Renee Skerik, D.M.A.

About Renee

Dr. Renée Skerik is Instructor of Viola and Chamber Music at Interlochen Arts Academy. She has performed and taught across the United States, Europe, and South America, with highlights including the 33rd International Viola Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland, and a recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Before joining the faculty at Interlochen, Renée was violist of the prize-winning Artaria String Quartet, recipients of a National Endowment for the Arts Millennium Grant and winners in the 2004 McKnight Artist Fellowships Competition. With Artaria, she toured nationwide, led masterclasses, and co-founded the Stringwood Chamber Music Institute and Artaria Chamber Music School.

Renée has given masterclasses for institutions including The Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory, the University of Michigan, Cleveland Institute of Music, LaGuardia High School, the Miami Music Project, and the China Conservatory Middle School (remote). She is a frequent presenter at national conferences for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), and American Viola Society (AVS). She served as coordinator of the inaugural AVS Youth Competition at the Colburn Conservatory in 2016, and as an adjudicator for competitions including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2025), Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, and Ohio Viola Society Competition.
Each March, Renée leads Interlochen students to Siena, Italy, for an immersive chamber music collaboration with the Siena Conservatory. In the summer, she serves on the faculties of the Interlochen Viola Intensive, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and Montecito International Music Festival. Past teaching appointments include the Castleman Quartet Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Saint Paul Chamber Music Institute, and Green Lake Festival of Music.

She has collaborated in performance with artists such as Arnold Steinhardt, Charles Castleman, Margaret Batjer, Andrés Cárdenes, and Yizhak Schotten. Renée holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota, studying with Heidi Castleman, Yizhak Schotten, and Korey Konkol. She is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied with David Holland.
A native of Taiwan, Wei-Ting Kuo, has been a Chicago Symphony Orchestra violist since 2014, appointed by Music Director Riccardo Muti. Previoulsy Kuo served as Assistant Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2014. He began his viola studies at the age of nine.

Kuo came to the United States at age 24 after completing his army service in Taiwan. While a student, he was invited to the Taos Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, and Verbier Festival Academy. He was selected as a finalist for the 2008 Primrose International Viola Competition and was also a prizewinner at the 2009 Tokyo International Viola Competition where he additionally received a special prize for the best interpretation.

Kuo is also an active soloist and chamber musician. He was invited to join Nobuko Imai's Asia tour in both capacities. He has appeared with musicians such as Frank Almond, Nai Yuan Hu, Menahem Pressler, and the Arcas Quartet. Kuo was also a concerto soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2014.

Kuo holds an Artist Diploma from the Colburn School, an MM from Mannes College, and a BM from National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei. He has studied with Paul Coletti, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Yizhak Schotten in the United States.
 

The challenge of truly impacting and guiding a young violist appropriately, particular to their development, is the core of my teaching philosophy. I feel it is my responsibility to seek a diverse studio, should it be gender identity, race, or color. I feel that creating an environment where the consistent solitude of personal practice, combined with the education of the whole person, academically and within a community, to delivering artistic performances is my challenge and goal as a teacher. As importantly, I need to model the role of a working artist by consistent work towards the highest artistic standard as possible while also maintaining a healthy balance between life, teaching and performing.