Jess & Mario
The name Duo Islay is inspired by two mostly unrelated things- whisky and Glen Canyon Park. However, both of them are related to Jess and Mario and the basis of their friendship. The first time they met, they drank whisky together in a dorm at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music- the first of many whisky nights to come, with many of the bottles coming from the isle of Islay off of Scotland. And the first hike together they took as roommates for the summer was at Glen Canyon Park, through which the River Islais (derived from the Salinan Native American word “islay”) flows. Whisky and a love for the parks of San Francisco are not all that Jess and Mario have in common- they also share a passion for all kinds of music, especially folk and jazz, the discovery of which inspired them to form the duo. They are passionate about creative music that speaks to the soul, and hope that whatever they play, you enjoy it as much as they do.
Meet The Duo
Jessica Folson
Violinist Jessica Folson is an active performer and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. A native of Grand Forks, North Dakota, she recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with her master’s degree in music performance, where she studied with Professor Simon James.
Jessica is an avid chamber music musician, and in addition to being a member of Duo Islay, she is a member of the Lazuli Quartet and the Bridge Music Collective. She has attended many music festivals such as National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, and the Credo Summer Music Institute, where she was a fellow for the 2022 session and mentored by musicians including Peter Slowik and David Chan. Through festivals, Jessica has also had the opportunity to work with Nathan Cole, Rachel Barton Pine, Paul Kantor, and Nurit Bar-Josef, and Bruno Eicher.
Throughout her time in the Bay Area, Jessica has enjoyed a wide array of performance opportunities, ranging from recording sessions for a movie to playing for a WWE match at the Chase Center. She performs frequently with several orchestras around the area, including the California Symphony, Vallejo Symphony, Monterey Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, and San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. As a soloist, Jessica has performed with the Red River High School Orchestra in 2023 at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell, and with the St. Olaf Orchestra as a winner of the 2021 Senior Soloists Competition.
Jessica maintains a private violin studio and teaches at several studios and schools in San Francisco, including Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory and Scherzo Music School. In her free time, Jessica enjoys reading, singing, hiking, and getting boba with friends.
Mario To
Mario Tsz-chun To is an established guitarist-composer who has collaborated with award-winning international artists including Meng Su, Sergio Assad, David Tanenbaum and Hungarian conductor Gergely Madaras. He is a teaching faculty at the Holy Name Conservatory of Music.
As a solo guitarist, Mario achieved recognition by winning the Tarrega Malaysia International Guitar Festival Competition in 2017 and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Concerto Competition in 2021. Mario was also honored to perform at the renowned Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, courtesy of an invitation from the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Mario's artistry has been sought after internationally, with invitations to perform as a soloist by organizations such as the Hong Kong International Airport, the Asia Society, and the Royal Commonwealth Society.
As a composer, Mario was most recently commissioned by Meng Su to write The History of Knowledge for modern and historical plucked string ensemble, later arranged to be performed in a classical guitar ensemble. His creative works have earned him invitations to prestigious events, including a concert in Palo Alto, CA, hosted by The Peninsular Guitar Series in 2023, where he presented his original compositions and arrangements. In 2023, he served as a consortium judge for the esteemed Barlow Prize Competition.
During his master’s degree program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Mario served as a teaching assistant, benefiting from full scholarships for guitar performance studies with Meng Su and composition studies with Sergio Assad. He is a graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he received guidance from Meng Su and the Academy Director, Prof. Adrian Walter.
