Since her solo orchestral debut at age 15, Ilana Setapen has been flourishing as a violinist with a powerful and original voice. She is hailed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as a violinist with “a sparkling sound” and “the kind of control that puts an audience completely at ease.” She is currently the first associate concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Setapen has had recent solo performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Great Falls Symphony, and the Amarillo Symphony, among others. She also held the assistant concertmaster position of the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra in Chicago for six years and is a favorite guest concertmaster with the Chicago Philharmonic. She has served as guest concertmaster with the Kansas City Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at the Olympic Music Festival on Bainbridge Island and the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, Minnesota. She is currently on the violin faculty at Chicago Summer Opera and at the University of Michigan’s Center Stage Strings.

As a committed chamber musician, Setapen is in demand as a collaborator throughout the Midwest. She performs frequently with Present Music and Milwaukee favorite Yaniv Dinur. Her talent has led her to collaborations with such distinguished artists as Ron Leonard, Lynn Harrell, Toby Appel, Cynthia Phelps, Joseph Kalichstein, Robert DeMaine, Paul Coletti, the Fine Arts Quartet, David Geber, Joan Tower, and Chris Thile. Solo and chamber music performances have brought her abroad to China, France, Brazil, Holland, England, Monaco, and Italy.

Setapen grew up in Amarillo, Texas. Her father is a conductor, and her first violin teacher was her mother. She was a student of Robert Lipsett both at the University of Southern California and at the Colburn Conservatory. She received her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School as a student of Donald Weilerstein and Ronald Copes. She is also a dedicated educator and has a thriving private studio. In her spare time, Setapen enjoys spending time with her husband and their two sons and swing dancing.