About Us

About

Since its founding in 2016, Austin Camerata has emerged as an ensemble leading the way in innovative chamber music performances in central Texas. Hailed for its “unadulterated beauty” (Austin 360), Austin Camerata was nominated for “Best Classical Ensemble” by the 2018 Austin Critics Table. Dedicated to reimagining chamber music, Austin Camerata performs an array of repertoire, from the most revered classical masterpieces to jazz, pop, and rock. The ensemble’s immersive concert experiences feature unique venues, choreography, visual art, or storytelling. Learn more about our past projects here.

Austin Camerata’s commitment to education has led to its Musical Storytime series in partnership with award-winning local bookstore BookPeople. This interactive series introduces our

youngest listeners to live music paired with beloved children’s stories read aloud. Support for Austin Camerata ensures that the highest quality of classical music performance continues to be widely accessible in the city of Austin. Learn more about our educational initiatives here.

Austin Camerata works towards making all concerts financially accessible. We thank our donors and private foundations for their continued support and for allowing us to bring the highest quality of classical chamber music to Austin. If you would like to support or learn more about Austin Camerata, please email info@austincamerata.org. 

Musicians

  • Mariama Alcântara, violin

  • A man with black hair styled upward, wearing round glasses, and a large handlebar mustache, dressed in a black suit and tie, holding a violin in front of his chest, smiling slightly against a plain white background.

    Luis Eduardo Bellorín, viola

  • A man in a black suit holding a cello, standing against a dark background.

    Cory Blais, cello

  • A man in glasses and a light-colored shirt holding a violin outdoors near a large tree with spring foliage.

    Patrice Calixte, violin

  • A portrait of a young man with short brown hair, fair skin, and a slight smile, wearing a black shirt against a dark background.

    Andrew Corral, violin

  • A smiling young man in a black shirt holding a violin, standing outside a building with architectural features and soft shadows.

    Nick Hammel, violin

  • Woman with brown hair holding a cello, standing indoors with a blurred window background.

    Rylie Harrod, cello

  • A young man smiling while holding a guitar

    Hyugrai "Ray" Kim, cello

  • A man with dark, curly hair playing a cello against a black background.

    Daniel Kopp, cello

  • Black and white photo of a woman smiling, holding a skateboard, standing next to a guitar case against a plain wall.

    Daniela Láncara de Espinoza, violin

  • A woman with long, wavy red hair wearing a black dress, holding a violin, standing indoors near a window with sheer curtains, in front of a wooden cabinet.

    Rebecca Lester, viola

  • Portrait of a man with glasses and a beard, wearing a yellow shirt, outdoors with blurred background.

    Zach Matteson, violin

  • Sean Riley, violin

  • Black and white photo of a woman with long hair holding a violin close to her face, smiling.

    Camille Schiess, violin

  • Young man holding a violin in front of him, dressed in a black shirt, standing against a plain white background.

    Alexander Smith, viola

  • A woman with short brown hair and blue eyes smiling while holding a violin, wearing a sleeveless blue dress with orange floral pattern, standing in front of a stone wall.

    Emmy Tisdel, violin

  • A woman with dark brown hair wearing glasses and smiling at the camera.

    Amy Levine-Tsang, cello

  • Man in a suit holding a violin

    Blake Turner, viola

  • A woman with wavy blonde hair smiling and holding a violin.

    Megan Zapfe, violin/viola

  • Young woman with shoulder-length black hair in a black strapless jumpsuit, smiling and standing against a light textured wall.

    Sohee Kwon, piano

Founders and Administration

A man with dark curly hair and a beard playing a cello, dressed in a black shirt against a black background.
Young woman with long dark hair sitting outdoors, holding a violin, wearing a black dress, smiling subtly, with a white building and trees in the background.
A young woman with long brown and black hair smiling, wearing a white shirt with black accents and a choker necklace, standing against a plain white wall.
A young man with short dark curly hair, wearing black round glasses, a light purple dress shirt, and a black vest against a plain, light background.
A portrait of a young woman with shoulder-length curly dark hair, wearing glasses, a black sleeveless dress, a gold necklace, and earrings, standing outdoors with blurred green foliage in the background.

  • Co-Founder, Artistic Director

    Daniel Kopp, co-founder and artistic director of Austin Camerata, is an active cellist and educator in Austin, Texas. An avid chamber musician, he has performed across the country, including at Tanglewood, Aspen, and Kneisel Hall. Notable orchestral performances include his debut at Carnegie Hall as principal cellist of the New York String Orchestra Seminar and at Seiji Ozawa Hall as principal cellist of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. Through Austin Camerata, Daniel creates chamber music, dance, and storytelling collaborations at venues across central Texas. Austin Camerata has been praised by the Austin American-Statesman for its “unadulterated beauty” and nominated by the Austin Critics Table for ‘best classical ensemble.’ In addition to Austin Camerata, Daniel has performed with the Grammy-winning choral ensemble Conspirare, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Ventana Ballet, and Beerthoven.

    Daniel graduated from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. His teachers include Bion Tsang, Norman Fischer, Cathie Lehr-Ramos, and Mary Lou Gotman. In addition, he’s had the honor of studying chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, and Miro Quartets. A devoted educator, he serves on the faculty at the Manitou Chamber Music Festival, Stringwood Chamber Music Festival, and the Clavier-Werke School of Music.

  • Co-Founder

    Marisa Ishikawa is an avid performer, educator, and entrepreneur based in Houston, TX. As a violin teacher and a founder and faculty member of Opus 1 Chamber Music School, she is passionate about cultivating a love for music in her students. As a performer in the internationally renowned Carpe Diem String Quartet and co-founder of the arts non-profit Austin Camerata, she is devoted to curating and presenting inclusive and engaging performances that showcase diverse composers and styles of music. In her free time, Marisa enjoys cooking and practicing yoga.

