Ilana Matfis is a freelance violist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a Master’s degree in viola performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a B.A. in music from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. She is a member of the Sacramento Philharmonic, assistant principal viola of the Berkeley Symphony, and appears frequently with other Bay Area ensembles, including the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Oakland, Marin, Modesto, Merced, and Silicon Valley Symphonies. Ilana is the violist of the Presidio String Quartet, a group that is dedicated to the performance of new music and frequently collaborates with local composers. An enthusiastic teacher, Ilana maintains a private studio of violinists and violists and coaches chamber music for the Villa Sinfonia Foundation. She is a strong believer in the importance of public school music and is highly involved with the Berkeley Symphony’s Music Education Program, giving demonstrations and performances in all eleven of the Berkeley public elementary schools. Ilana is the violist for the Berkeley Youth Orchestra’s Artist in Residence string quartet; she spends her Saturday mornings coaching viola sectionals, chamber music, and teaching a viola class for violinists. Ilana has studied with Catherine Van Hoesen, Jodi Levitz, Don Ehrlich, Jeffrey Irvine, and Kathy Kalogeras. Originally from Massachusetts, Ilana now resides in Berkeley with her boyfriend (an accomplished trombonist) and her two cats.