Praised for her "glowing sound" and "technical aplomb" (The Strad), violinist Elisa Barston is currently the Principal Second Violinist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. She previously served as the Associate Concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and was a first violin section member of the Cleveland Orchestra. Ms. Barston’s principal violin teachers include Almita and Roland Vamos, Robert Lipsett, and Josef Gingold. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Music Cum Laude. At Indiana University, where she earned a Master of Music degree, Ms. Barston was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate, the Jascha Heifetz Scholarship, and the Starling Foundation Grant. Among her awards, Ms. Barston has garnered top prizes at the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition, First Prize at the Julius Stulberg Auditions, Grand Prize at the International Kingsville Young Performers' Competition, and First Prize in the Seventeen-General Motors National Music Competition.

As a soloist, Ms. Barston has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, with the major symphony orchestras of Chicago, Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Seattle, and Taipei, among numerous others. In 1986, she made her European debut with the English Chamber Orchestra at the request of Sir Yehudi Menuhin.