
Cardea String Quartet
Cardea is a dynamic string quartet based in San Francisco, dedicated to bringing vibrant and compelling performances to audiences throughout the Bay Area. With a deep passion for both classical masterpieces and contemporary works, the quartet is committed to creating engaging musical experiences in concert halls, intimate venues, and community spaces alike.
Members
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Jennifer Redondas
VIOLIN
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Mateo Garza
VIOLIN
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Lorenna Garcia
VIOLA
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Griffin Seuter
Cello
Griffin Seuter
Griffin Seuter is a cellist based in San Francisco. She has been involved with a variety of ensembles across the country including the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Sinfonietta, Gateway Chamber Orchestra, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, and Pocket Opera. A dedicated practitioner of new music, she performs with Ninth Planet, Ensemble for These Times, and Merge Ensemble—a Baltimore-based string and percussion collective. She has participated in festivals such as the SONAD Project, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Madeline Island Chamber Music, National Music Festival, Trentino Music Festival, and The Chautauqua Institution. She is an avid chamber musician and is a founding member of the Cardea String Quartet; she was a 2021 Recipient of The Christian Teal Award for collaborative playing.
Griffin is a graduate of the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University where she studied with Dr. Felix Wang. At Vanderbilt, she served as a research assistant to Dr. Isidora Miranda in her study of Southeast Asian music and theater during the Colonial Period and as an assistant to Dr. Douglas Shadle in his Florence Price Research. She is passionate about music education and sat on the board of the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, where her responsibilities included contributing to the planning and execution of the affiliated youth orchestra program and organizing outreach concerts. She is a teaching assistant for the Music History and Literature department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, as well as a regular guest teacher at The Crowden School’s John Adams Young Composers Program. She is completing her M.M. at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the direction of Professor Jennifer Culp. Other significant mentors have included Emmanuel Feldman, Linda Minke, María Romero Ramos, Molly Barth, Carolyn Huebl, Ji Hye Jung, Pascal Le Boeuf, John Kochánowski, John Page, Eric Stumacher, and Dorothy Braker.
Lorenna Garcia
Lorenna Keilani Garcia is a Filipino/Mexican violist born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a B.M. in Viola Performance under the instruction of Brian Chen and is now pursuing her M.M. at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) with Jonathan Vinocour. Lorenna’s performance career has led her to perform at some of the most prestigious venues in the United States including Walt Disney Concert Hall, the National Cathedral, and Royce Hall, where she performed Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher with the UCLA Philharmonia in their annual All-Stars Concerto Competition. She has also had an extensive studio career that includes recording for Amazon Prime movies and recording for EDM producer, Wooli. Currently, she is a section violist in the Stockton Symphony and frequently works with the San Francisco Symphony for their Adventures In Music Program, bringing musical presentations to public schools across SF.
Lorenna is a big advocate for retention in higher education, particularly regarding marginalized identities pursuing the arts. She currently holds the Graduate Assistantship position for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at SFCM. At UCLA, she was involved in many spaces that cultivated cultural identity and community such as the Samahang Pilipino organization, and was a frequent performer in Mariachi Uclatlán as a violinist and vocalist. She was also heavily involved in the Herb Alpert School of Music administration, serving as Co-President for their Undergraduate Student Advisory Board, student representative for the Anti-Racism Action Committee, and also spearheaded the creation of the Curriculum Reform Taskforce. For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Lorenna was chosen as the Sphinx Futurist Fellow for the National Orchestral Institute + Festival and currently works on the planning and directing of their Youth Mentorship Program, which provides young black and brown musicians quality private lessons, wellness classes, and other musical learning opportunities free of charge. While her love for performing knows no bounds, Lorenna aspires for her career to help make classical music more accessible and inclusive for young children of all identities.
Jennifer Redondas
Originally from Cuba, Jennifer Redondas, is a versatile musician who has performed as a soloist in the U.S., Netherlands, Italy, Austria, France, and Cuba at prestigious venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Mozarteum in Salzburg. As a historical violinist and violist, she was a fellow at the Smithsonian Haydn Academy 2025, where she played on the instruments of the collection. She has participated in Berwick Academy at Oregon Bach Festival under the direction of Jos van Veldhoven. In 2023, Redondas won the SFCM Baroque Concerto Competition and performed as a soloist with the SFCM Baroque Ensemble. Her passion for Cuban music and jazz has led her to perform at SF Jazz alongside renowned artists like Chris Potter, Anat Cohen, and Chucho Valdés. As a contemporary music performer, she has been a guest artist with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and Ensemble for These Times during the 2023–2024 season. Redondas was a fellow with the Classical Tahoe Orchestra in 2023 and, as an active member of the “Adventures In Music” program at the San Francisco Symphony, she has performed at over ninety public schools across the Bay Area.
Since 2012, she has taught violin, viola, and piano to students from diverse backgrounds—including children with autism and behavioral disorders—and has coached the California Youth Symphony as well as the Greater Miami Youth Symphony. Jennifer began her violin and piano studies at age eight at the Conservatorio de Música Alejandro García Caturla in Cuba. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at New World School of the Arts in Miami and her Master’s degree in Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she received the Sunlin and Priscilla Chou Graduate Scholarship. Jennifer is a founding member of the Cardea String Quartet and aspires to expand access to classical music for underserved rural communities worldwide, bringing its enriching impact to areas with limited exposure to this art form.
Mateo Garza
Mateo Garza, studies with Nancy Zhou, a professor of violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM). Over the past 15 years, additional instructors include Robin Scott, Isabelle Senger, and Randall Weiss. He is a five-time winner of merit scholarships from the Easter Music Festival, a nine-time recipient of the Sunriver Music Festival Young Arts Scholarship, received both the Eastman Artist Scholarship and the Hamlin Scholarship while at the Eastman School of Music, and the William Wolski Violin Scholarship, and an Artist Scholarship from SFCM. His extensive chamber music experience includes being a principal member of High Desert Chamber Music’s Spotlight Chamber Players from 2011 until 2019, a founding member of the Jones Road String Quartet, and the Osiris Quartet which was selected for Eastman's honors chamber music program, Eastman’s intensive chamber music program, and held a residency with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. He has held principal positions, including Concertmaster, under directors Gerard Schwarz, Jose-Luis Novo, and Grant Cooper. He has soloed with ensembles including the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra, SFCM’s Historical Performance Ensemble, and the Central Oregon Youth Orchestra. Recently, he has held substitute positions with the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes and is currently employed as a Graduate Assistant in the Music History and Musicianship department at SFCM. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music and the Celentano Award for excellence in chamber music, he is pursuing a master’s degree at the SFCM.
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