Surai Balbeisi is active as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician; a versatile musician, she performs a variety of genres including classical, baroque, jazz, Arabic classical, rock, hip-hop and electric. She has appeared in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Radio City Music Hall in New York City. And internationally she has performed in France, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Dubai, Mexico, and Korea.
Surai has performed on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with James Corden, on The Today Show, The View, CBS The Early Show, and The Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting.
She has collaborated with Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Skylar Grey, Jesca Hoop, Alicia Keys, Rita Wilson, Kanye West, Rod Stewart, Michael Bolton, Josh Groban, John Mayer, Jewel, James Hunter, Regina Spektor, Michael Bublé, The Roots, Il Divo, among many.
She has toured with the Bollywood sensation Arijit Singh, jazz ensemble the Daughters Of Nina Simone, The Opera Show, the Paris Chamber Orchestra and most recently with the U.K based band, Elbow as back-up singer and violist.
On Broadway, Surai was the viola chair for the show Sleigh Bells Swing and is currently substituting at the Phantom of the Opera.
In her multifaceted career, Surai also enjoys working in Film and TV. She was the viola consultant and instructor for the film, “A Late Quartet,” and appeared on ABC’s supernatural drama pilot “666 Park Avenue,” NBC’s “Mysteries Of Laura,” and on the Netflix comedy “Like Father.” She can be heard on Jay-Z’s album “Kingdom Come,” on Katy Perry’s MTV “Unplugged” DVD on the Capital Records label, as well as VMM and Eye Ball Records labels.
Surai began her musical training in Amman, Jordan under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein. She holds a B.M. in violin performance from the Pennsylvania State University, a Professional Studies Diploma in viola from the Mannes College of Music, and a Master of Arts from New York University. Her teachers have included Karen Ritscher, Martha Katz, Pedro de Alcantara, and Weigang Li.
Surai plays on a 1936 Karl Berger viola. She lives in New York City and loves playing tennis when she’s not performing.