Queenie Edwards
Queenie Edwards, Associate Concertmaster
Queenie Edwards is a versatile professional violinist, performing works in the classical, contemporary and pop genres. Throughout her career, she has performed and toured in venues throughout North America, Europe and Asia. With a focus in orchestral and chamber music, Queenie has collaborated and played alongside artists like Yo-Yo Ma, Christoph Eschenbach, orchestras Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg, The Chicago Philharmonic, and with local groups like Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and Crossing Borders Music. Most recently she shared the stage with Ed Sheeran at his 2023 Chicago Theatre Subtract Tour show. A former fellow of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, she is also passionate about community engagement, and led numerous projects emphasizing the power of music and connection within the community. Queenie teaches privately and is also a member of Midtown Strings and Solaria String Quartet, where she is often booked to perform weddings, private and corporate events.
Queenie holds performance degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Her principal teachers include Grigory Kalinovsky and Sebastian Hamann. In her downtime, she enjoys running on the lakefront, cooking from scratch, exploring local eateries and traveling to find fun hiking trails.
Edwards said about playing in ACO, “Being a member of Artemis Chamber Orchestra since 2022 has been a wonderful way to engage in the orchestral environment and explore new repertoire, while still being in a small enough ensemble to openly collaborate with one another. For an orchestral and chamber musician, it’s the best of both worlds!”