Meet Carmen Abelson, violinist

Carmen Abelson, violinist.

“I'm so excited and grateful to be joining a group of musical giants!” said Carmen Abelson, who joined the ESO as a violinist after auditioning in the fall.

Carmen started playing violin when she was five, and “can piddle around on viola, electric bass, guitar, and piano.” Her favorite violin piece to play is the Barber Violin Concerto.

She works throughout the Chicagoland and Midwest areas as an orchestral, chamber, and solo performer and music educator. Carmen is a teaching artist at The People’s Music School, teaches violin as adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield and at Glenbard East High School, and maintains a private studio.

Currently assistant principal 2nd violin of the West Michigan Symphony and a tenured member of the Illinois Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, she is also a core member of 5th Wave Ensemble, a collective dedicated to the performance of works by womxn and non-binary composers.

In addition to her work in classical music, Carmen performs in the family band “Susan and Sons” with her mother and sister and with the Bristol Busk ‘n’ Frolic at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.

“I love the spell that an uninterrupted (and well executed) performance of live music casts on an audience, and it is a joy to be transported by the music alongside them,” she said.