As an undergraduate at Stanford University, Susan Freier earned degrees in both music and biology. She did her graduate work at Stanford and the Eastman School where she was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. While at Eastman she joined the Chester String Quartet, which went on to win the Cleveland Quartet Competition and later to serve as resident ensemble at the Indiana University of South Bend. During her tenure with the Quartet, the Chester won top honors at the Portsmouth (England), Munich and Chicago Discovery Competitions, and recorded on the Stolat, Pantheon and CRI labels. A frequent participant in the Aspen, Grand Teton, Telluride, Newport Music Festivals, the San Francisco Symphony’s "Sacred and Profane" Festival and Chamber Music West, she has performed on NPR, the BBC and German State Radio. She has recorded for Newport Classics as a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and has been on the artist faculty of the Rocky Ridge Music Center, the Pacific Music Festival, and Music in the Mountains at Steamboat Springs. She is violinist with the Ives Quartet (formerly the Stanford String Quartet), with whom she has toured internationally and recorded on the Music and Arts and Laurel labels. She has been on the Stanford University faculty since 1989.