Georgia Southern Symphony to perform season opener on October 4

The Georgia Southern Symphony, under the baton of Dr. Steven Elisha, will kick off the season with the Fall 2026 Strings at Southern Music Festival on Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 2:30pm at the Georgia Southern University Performing Arts Center.

The Festival Orchestra Concert includes Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Violin and Cello featuring the Gretsch School of Music String faculty, Dr. Larisa Elisha, violin and Dr. Steven Elisha, cello (Elaris Duo), as well as Georges Bizet’s Carmen Suite, Enrique Granados’s “Intermezzo” from Opera “Goyesces,” and Maurice Ravel’s iconic “Bolero.”

The concert is free and open to the public.

Georgia Southern University’s Strings at Southern Chamber Music Festival, for high school and university students, includes string master classes, chamber ensemble coaching, workshops, chamber/symphony orchestra rehearsals, and student performances.

String players have the opportunity to study with the internationally acclaimed Elaris Duo (Dr. Larisa Elisha, violin, and Dr. Steven Elisha, cello), directors of the festival and String Program at the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music at Georgia Southern University.

About the Elaris Duo

Larisa and Steven Elisha are each internationally acclaimed soloists, chamber musicians and pedagogues.

Individually, and together as the Elaris Duo, the Elishas have gained national and international renown, performing in venues that include the Concertgebouw, Karajan Hall-Berlin Philharmonie, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York, Jerusalem Academy, University of Haifa, Grieg Hall – Bergen International Festival, Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy, National Taiwan University of the Arts, Summit Music Festival, Sunflower Music Festival, and solo appearances with Washington Square Music Festival Orchestra, Hastings Symphony, Topeka Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, Lawrence Chamber Orchestra, Sunflower Music Festival Chamber Orchestra and National Taiwan Arts Orchestra.

From a recent review appearing in Sound-Word-Sight Arts Magazine, Mark Greenfest wrote, “The Duo’s performance was emotional and poignant and also quite fascinating and memorable…gorgeous sound showing the exquisite tonal control of the performers…the Elaris Duo shines with their golden tone and intimate ensemble…They have a remarkable depth of range and interpretive artistry.

Bill Blankenship of the Topeka Capital-Journal wrote, “Steven and Larisa Elisha […] bring new meaning to violin and cello music”. .”Their performances of the Brahms double concerto for violin and cello was revelatory…the Elaris Duo presented a unanimity of phrasing and tonal projection that was stunning in its conception an execution. The synchronicity of the unison passages alone was a marvel.”

The Elaris Duo’s live broadcasts and CD recordings are frequently heard on National Public Radio. As advocates of contemporary music, the duo has premiered new works by Joel Feigin, Malcolm Solomon and other composers.

The Elishas regularly present master classes, workshops, lectures and performances at national and international conferences, universities and conservatories that include the American String Teachers Association National Conference, the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Lithuanian International Music Theory and Composer’s Conference, College Music Society Conference, Georgia Music Educators Association Conference, National Orchestra Festival, Jerusalem Academy, University of Haifa, National Taiwan University of the Arts, Grieg Academy and Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy.

The duo has been the recipient of a 2018 Global Music Award in the “Duo and New Release” categories for their MSR Classics release, DUO VIRTUOSO II – Works for Violin and Cello by Honegger, Ravel and Schulhoff, as well as the 2008 Kansas Governor’s Arts Award and a Chamber Music America Residency Grant.

While members of the Kansas Arts Commission’s Arts on Tour Roster, they were featured artists for the Kansas – ‘As Big as You Think’ State Tourism campaign, appearing over 600 times on New York’s Times Square Building, during the World Cup Championship. Both MSR-Classics releases, DUO VIRTUOSO and DUO VIRTUOSO II, were featured in articles and received critical acclaim from Gramophone, Fanfare Magazine, Atlanta Audio Society, American Record Guide, Malcolm Tattersall’s Music & Vision, Turok’s Choice, BBC Music and other leading publications.

Currently, Steven and Larisa Elisha are Directors of the String Program of the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music at Georgia Southern University, Strings at Southern Music Festival, and the Elaris Summer Academy.