Welcome to the violin studio at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music!
Our violin students fill our hallways, classrooms, ensembles, stages, local community and beyond with fresh energy, whimsical curiosity and vibrant music. Each studio is filled with creative thinkers who bring a diverse range of interests to their musicianship. Partnerships, collaborations and project design involving music education, visual arts, drama, dance, music technology and engineering naturally blossom from the interdisciplinary spirit our violin students cherish. We design weekly studio classes and performance classes in Grusin Music Hall to embrace early, new and world styles of music, focusing on honing our students’ skills in fluid technique, chamber music, musicians’ wellness, imaginative improvisation and nuanced ensemble playing. We aim to uphold a spirited learning environment filled with inspiration, integrity, curiosity, warmth and fun!
Harumi Rhodes
Harumi Rhodes is the second violinist of the internationally renowned Takács Quartet. The Takács Quartet has been in residence at the University of Colorado since 1983 and, in collaboration with other string faculty, has developed a program geared toward students who relish the chance to develop their artistry with a special emphasis on chamber music, in a small tightly knit community where students will not be lost in the crowd. Members of the Takács admit a small number of students to their individual classes each year and work intensively with a resident graduate string quartet. Although the quartet maintains a high-profile international career, the schedule is managed carefully to allow for regular and frequent periods teaching in Boulder. The quartet’s commitment to teaching is enhanced by summer residencies at the Aspen Festival and at the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara. The Takács is a Visiting Quartet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. Significant scholarships to study with members of the Takács are available, thanks to the Takács Society and the Starling Foundation. MORE
Edward Dusinberre
Edward Dusinberre is the first violinist of the internationally renowned Takács Quartet. The Takács Quartet has been in residence at the University of Colorado since 1983 and, in collaboration with other string faculty, has developed a program geared toward students who relish the chance to develop their artistry with a special emphasis on chamber music, in a small tightly knit community where students will not be lost in the crowd. Members of the Takács admit a small number of students to their individual classes each year and work intensively with a resident graduate string quartet. Although the quartet maintains a high-profile international career, the schedule is managed carefully to allow for regular and frequent periods teaching in Boulder. The quartet’s commitment to teaching is enhanced by summer residencies at the Aspen Festival and at the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara. The Takács is a Visiting Quartet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. Significant scholarships to study with members of the Takács are available, thanks to the Takács Society and the Starling Foundation. MORE
Alex Gonzalez
Assistant Professor of Violin Alex Gonzalez joined the string faculty in 2022. Described by the Viborg Folkeblad (Denmark) as a “true virtuoso … [who] left the audience almost breathless,” Assistant Professor of Violin Alex Gonzalez enjoys a versatile career as a chamber musician, ensemble leader and educator. Previously, Gonzalez taught on the faculties of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra Program, the Sphinx Performance Academy at both the Juilliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and as guest faculty for the Iberacademy in Medellín, Colombia. He has also enjoyed presenting solo and chamber music master classes at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Montclair State University and Skidmore College, among others. Gonzalez enjoys regular collaborations with the Chineke! Foundation, appearing across the United Kingdom and Europe as both guest concertmaster and chamber musician with various Chineke! ensembles. And—as a former member of the New World Symphony—Gonzalez regularly served as concertmaster to Michael Tilson Thomas and other distinguished guests; he was honored to perform in a celebration of MTT at the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors. Gonzalez completed his studies at the Eastman School of Music, Rice University and Carnegie Mellon University. His principal mentors include Cyrus Forough, Shakeh Ghoukasian, Paul Kantor and Oleh Krysa. His formal chamber music studies were under James Dunham, Norman Fischer, Mimi Hwang, Carol Rodland and the Ying Quartet. MORE
Károly Schranz
Károly Schranz was born in 1952 in Budapest, Hungary. His first musical experiences were listening to the Gypsy bands in restaurants, which he has always admired for their virtuosity and musicianship. Schranz began playing the violin at the age of four under the very strict supervision of his mother who often resorted to unconventional methods of teaching and encouraging practice. (“To improve my bowing technique, she devised a method of attaching a string to my arm, and pulling in the desired direction. When this approach failed, she spanked me with a wooden spoon, which resulted in my hatred towards practicing.”) At the age of fourteen, he entered the Béla Bártok Secondary Music School, where he met his future wife, also a violin student at the school. In 1980, he received his music diploma from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music where he studied with Mihály Szücs, András Mihály and György Kurtág. MORE
Fritz Gearhart
Violinist Fritz Gearhart has performed for audiences from coast to coast. He has appeared in major halls around the country including the Kennedy Center, the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Alice Tully Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie. Gearhart has enjoyed a rich career in chamber music performing, including membership in the Chester Quartet and the Oregon String Quartet which recorded CDs for Albany, Koch Entertainment and Centaur Records. Gearhart has taught at the university level for most of his career, including previous appointments at the University of Oregon, East Carolina University and Indiana University at South Bend. Further to his many performing and teaching activities, Gearhart has appeared as a guest conductor at several string festivals around the country, including the South Carolina All-State String Orchestra, Northern Virginia Honors Orchestra, Wyoming String Clinic and All-City Strings in Salem, Oregon. As well, Gearhart recently started a new nonprofit—the Redfish Music Festival—which presents a summer festival on the southern coast of Oregon and special events throughout the year. Gearhart earned a master’s degree and a prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Donald Weilerstein. Earlier studies at the Hartt School included work with Charles Treger and members of the Emerson Quartet. MORE
