Khelsey Zarraga, violin

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Violinist

Community Partnerships Manager

Of African American and Venezuelan descent, Khelsey Zarraga is a violinist and educator based in Chicago, IL. 

As a chamber musician, Khelsey is the violinist of Fifth House Ensemble, where she enjoys the exploration of new works and innovative collaboration. She recently was the violinist of Lincoln Center Stage, the Residency Chamber Ensemble aboard Holland America cruise line, in partnership with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She has enjoyed performing across Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. 

In addition to performing, Khelsey is also the Community Partnerships Manager of Fifth House Ensemble. She brings a passion for community-focused engagement and the amplification of marginalized voices into her development and stewardship of new creative initiatives for the ensemble.

As a teaching artist, Khelsey has enjoyed working with a variety of students, including elementary students and residency at the university level, such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Centre College in Danville, KY. She has particularly enjoyed working with programs for youth experiencing homelessness and incarceration. She also held leadership roles with the Fairview Violin Project at Indiana University. 

Khelsey holds her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she studied with Mark Kaplan.

In her spare time, she enjoys perfecting croissant and chocolate chip cookie recipes. 

Click here to download Khelsey’s headshot.


WORK AND PROJECTS

Positions

  • Violinist - Fifth House Ensemble

  • Community Partnerships Manager - Fifth House Ensemble

Teaching

  • Teaching Artist - Ignite

  • Teaching Artist - Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School

Projects

  • Rivers Empyrean

  • Undertale LIVE

  • Journey LIVE

PlayerAlexandra Porter