Praised by LA Opus for their “seemingly effortless precision and blend”, the Zelter String Quartet formed in Los Angeles in 2018. Recently, the quartet was awarded First Prize of the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition, as well as being the Gold Prize Winners of the 2021 Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition. The quartet is comprised of violinists Kyle Gilner and Gallia Kastner, violist Carson Rick, and cellist Allan Hon. In 2019, the Zelter String Quartet was awarded a full scholarship to participate in the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar, where they worked with members of the St. Lawrence and Danish String Quartets. They were also invited to participate in the Rencontres Franco-Américaines de Musique de Chambre as part of the USC Thornton School of Music Ofiesh Chamber Music Competition in the Saint-Gildas-des-Bois area of France in 2020. Most recently, they participated in the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, and the Center for Advanced Quartet Studies at the Aspen Music Festival, where they worked with the Pacifica, Escher, and American String Quartets.

More about each artist:

Kyle Anthony Gilner was born and raised in Eagle Rock, California, where he started playing violin at the age of 13 in the public charter school, Renaissance Arts Academy. From there, he began playing in group classes and after-school orchestra rehearsals, where he gained his love of music making and ensemble playing. Having no prior experience with classical violin playing or any family members involved in the classical music world he quickly discovered that he wanted to pursue a career in classical violin performance. He began taking private lessons with Marissa McLeod, former 2nd Violinist of the Anderson String Quartet, followed by Guido Lamell, the former Section 2nd Violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Kyle currently holds degrees from both the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Henry Gronnier, as well as the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with former Concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra, William Preucil. He has participated in masterclasses with the Schubert Ensemble of London, Takacs Quartet, Cavani Quartet, Laredo-Robinson Trio, Jinjoo Cho, Keith Robinson, William Preucil, Peter Salaff, Anita Pontremoli, Jan Sloman, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Danish String Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Kathryn Brown, Arnold Steinhardt, and Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu. He has attended music festivals such as the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Brevard Music Center, Vermont Mozart Festival, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar.

Because of his love and passion for ensemble-based playing, Kyle is currently a member of Delirium Musicum, a conductor-less string orchestra that presents classical standard repertoire reimagined for string orchestra, as well as works by living contemporary composers. Most recently, he joined the Santa Barbara Symphony as a rotating Section Violinist. He is a part of a professional competition-winning string quartet named the Zelter String Quartet which won the First Prize of the Plowman Chamber Competition and the Gold medal prize in the International Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition.

He currently plays on a 2010 copy of a Tommaso Balestrieri violin made by Los Angeles-based luthier Eric Benning. When not playing on his gorgeous instrument, Kyle loves to listen to podcasts, hike, weight train, and cook Italian-based dishes.

Gallia Kastner is a violinist who recently graduated from the Colburn School of Music under Robert Lipsett in Los Angeles, California. She is now a Community School Teacher at the Colburn School. She commenced her private violin study at five and a half with Betty Haag-Kuhnke and at age 9, she studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago. 

Gallia was the concertmaster of the American Youth Symphony since 2016 and has won numerous local, national, and international competitions, both as a soloist and chamber musician. She is the winner of the Aspen Conducting Academy’s Violin Competition, performing Sibelius Violin Concerto in 2019, the winner of the Dorothy Delay Fellowship for the 2021 Aspen Music Festival, the Cooper International Violin Competition, the Blount Slawson National Concerto Competition in Montgomery, Alabama, the Triennial Johansen International Competition in Washington DC, and the American Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, which included a solo performance with the orchestra in the Fall of 2019. In addition, Gallia was awarded the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Scholarship and the Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship from The Musicians Club of Women in Chicago.

An avid chamber musician, Gallia is a current member of the Zelter String Quartet. The Zelter String Quartet was recently awarded the First Prize in the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition, the Gold Prize in the 2021 Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition and was invited to the 2021 Aspen Music Festival String Quartet Intensive Seminar, working with the Pacifica, Escher, and American String Quartets. She is a part of the Alameda String Quartet, who was featured in the Reno Chamber Music Festival performing works by Dvorak, Ravel, and Schulhoff, as well as performing in Siena, Italy for the Chigianna Chamber Music Festival with Clive Greensmith. Kastner was a member of the Lumiére String Quartet that won first place at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and she was also the violinist of Trio Solaris, which collaborated with the Trey McIntyre Project at Jacob’s Pillow. Gallia’s broadcast performances include appearances on WFMT 98.7/Introductions, WTTW Channel 11, WGN Channel 9, and a Today Show appearance with Rachel Barton Pine. 

