Doug Machiz
cello
A native of Washington, DC, cellist Doug Machiz resides in Oakland where he is co-founder, manager, and cellist of Friction Quartet. With Friction, Doug is extremely fortunate to perform old and new string quartets around the United States with amazing musicians. He is also grateful for the many opportunities Friction has to inspire young people with the power of music.
In addition to his work with Friction Quartet, Doug is an active free-lance musician and teacher. He has participated in the Banff Chamber Music Residency, Deer Valley Music Festival with the Muir Quartet, the St. Lawrence Emerging String Quartet Program, Bang on a Can Summer Festival, Fontainebleau Conservatoire Americain in France, and the Zephyr International Chamber Music Course and Festival in Italy.
While beginning his cello studies at the late age of 14, he was able to progress quickly thanks to his previous experience studying classical and jazz piano, bass guitar and classical and electric guitar. He was fortunate to study with Mike Reynolds at Boston University despite his limited experience. He went on to earn a Masters degree from UT Austin with Bion Tsang, and a Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory where he studied with Jennifer Culp.
In his spare time, Doug is an avid yogi, road cyclist, backpacker, traveler and weather geek. Since moving to San Francisco he has become severely addicted the amazing coffee. He’s a big fan of Haruki Murakami novels and films by Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson, and PT Anderson.
Otis Harriel
violin
Violinist Otis Harriel earned his Bachelors Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in Spring 2013. He began his studies with Rob Diggins in his hometown of Arcata, CA. Under his teacher’s guidance he began performing with many local orchestras and chamber ensembles including the Eureka Symphony and Humboldt State Symphony. He attended the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop, Idyllwild Chamber Music Program, Sphinx Academy of Music. Mendocino Music Festival and Castleton Festival.
Otis studied with Wei He at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has participated in master classes with the first violinist of the Shanghai Quartet, Weigang Li, William van der Sloot, and Pinchas Zukerman. While at the conservatory he developed his love of chamber music under the guidance of coaches including Mark Sokol, Jennifer Culp, Jean-Michel Fonteneau and Jodi Levitz. He has a passion for reading, baking and Haydn.
Kevin Rogers
violin
As a young violinist, works of composers such as Penderecki, Boulez, and Berio captivated Kevin Rogers long before his first exposure to even a complete Beethoven Symphony, setting the groundwork for his passionate career in contemporary classical music. He is the founding violinist/violist of Nonsemble6, a contemporary Pierrot Ensemble based in San Francisco. As part of this group he has performed at the Astoria Music Festival as guests-artists-residence, at Universities throughout the country, in unorthodox venues through Classical Revolution SF, and at the Kennedy Center.
He began his solo career at sixteen in South Carolina. His most recent solo performances have included the Lou Harrison Violin Concerto at the Hot Air Music Festival in San Francisco, and a premier of Manly Romero’s concerto for two violins and two trumpets titled “Doppelgaenger” with the Blue Print Series under the Baton of Nicole Paiement.
Kevin Rogers recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Masters degree in Violin Performance. While there he received the award for Violin in New Music, and the award for Violin in the String departments. He studied with Bettina Mussumeli and worked closely with Jennifer Culp, Jodi Levitz and Mark Sokol. Having grown up on a farm, you can occasionally hear him slip into a southern accent after many hours of practicing or in moments of excitement.
Mitso Floor
viola
Mitso Floor is a violist and occasional cellist from Seattle, WA with an insatiable appetite for DvoĆák and chamber music that began when he formed his first string quartet in 8th grade. He has played with Friction Quartet since March 2022 and is a new member of the California Symphony viola section. An active freelancer, he substitutes with the San Francisco Symphony and other ensembles around the Bay Area. During his studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of Miami, he often worked with composers to expand the solo viola repertoire, premiering several works for the instrument (as well as one for solo cello). His past teachers include Matthew Young, Jodi Levitz, and Dimitri Murrath.
Other activities he enjoys, too numerous to fit into his free time, include arranging, recording, making pizza, knitting, 3D modeling, playing video games, hiking, and creating videos of himself playing many different instruments (and non-instruments) at the same time for his YouTube channel “Beanzo”.
