Kerren Berz, Concertmaster

Kerren Berz’s talents span the musical spectrum. She has performed, recorded, and toured with the Atlanta Symphony, the Harlem Festival Orchestra, and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, whose “music without boundaries” mission produced critically acclaimed performances and recordings of music by Aaron Copland, Conni Ellisor, and Jay Ungar, among others. Additional orchestras include the Missouri, Savannah, Chattanooga, Memphis, Augusta, Tallahassee, and Alabama Symphonies, Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Pops, and Pullman Pops. Her multi-genre quartet Sonic Essence recently made its debut at the Tennessee Statewide Women's Policy Conference with an interactive performance praised as "beautiful and empowering." 

In addition, Berz is a well respected pop music arranger and performer; her work is featured on albums by Outkast, Pink, Cartel, Sinead O’Connor, and on the hit single “Survivor,” by Destiny’s Child. She has toured with Amy Grant and Vince Gill and performed with many Broadway traveling companies, including Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, and Porgy and Bess. Berz has accompanied countless music icons, including Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, The Eagles, Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, and Page/Plant. She is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and has served on nominating committees for the annual Grammy Awards.

Berz has degrees from Florida State University and the University of Tennessee, with additional studies at Boston University. Her teachers include Eliot Chapo and Yair Kless, and she credits her public school music program with giving her the opportunity to play the violin. She regards live music as a unique shared experience between performers and audience and loves meeting Columbus Symphony patrons.