Lucia Kobza received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Hochschule der Künste Bern, Switzerland, with distinction. After meeting Prof. Ida Bieler at the Gustav Mahler Academy in Bolzano, Lucia followed Prof. Bieler to the United States to study with her at UNCSA where Lucia was honored with the UNCSA Graduate Excellence in Performance Award both for her Master’s degree and Professional Artist Certificate. Lucia graduated with a Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) from Stony Brook University in New York in 2021 with a double major in violin and viola performance. At Stony Brook, Lucia's principal teachers were the Emerson String Quartet’s violinist Philip Setzer and violist Lawrence Dutton. As a member of UNCSA’s Giannini String Quartet and participant of UNCSA’s Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute, Lucia enjoyed exciting performance opportunities such as playing in masterclasses at Lincoln Center in New York and performing with Silk Road Ensemble’s Pipa virtuoso Wu Man. At Stony Brook University Lucia was a member of the Steinem String Quartet, which was honored to be chosen to participate in Philip Setzer’s String Quartet Intensive as well as the Emerson String Quartet Institute. The quartet has had several thrilling performance opportunities, such as premiering Emerson violinist Eugene Drucker’s composition “Levertov Settings” for string quartet and voice at Carnegie Hall. Her love for chamber music led her to San Francisco, California, where she was a member of the innovative Friction Quartet from 2019 to 2021.
Lucia has held orchestral positions as Co-Principal second violin in the Greensboro Symphony, Assistant Concertmaster of the Western Piedmont Symphony, and was a member of the Winston Salem Symphony. Lucia was First Prize winner of the MANC Competition, NC ASTA Competition, UNCSA Concerto Competition, Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Concerto Competition, and was Audience Choice Award Winner in the Rosen-Schaffel Competition 2015. As a soloist, she has performed with the UNCSA Symphony, Western Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, Symphony of the Mountains, and the Western Piedmont Symphony.
In addition to being an avid chamber musician, Lucia is also a passionate and dedicated teacher. During her time in California, she was appointed Adjunct Professor of viola at the California State University Stanislaus, where she also taught a string techniques class and led the university orchestra. Lucia served as Prof. Bieler's teaching assistant at UNCSA and also worked as a teaching assistant at Stony Brook University teaching undergraduate violin and chamber music, as well as serving as the violin studio coordinator. While at UNCSA Lucia was very engaged in the community of Winston-Salem, helping out at the Salvation Army's Academy for Music and Arts, teaching at the Community Music School of Winston-Salem, and working as a teaching assistant at the UNCSA summer strings festival in 2015 and 2016. In New York, she led a private studio and taught at the Joyous School of Music.
Lucia recently relocated to her home-country Switzerland and is thrilled to be joining the 2. violin group of the Philharmonia Zurich (Opera Zurich) starting in the 2023/2024 season. In her free time, Lucia loves going on walks, admiring nature, cooking - and especially enjoying - good food.
