Kirsten Docter is associate professor of viola and chamber music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. First prize wins at the Primrose International and American String Teachers Association Viola Competitions launched her on a career that includes a 23-year tenure with the Cavani Quartet, concerts on major series and festivals, and numerous appointments as a master class clinician. 

Festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Seattle Chamber Music Society. She has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman, Jaime Laredo, Alisa Weilerstein, and members of the Cleveland, Juilliard, Takács, and Emerson string quartets. Her work can be heard on the Azica, Albany, New World, and Gasparo labels. 

Formerly a faculty member of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Michigan, she has been a jury member of the Primrose International Viola, Fischoff National Chamber Music, and Sphinx competitions. In the summer she serves on the viola faculty of the Perlman Music Program.