Peter DeVries, M.Mus

Biography

Peter deVries, the son of American missionaries, grew up in the Philippines and returned to the USA with his family at the age of 16 when he began consistent violin studies. He completed Bachelors and Masters degrees at Indiana University School of Music in Violin Performance with Distinction under Josef Gingold and James Buswell.

He has since had an extensive career as a concertmaster, soloist, recitalist, conductor, and teacher in much of the United States, Europe, and South America. He has served as concertmaster of the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, associate concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony, and first violin of the Grand Teton Music Festival. His chamber music groups have appeared in the Carnegie Recital Hall with critical acclaim from the New York Times and won the Coleman Award at the prestigious Coleman Chamber Music Auditions in Pasadena, California. His piano trio, the Lisbon International Trio, performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with John Nelson and the Armenian National Symphony in Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan. He recently participated in the KesaVirratSoi chamber music festival in Finland, appearing with international artists such as Hannu Kiiski, director of cello faculty at Sibelius Academy, and Ludwig Quandt, 1st Principal Cello of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Mr. deVries has served as a violin professor at Indiana University and at Instituto Jean Piaget in Portugal. He was awarded the Presidential Scholars Teacher Award and has conducted violin master classes at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2019 Mr. deVries was appointed Artist in Residence in Violin at Queens University in Charlotte. He continues to perform in both Europe and the United States, appearing frequently in recitals with pianist Dr. Paul Nitsch, fellow Artist in Residence at Queens University, and as concertmaster with Opera Carolina in Charlotte and with Andrea Bocelli. Mr. deVries’ website, PeterdeVriesViolin.com, includes more detail on his life and career as well as a video produced with Dr. Nitsch that has won critical acclaim.