Viola with Kip R.

Kip Riecken is a violist and an entrepreneur in the creative and performing arts. He has performed with the Chicago and St. Louis Symphonies, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and alongside Yo-Yo Ma and Tabea Zimmerman. He was most recently a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami. Kip’s work exploring music in the context of people to people interactions is driven by his interest in human performance. Inspired by the Alexander Technique, a method to improve efficiency of movement and personal expression, Kip led a project providing a series of Alexander Technique lessons for two Civic Orchestra of Chicago musicians that explored how the Technique’s principles guide individuals along unique paths of discovery. Kip has performed in a wide variety of settings, from National Sawdust to Carnegie Hall. He has performed with Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW, the Fifth House Ensemble, and both across the United States and internationally in Cuba, El Salvador, Austria, and England. At the New World Symphony, Kip led a project in which fellows studied Spanish throughout the season, culminating in performances throughout South Florida in which he and 13 colleagues talked in Spanish about the music they performed. Further, he co-hosted and co-produced Double Take: The Human Effect, a fellows-led concert curated with the help of Michael Tilson Thomas exploring the role of the artist in today’s world. Mr. Riecken grew up in Orlando and attended New York University and Florida State University, where he studied pre-health and German.