Some of Gallia’s performances with orchestras include The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, The Colburn Orchestra, The American Youth Symphony, The Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, The Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra in Pennsylvania, The Montgomery Symphony, and many others. Other stage appearances include concerts in Chicago’s Millenium Park, Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall and outdoor Pavilion, Lincoln Center, Kloster Schontal and Schwabish Hall Kultursiftung in Germany. She has participated in master classes with Augustin Hadelich, Rachel Barton Pine, Vadim Gluzman, James Ehnes, Joseph Silverstein, Ida Kavafian, Ani Kavafian, Ben Beilman, Ilya Kaler, Milan Vitek, Ivry Gitlis, the Cavani Quartet, the Pacifica Quartet, the Calder Quartet, the Calidore Quartet, the Dover Quartet, and the Ying Quartet. She has shared the stage with artists such as Lynn Harrell, Gil Shaham, Jean-Yves Thibauldet, Eric Whitacre, Robert Chen, Clive Greensmith, Martin Beaver, Scott St. John, and many others.

Carson Rick, viola, was born and raised in the small Southern California town of Solvang. His foremost teachers and mentors are Steven Dann and Helen Callus. Other musical influences include C.J. Chang, Carrie Dennis, Mark Menzies, Tim Ying, and a wealth of inspiring colleagues. After graduating from University of California, Santa Barbara, he moved to Los Angeles to work in the field before continuing his education. In this time, he had the opportunity to sub with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and wild Up Ensemble. He also won positions with the American Youth Symphony and Debut Orchestra. After two years of freelancing, Carson moved to Toronto to study at the Glenn Gould School of Music with the Canadian violist, Steven Dann, on a full tuition scholarship. His festival appearances include Domaine Forget, Aspen Music Festival, Hvide Sande Masterclasses, New Music for Strings in Denmark, and Foulger’s International Music Festival. Carson is a strong advocate of contemporary music. He has performed world premieres of works by Osvaldo Golijov, Christopher Rountree, Mark Menzies, Rand Steiger, and Vinny Golia and a long lasting relationship with composer, Miller Wrenn who has written many works for Carson. Shortly after joining the Zelter String Quartet, he placed First Prize in the 2023 Plowman Chamber Competition. When not playing or practicing, Carson is an avid chess fan, crossword enthusiast, baker, home cook, and moviegoer. Carson plays on a viola from 1997 made by the Los Angeles maker Eric Benning.

Praised for his lush, professionally robust string sound, cellist Allan Hon enjoys a multi-faceted career, from concert recitalist to chamber and orchestral musician, and has performed for  audiences in Asia, Europe, Canada, and North America. A prizewinner in many competitions, he is a strong advocate of chamber music, and is the cellist of the Zelter String Quartet, the First Prize winner of the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition and the Gold Prize winner of the 2021 Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition. He has also performed with some of the leading artists today, such as Nicholas McGegan, Yayoi Toda, and the Attacca  String Quartet. Allan serves as associate principal of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra as well as substitute cellist for the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the The Second Movement Series and Cantata Profana, and was also a part of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo, Japan, for their 2015-2016 season.

Beyond classical music, Allan is also active in the studio scene, performing on soundtracks for television shows and video games such as The Orville, Kingdom of Hearts 2.5  ReMIX, and Final Fantasy XV. He is also the cellist of the Boston-based Videri String Quartet, with whom he has performed at PAX East 2022 in Boston and at MAGFest 2018 in Washington D.C. Allan has also performed with Herencia Flamenca, performing flamenco shows alongside accomplished singers, dancers, and musicians from Spain and Venezuela. Allan holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where he studied with Desmond Hoebig, a Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Aldo Parisot, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Andrew Shulman. When he’s not playing the cello or partaking in musical activities, he loves exploring new places and looking for the next tastiest brew.