Ensemble Affect co-founder and violist Seth Van Embden is a dynamic performer equally at home in a symphony orchestra, chamber ensemble, or historical instrument group, never one to be limited to a single genre or style. Seth performs with the Charleston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra. Previously he has held positions with the New World Symphony, Illinois Symphony, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Seth was the violist for Crossing Borders Music, a Chicago-based group devoted to highlighting underrepresented composers and music, for which he recorded and performed pieces indigenous to Haiti, Palestine, the Balkans, Taiwan, as well as works created by composers from diverse backgrounds such as the LGBTQ and differently-abled communities.  

Seth’s passion for historical performance has led him to perform across North America, including for the San Francisco Early Music Society, the Valley of the Moon Music Festival in Sonoma, and at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C, performing Haydn quartets on the museum’s collection of Stradivari and Amati instruments.