Having been born into a musical family, Karisa began her studies at age two with her father, Cornelius Chiu, a violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She also performs frequently with her mother, pianist Inah Chiu. The Chiu family has given annual concerts at the Festival of the Arts at Mohonk Mountain House where her immediate family is joined with her uncle, pianist Frederic Chiu. She has performed in many music festivals around the globe including Music@Menlo as an International Program Artist, Chigiana Summer Academy, Four Seasons Winter Workshop, Music from Angel Fire, Aspen Music Festival, and Sarasota Music Festival. In addition to her performance career, Karisa is co-director of the concert series, Plymouth Chamber Players, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2018, Karisa won a Chicago Symphony Orchestra substitute violin position and has been performing with them regularly since. She was also invited to give a solo recital at the prestigious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago which was broadcasted live over WFMT radio. The same year, she was also selected to be a participant in the 2017 YoungArts Week where she was awarded the Bronze Medal and nominated to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar. Karisa has appeared on several broadcasts including the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), WFMT, and NPR's From The Top. She has played in master classes given by renowned artists such as Augustin Hadelich, Leonidas Kavakos, Victor Danchenko, Pamela Frank, Mauricio Fuks, Ilya Kaler, Dora Schwarzberg, and Joel Smirnoff. An avid chamber music player, Karisa has performed with renowned musicians including Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Todd Phillips, Steven Tenenbom, and Paul Biss. She won first prize at the Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition and Silver Medal at the M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Vieira String Quartet. Her previous chamber group, the Calliope Trio, won first prize at the Discover Chamber Music Competition. As a member of the Atara String Quartet, she won the Gold Medal from the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, Silver Medal from the Pearl G. Barnett Chamber Music Competition, and the Honorable Mention prize from the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. This spring, Karisa will receive her Master's degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Jaime Laredo and Malcolm Lowe. She received her Bachelor's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Ida Kavafian and was a student of Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. In the fall, she will begin her studies in the Artist Diploma program at the Juilliard School with Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein.
