Renée Skerik is Instructor of Viola and Chamber Music at Interlochen Arts Academy and formerly served as Associate Professor of Viola at Texas Tech University School of Music. She has performed extensively across the United States, Europe, and Brazil, with notable appearances at the 33rd International Viola Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

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Before joining the faculty at Interlochen and in Texas, Renée was the violist of the Artaria String Quartet, a Minnesota-based ensemble recognized with a McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Millennium Grant. With Artaria, she toured nationally, presented masterclasses, and co-founded both the Stringwood Chamber Music Institute and the Artaria Chamber Music School.

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A passionate educator, Renée has worked with young violists across the U.S., Central and South America, and China. Her recent masterclasses include institutions such as the Juilliard School, LaGuardia High School, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Michigan, Cleveland Institute of Music, and the China Conservatory Middle School (via remote instruction). She is a frequent presenter at national conventions for ASTA, TMEA, and the American Viola Society.

Renée has served in various leadership and adjudication roles, including coordinator of the inaugural 2016 AVS Youth Competition at Colburn Conservatory and judge for the 2025 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, the Texs ASTA competition, and the Ohio Viola Society Competition.

Each spring, she leads Interlochen students on a chamber music immersion trip to Siena, Italy, where they collaborate with the Siena Conservatory. In the summer, she serves on the faculties of the Interlochen Viola Intensive, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and Montecito International Music Festival. Past faculty appointments include the Castleman Quartet Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Saint Paul Chamber Music Institute, and Green Lake Festival of Music.

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Renée has collaborated in performance with esteemed artists such as Arnold Steinhardt, Charles Castleman, Margaret Batjer, Andrés Cárdenes, and Yizhak Schotten. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota, where her principal teachers included Heidi Castleman, Yizhak Schotten, and Korey Konkol. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, she studied with David Holland during her formative years.