Strings

Tarn Travers

Violin

    Violinist Tarn Travers regularly performs throughout the US and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. A member of the Chicago-based contemporary music group Ensemble Dal Niente and concertmaster of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, recent performances include solo and chamber music appearances throughout the United States, China, Austria, and Italy. He also performed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and gave a performance of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in Vienna’s Konzerthaus.

     As a recording artist, Travers has released numerous recordings, including an appearance on Jóhann Jóhannsson’s album Orphée, released in 2015 on the Deutsche Gramophone label. Other releases include an album of chamber music by Beethoven, Brahms, and Brooke Joyce, Maria Newman’s Triple Concerto, Randal Bauer’s Half String Quartet for violin and cello, and music by George Lewis, recorded as a member of Ensemble Dal Niente. Upcoming releases include music by Lori Laitman, transcribed for violin by the composer specifically for Travers, and an album of music for two violins featuring music by Eugène Ysaÿe, Sergei Prokofiev, and Paolo Marchettini.

    An active pedagogue worldwide, Travers’ currently serves as resident faculty at the Tianjin Juilliard School in China. Previous teaching appointments include faculty positions at DePauw University, AlpenKammerMusik in Austria, and the International Music Festival of the Adriatic in Italy. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Doctorate from Stony Brook University in New York, where his primary teachers were Camilla Wicks, Philip Setzer, and Axel Strauss. He plays on a Joseph Curtin violin.

    Spencer Martin

    Viola and Director

      Spencer Martin has performed and taught at music festivals throughout the U.S., Canada, Israel, and Europe as both violist and conductor.  An active chamber and orchestral musician, he has appeared as guest violist with the Pro Arte String Quartet and the Amelia Piano Trio.  His solo performances include Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the Luther College Symphony Orchestra in venues in Austria, including Vienna’s Konzerthaus.  Spencer has served as Principal Violist in the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and also frequently performed in the viola sections of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra.  Spencer’s solo, chamber, and orchestral performances have been featured in numerous radio broadcasts including National Public Radio, Canadian Brodcasting Corporation, Minnesota Public Radio, and Kansas Public Radio.

      Spencer’s CD, “Gems Rediscovered,” was released to critical praise on the Delos label in 2012 and features lesser-known works for viola and piano by Ernest Walker, Paul Juon, Robert Fuchs, and Benjamin Dale.  Spencer can also be heard on the Innova label on the disc “Waves of Stone, Music by Brooke Joyce.” A former member of the music faculty at the University of Alabama, Spencer holds degrees from Butler University, Wichita State University, and the University of Minnesota.  His teachers include Korey Konkol, Catherine Consiglio, and Barbara Westphal. Also an avid proponent of Baroque music, Spencer performs frequently on Baroque violin and has studied in Berlin with Baroque violinist Bernhard Forck. To see and hear excerpts of Spencer's performances, or for further information, visit his website.

       

      Tulio Rondón

      Cello

        Cellist and Gambist Tulio Rondón performs throughout the United States, Europe, Middle East, and North and South America as a soloist and chamber musician.  Known for his vivid depth, passionate performances and strong leadership, he started his professional life early as principal cellist of the Aragua Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela. Tulio Rondón's performance career has taken him all over the world, sharing the stage with many internationally celebrated artists.

        Tulio Rondón is in demand as a chamber musician and early music specialist. He is currently a faculty member of the IMFA (International Music Festival of the Adriatic) in Duino, Italy, and Cellistiko PR in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

        Born in Venezuela, Tulio Rondón began his cello studies through El Sistema, quickly moving up to the highest orchestra by age fifteen.  He received his Bachelor of Music from the Simón Bolivar Conservatory, his Master of Music from Miami University (Oxford, OH), and completed a Doctoral Degree in performance at the University of Arizona.  Pursuing his strong interest in historic performance practice, he continued his studies in The Netherlands, doing post-graduate studies on baroque cello and viola da gamba with Jaap ter Linden and Rainer Zipperling at The Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Mr. Rondón is currently the violoncello professor at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire.

        I've spent two fantastic summers at IMFA. I would highly recommend this program.

        —Kim Busic, violin, Boston Conservatory