Carol Ross, violin and viola
Carol Ross’s career as an artist-teacher and performer of violin and viola has spanned three decades. Her leadership positions in professional orchestras and extensive performing experience as recitalist and chamber musician have richly informed her teaching. She is proud of her many students who have continued their studies and gone on to become successful artists and teachers in their own right, as well as those who continue their lifelong love of music while pursuing other paths.
Ms. Ross joined the faculty of the Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School and founded its Suzuki Program in 1997 after serving in teaching positions at Florida State University, Westminster Choir College, and the Hartt School of Music Community Division. Having established the Rutgers University Community Music School Suzuki Program in New Brunswick, New Jersey, she has been an invited guest clinician for numerous Suzuki workshops. She served on the faculty of the University of Akron and currently teaches private students at Lakewood High School.
Ms. Ross has performed in the Cleveland Opera Orchestra, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland San Jose Ballet Orchestra, Princeton Chamber Symphony, and the Tallahassee Symphony. A top prize winner in the Memphis Beethoven Club Competition, she shares a broad range of recital repertoire with her audiences. She appeared frequently in performances of chamber works at the Yellow Barn Music Festival and Rutgers Summerfest and has given live performances on WNYC, New York City Public Radio. Since her student days in Memphis, she has actively performed works by living composers, most recently premiering violin/viola duos by husband, Julian Ross.
Ms. Ross studied Suzuki pedagogy with Allen Lieb and William Preucil Sr and traditional pedagogy with Sally O’Reilly and Pam Ryan. She was a teaching assistant to Teri and David Einfeldt. She earned her BM in Violin Performance at the University of Memphis and her MM in Viola Performance at the Hartt School of Music. Her major teachers include Eric Rosenblith, Hiroko Yajima, Pamela Ryan, and Jeff Irvine.
Julian Ross, violin
Violinist, Julian Ross, is an uncommonly versatile artist. Ross has appeared as soloist with orchestras and wind ensembles in performances ranging from Baroque and Romantic concerti to premieres of newly commissioned works. His chamber music collaborations have kindled insightful interpretations of traditional and new repertoire, championed neglected works by underrepresented composers, and programmed forgotten gems such as those by Amanda Maier, Ethel Smyth, and Jazz great, Joe Venuti. As member of Baldwin Wallace Conservatory’s resident ensembles, the Elysian Trio and Lyceum², Ross performed over 125 varied programs. Ross has toured the U.S. and abroad with the Arcadia Trio, the Boston Musical Arts Consortium, the Music from Yellow Barn Tours, and the Memphis Piano Quartet. He was honored to appear as soloist, recitalist, and lecturer for the “Violins of Hope” exhibition in Cleveland, Ohio.
Ross has had opportunities to perform numerous solo and chamber works under the supervision of their composers. Among these are compositions by Don Freund, Stefan Freund, William Bolcom, John Cage, Chen Yi, John Harbison, Krzysztof Penderecki, Robert Patterson, Philip Glass, Loris Chobanian, John Corigliano, Joseph Schwantner, Christopher Theofanidis, and Charles Wuorinen. In addition, Ross’s own original compositions and arrangements have been received warmly by audiences and his pedagogic materials are increasingly being adopted by teachers.
A devoted teacher, Ross has composed etudes addressing tenacious violinistic problems (Four Knotty Violin Studies), a melodically reinforced approach to scale studies (Connecting Some Dots), and a systematic approach to beginning scales (Right from the Start).
Through four decades of performing and teaching chamber music, he has gained unique expertise in teamwork, problem solving, and communication. Ross and his Lyceum² colleague, Robert Mayerovitch, enjoy sharing these ideas and techniques with students and audiences.
Ross served as Professor of Violin and Chair of the String Department at Baldwin Wallace University for 26 years. Other faculty appointments included Memphis State University and Florida State University. Along with welcoming students in his private studio, Ross provides lessons for students through special arrangements with Lakewood High School.
Ross participated in the Yellow Barn Festival for 11 years, and was on the faculties of Brevard, Aria International, Tennessee Governor’s School, and the Blue Mountain Festival. Ross’s students have won competitions, earned leadership positions in professional orchestras, and established themselves on teaching faculties. A past President of the Tennessee String Teachers’ Association, Ross has also served on the board of the Ohio String Teachers’ Association.
Ross earned degrees from Rutgers University, the Eastman School of Music, and the Cincinnati College Conservatory, and he did additional studies at the New England Conservatory. His teachers and mentors have included Arnold Steinhardt, Sylvia Rosenberg, Eric Rosenblith, Jens Ellermann, Fryderyk Sadowski, Gladys Lang, and Isadore Grossman.
