the Stenberg|Cahill Duo was formed in 2016: These two musicians sound as though they have been collaborating with one another much longer.  Contemporary music fans are fortunate to have this simultaneously authoritative and approachable pair…” San Francisco Classical Voice.  Recent appearances include performances at the San Francisco Performances PIVOT Series with percussionist William Winant, Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley Chamber Performances, Other Minds New Music Séance, Garden of Memory at the Julia Morgan Chapel of the Chimes, and Memory/Place with Nancy Karp + Dancers at ODC Theater.

Kate Stenberg’s passion for chamber music led her to develop and commission new chamber music as co-founder of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble (1993-1998) and Real Vocal String Quartet (2004-2006). From 1995-2015 she served as the first violinist of the renowned Del Sol String Quartet, which fostered the string quartet repertoire through the collaboration and commissioning of emerging and established composers.  During her two decade tenure with the quartet, Stenberg worked closely with many composers including Joan Tower, Wadada Leo Smith, Paweł Mykietyn, Peter Sculthorpe, Mohammed Fairouz, Reza Vali and Hyo-shin Na performing at such venues as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Symphony Space, National Gallery of Art and on KQED’s Spark series.  The quartet expanded its outreach to numerous educational institutions including the Manhattan School of Music, Dartmouth, MIT, and the San Francisco and Peabody Conservatories of Music and was a top winner of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.

Stenberg collaborated and premiered work at San Francisco Performances alongside Joan Jeanrenaud and Daniel Bernard Roumain, and with choreographers, Garrett + Moulton Productions on StringWreck.  Her festival performances have included the Other Minds, Ojai Music Festival, Centre Acanthes (France), Banff (Canada), Chengdu Contemporary Music Festival (China), Nirmita Composer’s Institute (Cambodia and Thailand), Chautauqua, and the Cabrillo Festival.  Stenberg can also be heard on recordings with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, New Music Works and with tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and sarod master Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Bay Area native Kate Stenberg holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music.  She maintains and active teaching schedule and when she is not immersed in her music scores, she can be found enjoying Taiji or hiking trails in her beloved Sierra Nevada.