Meet The Team

Koa String Quartet

Quartet-in-Residence

The Koa String Quartet is composed of violinists Kisa Uradomo and Leah Pernick, violist Tommy Chafe,and cellist Heewon Lee. The quartet originated in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they were mentored byUniversity of Michigan Professors Matt Albert, Caroline Coade, and Kathryn Votapek. In the fall of 2024, KSQ will begin a fellowship at the University of Colorado Boulder as the Graduate String Quartet inResidence, studying with the Takács Quartet.

The members of the Koa String Quartet are from diverse backgrounds, but have intertwined musicalcareers, having studied individually at overlapping schools. Kisa Uradomo is from Maui, Hawai’i and studied at Eastman School of Music and University of Michigan; Leah Pernick is from Metro-Detroit, Michigan and studied at the University of Michigan; Tommy Chafe is from Annapolis, Maryland and studied at Oberlin Conservatory and University of Michigan; Heewon Lee is from O'ahu, Hawai’i and studied at Oberlin Conservatory and Eastman School of Music.

The group is invested in fostering musical engagement with students and presenting high quality classical music for community audiences. KSQ plays a diverse repertoire of music, including film scores, pop covers, and folk music, while also continuing the classical music repertoire together. During their time as a quartet, they have prioritized their goals through their work as the Quartet in Residence at the Hana Hou Music Program and by presenting free concerts at concert halls and public spaces throughout Ann Arbor.

The name “Koa” comes from the tree in the Hawaiian Islands, and the wood symbolizes strength and courage.