About Our Artists

Violin

Violinist Cordula Merks is the Concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and Professor of Violin at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Previously she was first Assistant
concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony and concertmaster of Germany's Essen Philharmonic, Bochum Symphony and Bergische Symphony. She also has served as guest concertmaster for many orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, American Ballet Theater, Dresden Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Portuguese National Opera, among others. When not playing in the orchestra, Cordula loves to be active as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has performed in the US, Mexico, Israel, and all over Europe. She is co-artistic director of Chamber Music Sundaes, and first violinist of the Tomodachi String Quartet. Cordula was born in Germany and spent her childhood in The Netherlands. She started playing the violin at the age of 6 and was accepted to study at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague at the age of 12. Her teachers have included Theodora Geraets, Jaring Walta, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and Herman Krebbers, and she holds degrees from the Amsterdam Conservatory and Northern Illinois University. She has won prizes at all Dutch national competitions, at various concerto competitions and at several international competitions, including the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria. Cordula is married to bassoonist Mike Gamburg, and together they have two daughters, Mia and Emmie.