Born in 1999 and raised in Michigan, Joseph Skerik is the newly-appointed violist of the Vega String Quartet, where he is an artist and faculty member in residence at Emory University and the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta. Joseph’s 2023 - 24 season includes collaborations with the Juilliard Quartet, Zuill Bailey and Ransom Wilson, as well as appearances at the National Gallery in Washington DC. He has studied at the Yale School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Paris Conservatory and Interlochen Arts Academy. As a guest artist, Joseph has given performances at Heifetz Hear and Now Series, the Highlands-Cashiers Festival, Lake George Music Festival, Vivace Music Foundation and Kneisel Hall. Joseph’s summer studies include the Ravinia Institute, Heifetz Chamber Music Seminar, Perlman Music Program and the Aspen Music Festival. As a chamber musician he has performed with Ani Kavafian, Ilya Kaler, Jaime Laredo, Colin Carr, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Erin Keefe, Margaret Batjer and Edward Aaron. Joseph is a Young Arts Merit Violist, a prize-winner at the American Viola Society Competition and the 2022 Oskar Nedbal Viola Competition in Prague. He is the co-founder of Viridian Strings, a chamber music series in Northwest Lower Michigan.