Jeeihn Kim, violin
Mark Chen, violin
Erika Cho, viola
Lindsay McKenna, cello
The Amaru Quartet was founded in late 2024 by current students at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), violinists Jeeihn Kim and Mark Chen, violist Erika Cho, and cellist Seoyeon Koo. In September 2025, Amaru welcomed cellist Lindsay McKenna following Seoyeon’s departure. They each hold degrees respectively from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory.
Amaru Quartet won First Prize at the SFCM Chamber Music Honors Competition in 2024 and 2025, leading them to make several appearances and perform with world-renowned musicians such as Clive Greensmith, Kim Kashkashian, Jonathan Brown, Jonathan Vinocour, Demarre McGill, Mateusz Kowalski, and more. They frequently perform around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Recently, they were invited to the 70th Jeunesses Musicales International Chamber Music Campus in Weikersheim, Germany, where they studied with the Vogler Quartet, as well as Heime Müller of the Artemis Quartet, and Günter Pichler from the Alban Berg Quartet.
The quartet was brought together by Wonhee Bae, first violinist of the Esmé Quartet and has since been under her dedicated tutelage. Amaru is a truncation of Amarullis, meaning “sparkling” in Ancient Greek. We believe in making music that “sparkles” and provides warmth and comfort, even in the most difficult times.
