Hungarian violinist Zsolt Eder has established himself as a versatile and engaging performer and teacher. He is Professor of Violin and Viola at Washburn University (Topeka, Kansas) and has been Concertmaster of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra since 2011. He is a founding member of the Opus 76 String Quartet and also performs with Spire Chamber Ensemble, newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the KC Baroque Consortium, Ensemble Iberica, the Sunflower Music Festival (Topeka), the Kansas City Symphony, as well as his chamber music group Zsolt Eder and Friends. 

With most performances cancelled in 2020, Zsolt and the Opus 76 Quartet immersed themselves in the complete Beethoven string quartets –  performing and recording the 18-piece cycle at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City. Another recent highlight was the completion of Topeka Symphony’s 75th anniversary season (2020/21) and a digital residency with Musica para Respirar, a Bolivian organization presenting free, live performances on WhatsApp to people affected by the pandemic across South America.

Zsolt has performed extensively in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Highlights include performing in the first Canadian Ring Cycle (Wagner) with the Canadian Opera Company, the Beijing Modern Music Festival in China, IMS Prussia Cove in England, and at the International Classical and Folk Music Festival in Kyrgyzstan. He has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Topeka Symphony, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, the City of Asuncion Symphony Orchestra (OSCA) in Paraguay, the Washburn Symphony,  the Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra (Toronto, Canada), the Midwest Chamber Ensemble and the Medical Arts Symphony (Kansas City). In 2018, Zsolt appeared as guest concertmaster of the National Symphony of Colombia (South America). He has appeared live on Kansas Public Radio, Hungarian National Radio and ABC Australia. 

Zsolt is passionate about education, working with organizations like UMKC Conservatory Bridges, Heartland Chamber Music, the Blanche Bryden Chamber Music Institute, Harmony Project KC, Topeka Strings for Success and CityMusic Cleveland. He is frequently invited to adjudicate and present lectures and masterclasses. In 2019 he completed a week-long residency at the National University of Paraguay. 

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Zsolt spent most of his childhood in Perth, Australia. College studies brought him first to Toronto, Canada, where he studied with Lorand Fenyves. Zsolt then continued with Paul Kantor at the Cleveland Institute of Music, earning his Bachelors and Masters Degrees there. In Kansas City he studied with Benny Kim at the UMKC Conservatory and received a Doctoral Degree in Violin Performance in 2018. He lives in a suburb of Kansas City with wife Gloria and their two children.