    As a performer, Marisa has performed in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Jordan Hall, as well as throughout Europe and China. She serves as the second violinist of the internationally recognized Carpe Diem String Quartet, a boundary-breaking ensemble that has earned widespread critical and audience acclaim for its innovative programming and electrifying performances. With the Quartet, she appears on the quartet’s recording, Dances of the Yogurt Maker, which features the string chamber works of Turkish composer Erberk Eryilmaz. This album was released in May 2021 on the MSR label, was produced by Grammy Award winner Judith Sherman, and received Gold Prize in the Global Music Awards. Marisa also composed her first work for string quartet as part of the quartet’s interactive virtual performance An American Story. This performance was sponsored by the PNC Arts Alive Grant and was released in May 2021.

    In 2021, Marisa co-founded Opus 1 Chamber Music School, Houston’s chamber music program. Opus 1’s goal is to create experiences and ensembles – tailored to the unique personality and playing of every student – that foster a sense of community, high standards, and enthusiasm for each other and chamber music. Whether a student intends to pursue music as a career or as a lifelong hobby, Opus 1 equips them with the interpersonal and musical skills and passions that chamber music uniquely provides.

    Marisa was born in Boulder, Colorado and began playing the violin at the age of three. Between 2011 and 2015, she earned a Bachelor of Music with Highest Honors from the University of Colorado Boulder. Additionally, she received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with High Distinction from CU Leeds School of Business. From 2015 to 2017, Marisa studied with Brian Lewis at the University of Texas Austin, where she received the Starling Distinguished Violinist Scholarship and earned a Master of Music degree. In 2020, she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from CU Boulder under Charles Wetherbee. Her final thesis, Keeping and Retaining Audiences in Today’s Classical World, explored reasons for and solutions to classical music’s declining audience population.

    Marisa has worked with numerous artists, such as Glenn Dicterow, Naoko Tanaka, Alexander Kerr, Rachel Barton Pine, Ani Kavafian, Peter Otto, and Stephen Rose, the Takács String Quartet, and the Miró String Quartet. As a soloist, Marisa has performed with the National Repertory Orchestra, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra. Additionally, she has participated in the National Repertory Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival.

    www.marisafrances.com
    www.cdsq.org
    www.opus1cms.com

  • Social Media and Content Coordinator

    Anna Moore is the Social Media and Content Coordinator for Austin Camerata, bringing six years of combined administrative and content creation experience to the role. A Houston native, she fell in love with Austin during childhood visits to family and knew early on it was where she wanted to build her life, drawn to the city's vibrant community and rich cultural landscape.
    Anna holds a BA in Media Production (2020) and got her start in social media through an internship at a VR studio in Boulder, Colorado. Around that time, she moved to Hong Kong, where she launched a freelance photography practice that has since spanned both the US and Hong Kong. She later managed social media for The Swell Studio, a boutique marketing agency, where she photographed, edited, and posted content for up to 12 small brands under founder Emma Phillips. She also brings administrative experience from roles across Austin, West Texas, and Corpus Christi.
    Beyond her work with Austin Camerata, Anna has a deep passion for the arts, community, and connection. While she may be new to the classical music scene, she's been blown away by the magic, pure enjoyment, and social connection these events offer.

  • Canadian violinist Patrice Calixte began playing the violin at the age of eight and went on to participate in a highly competitive high school music program in Montreal, Quebec, where he studied with Francine Pépin. He then earned his undergraduate degree and his master’s degree in music performance from the Université de Montréal, studying under Claude Richard. An experienced orchestral musician, Calixte has worked with many orchestras in Québec and Ontario, including the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. More recently, he was hired to the first violin section of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, where he stayed for two years. Leaving Calgary in search for more personal development, Calixte moved to Austin where he just obtained an artist diploma from The University of Texas at Austin in the studio of Daniel Ching. He has played in numerous masterclasses from luminaries such as Maxim Vengerov and Regis Pasquier. Calixte has also performed as a concertist with various orchestras in Montreal and recently won The University of Texas Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. He is the newest addition to the Austin based Artisan Quartet.

    Patrice Calixte performs on a violin made in 1910 in Florence by Valentino de Zorzi, kindly on loan from Lorraine and John Wang.

  • Caroline Cubillos is the Operations and Communications Coordinator for Austin Camerata. A pianist with a background in arts administration, marketing, and business, she supports the organization’s communications, digital presence, concert promotion, and day-to-day operations while working closely with the Artistic Director on organizational growth and long-term initiatives.

    Caroline’s experience in arts administration includes previous roles with Primo Artists and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where she gained experience across artist management, marketing, development, and communications. She also brings experience in real estate and finance, including roles with CBRE and BGRE.

    Caroline recently graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with degrees in Economics and Music, with a concentration in Piano, as well as a minor in Real Estate. During her time at UT, she studied piano with Anton Nel. As both a musician and administrator, she is passionate about supporting Austin’s arts community and helping classical music reach and engage new audiences.

Board of Directors

Patti Wolf

Board President
Assistant Professor of Practice in Collaborative Piano, University of Texas Austin

Ann-Marie Tewey

Treasurer
CPA

Ellen Hawks

Secretary
Marketing and Communication's Consultant

Alexander Smith

Board Member
Austin Camerata Musician Representative

Ekaterina Kouznetsova

Board Member
Growth Strategy
MBA ‘26, University of Texas Austin