Roza Borisova, cello

A native of Ioshkar-Ola, Russia, Roza Borisova began studies on the cello at the age of seven. After receiving her B.A. in Music Performance from the Ioshkar-Ola State Music College, she moved to Moscow where she earned a M.M. in Performance Pedagogy and a D.M.A. in String Quartet Performance from the Russian State Academy of Music (formerly Gnesin’s Institute) in Moscow.

In 1989 Ms. Borisova was selected to be the cellist of the Veronika String Quartet (newly formed by Valentine Berlinsky, cellist of the Borodin String Quartet). The Quartet’s international tours resulted in numerous prizes including the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, the Shostakovich String Quartet Competition, and the Russian National Competition. As an award of the Shostakovich Competition, in 1993 the Quartet was invited to study with the Fine Arts Quartet at the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and relocated to the U.S. Ms. Borisova served as Artist-in-Residence and graduate teaching assistant at various institutions in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and Colorado and earned a second M.M. in Music Performance.

As part of the Veronika String Quart, Ms. Borisova performed regularly as cellist with various symphony orchestras and at many festivals and institutes around the world including the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia Festival in Chicago, the Second Jerusalem Chamber Music Encounters in Israel, the Britten-Pears School of Music in England, and the Lancaster Music Festival in Ohio. She continues to perform with symphony orchestras including the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Green Bay, WI, and the Woodstock Mozart Festival Orchestra, Woodstock, IL.

She takes pleasure in teaching aspiring cellists and has taught at several major music institutions in the U.S. Currently she is on the faculty of Lawrence Academy of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin.