An Evening with Kersten Stevens: Queen of the Violin

Kersten Stevens—Queen of the Violin—is a genre-defying artist and composer whose electrifying, luminous performances turn every stage into a sanctuary. A Yale alumna and six-time winner of Amateur Night and Showtime at The Apollo, she has shared the stage with Christian McBride, Faith Evans, Regina Carter, Kim Burrell, and Keyon Harrold. Her performances have moved icons like President Barack Obama, Dionne Warwick, Babyface, Usher, and Denzel Washington.

Kersten’s journey began at just three years old, when she first picked up the violin and quickly excelled in the Suzuki method. By ten, she was exploring gospel, and by twelve, she had discovered jazz—unlocking a lifelong passion for improvisation, storytelling, and genre-bending expression. Her early talent was recognized with top honors from the NAACP ACT-SO Awards and the International Hal Jackson’s Talented Teen competition, paving the way for her history-making wins at the world-famous Apollo Theater.

She graduated from Yale University with a dual focus in Music and African American Studies, nurturing a passion for fusing genres and cultural expression. Throughout her early career, she studied under legendary jazz violinist John Blake, Jr., honing a sound that is technically masterful, spiritually rooted, and creatively boundless. Her work blends jazz, gospel, soul, and Black cultural storytelling into a sound that is both genre-fluid and emotionally grounded.

Her latest album, QUEEN RISING—co-produced with 9x GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride—debuted in the JazzWeek Top 40. McBride performs on all eight tracks and co-wrote four original compositions with Kersten: “Queen Rising,” “Release the Grace,” “Beginnings and Endings,” and “You’ve Been Crowned.” Together, they also reimagined Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Fantasy,” Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” and H.E.R.’s “Best Part” with fresh perspective and emotional clarity.