Music
Ida Kavafian
born 1952 · violinist, violist
Istanbul-born Armenian American violinist who grew up in Detroit, studied there with Mischa Mischakoff and became a leading chamber musician with Tashi, the Beaux Arts Trio and Opus One.
- Born
Istanbul, Turkey
age 73- Detroit years
- 1956–1969
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Ida Kavafian was born in Istanbul to Armenian parents, and the family emigrated to the United States in 1956 and settled in Detroit. She began the violin there at six, studying with Ara Zerounian and then with the Detroit Symphony's longtime concertmaster Mischa Mischakoff, before leaving for the Juilliard School in 1969, where she studied with Oscar Shumsky and Ivan Galamian. She won the Vianna da Motta competition in Lisbon in 1973 and the Young Concert Artists auditions in 1978, joined the ensemble Tashi with Peter Serkin, and took silver at the first International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1982. She has performed often with her older sister Ani, toured with the jazz pianist Chick Corea, played in the Beaux Arts Trio from 1992 to 1998 and founded the piano quartet Opus One. She teaches at the Curtis Institute, Juilliard and Bard.
Highlights
- Studied violin in Detroit from age six with Mischa Mischakoff
- Member of Tashi and of the Beaux Arts Trio (1992–1998)
- Silver medal, first International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (1982)
- Founded the piano quartet Opus One in 1998