Pamela Freund-Striplen

Pamela Freund-Striplen
A passionate chamber musician, educator, and arts entrepreneur

Pamela Freund-Striplen is a passionate chamber musician and visionary arts entrepreneur. She is the founder, Artistic Director, and violist of the Gold Coast Chamber Players, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she led the organization for 35 years. Over the course of her tenure, she personally developed more than 150 unique concert programs and created three educational outreach initiatives, including Topics in Tempo, which uses music as a tool to teach academics. She also garnered awards such as Best Concert Series of the East Bay in multiple years and the Arts and Culture Award in Contra Costa County. At the final Gold Coast Chamber Players performance, the local mayor proclaimed that day as Pamela Freund-Striplen Day for her community contributions.

During the global pandemic, Pamela pioneered innovative ways to keep communities and musicians connected by producing Immersive Experiences—online performances designed to engage all five senses and reimagine how audiences experience music virtually.

An active performer, Pamela has collaborated with leading chamber musicians around the world, including members of the St. Lawrence, Alexander, Ciompi, Escher, and Verona String Quartets. A frequent guest artist with the Amati Ensemble, she has performed throughout the Netherlands and Germany, including at Berlin Enescu Days and on a concert tour featuring all the Mozart viola quintets. She also performed in Vienna, Strasbourg, and across Germany with the New European Strings under Dmitry Sitkovetsky, later joining the ensemble at the Seattle International Music Festival.

Currently, Pamela is on tour with her project, *Cultural Crossroads, Dvorak in America, and, together with cellist Luigi Piovano, co-leads Italy MAK (Music–Art–Kitchen)—a tour that combines music, art, and culinary experiences in Italy.

A dynamic speaker, Pamela has presented for the Stanford Alumni Association, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Duke University, and Montclair State University. Her orchestral work includes principal positions with the San Diego Opera and San Francisco Opera’s Western Opera Theater, as well as recording for film at Skywalker Ranch.

Pamela studied at Pomona College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, continuing advanced studies with the Curtis Quartet in Philadelphia, where she twice received the Young Musician’s Award in chamber music. A dedicated educator for over three decades, she has taught at Occidental College, Saint Mary’s College of California, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division.

*represented by Marian Liebowitz Artist Management.