Robert Simonds: American Women Composers, music for solo violin

Robert Simonds is the principal second violin of the Louisville Orchestra and 2018 will be his 8th summer as a member of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz. He will perform unaccompanied works for solo violin by American women composers, including several written for him. Featuring music by Missy Mazzoli, Cindy Cox, Patricia Van Ness, TJ Cole, Molly Joyce, Elizabeth Kennedy Bayer, and Alexis Bacon, this program explores the influences of the Baroque era, the Renaissance, and folk music on some of today’s most dynamic composers.
Interested in contemporary music for as long as he can remember, Rob has a multifaceted career as an orchestral musician, chamber musician, and solo recitalist. Rob began his professional orchestral career with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra followed by a longtime position with The Phoenix Symphony.
Small ensemble collaborations with artists such as Rhiannon Giddens, Joe Pug, Ben Sollee, Tobie Milford and The Low Anthem have been especially gratifying. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Rob began the violin at a young age with his grandmother. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, he studied with Dr. Won-Bin Yim and Dorothy Delay.