Violinist Ross Monroe Winter has a versatile career as an orchestral player, soloist, teacher and chamber
musician. He is currently a member of the Richmond Symphony and a substitute with the New Jersey Symphony
Orchestra. Previously he has been a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic,
having performed as Principal and Assistant Second Violin. Frequently in principal positions, he has served as
Associate Concertmaster of the Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra; Assistant Concertmaster of the Todi MusicFest
Opera Orchestra; Assistant Principal Second Violin of Opera Roanoke, Chamber Orchestra of Southwest Virginia
and Roanoke Symphony Orchestra; Solo Violin I with the Orchestra of the 17th Century; concertmaster of the New
England Conservatory, Aspen Concert, and Purchase Symphony Orchestras; Principal Second Violin of the
Boston Metropolitan Orchestra and Co-concertmaster of the Richmond Philharmonic. Mr. Winter has also
performed with the Key West, New Bedford and Atlantic Symphony Orchestras, New England and Plymouth
Philharmonic Orchestras. In addition, he has been invited to play with the Albany, West Virginia, Brockton,
Arlington and Lynchburg Symphony Orchestras, Williamsburg Symphonia, Symphony by the Sea (MA) as well as
the Rhode Island Philharmonic. He has performed in principal positions under conductors such as David Zinman,
James Conlon, Julius Rudel, and Benjamin Zander and has appeared at venues such as the Kennedy Center,
Symphony Hall in Boston, and Carnegie Hall.
Always enjoying engagements as soloist, Mr. Winter has performed with flautist Paula Robison and the Gardner
Chamber Orchestra (MA) as well as performances with the Richmond Philharmonic and in Boston’s Jordan Hall.
As a devoted teacher, Mr. Winter is an Instructor of Violin at the State University of New York - Purchase and on
the faculty of the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Academy. He is a former faculty member of New
England Conservatory’s “Festival Youth Orchestra” Summer Institute and has presented masterclasses at the
NEC Summer School, Celebration Summer Strings Festival and the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. He
maintains a private studio, coaches chamber music and youth orchestras; while in Boston, he continuously worked
with the NEC Youth Philharmonic and Youth Symphony coaching sectionals and frequently adjudicated auditions
for the NEC Preparatory School during the academic year.
As an avid chamber musician, Mr. Winter is the violinist of trioMetropolitan, a member of Opus Nine Ensemble,
and has performed in numerous ensembles and been coached by members of the Shanghai, Borromeo, and
Manhattan String Quartets, Pamela Frank, Julia Lichten, Vivian Weilerstein, Yehuda Hanani, and Lucy Chapman
(Stoltzman) among others. This season's performances include an East Coast tour with Opus Nine making stops in
New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, chamber music concerts and recording as a guest with the "Arpeggio
Ensemble" and a return to Santo Domingo.
For four consecutive summers, Mr. Winter was a scholarship student at the Aspen Music Festival where he
performed with the Festival, Sinfonia, and Concert orchestras. With the latter he served as Concertmaster in
2000. Other festival performances include the Santo Domingo Music Festival of the Dominican Republic,
Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, Todi Music Fest and Virginia Arts, Music at Penn’s Woods and the Brevard
Music Center. As first violinist of the Beaumont String Quartet, in 1999 they toured Belgium, Holland, and Germany
as guests of the Maastrict International Music Festival. The same year, the quartet was featured on the Tim
Timberlake Show - WRVA.
Mr. Winter received the Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the New England Conservatory of
Music where he studied with Boston Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster, Malcolm Lowe. Currently, he is persuing
a Master's degree at the State University of New York's Purchase Conservatory of Music with Laurie Smukler. His
other most notable principal teachers include Sylvia Rosenberg, Piotr Milewski, Eric Rosenblith, Kurt
Sassmannshaus, and Philip Setzer of the Emerson String Quartet.
He currently resides in New York City and recently had a taste of Hollywood while serving as Violin Tutor for
Robert Downey, Jr. and playing the role of Violinist in the upcoming Warner Brothers feature film Sherlock Holmes
(Christmas Day, 2009) He can also be seen as a Featured Performer in Sex and the City 2 (May, 2010).
Recordings for Albany Records, Norvell, AAM Recordings, NPR. Mr. Winter plays a fine violin by Vincenzo
Sannino; Naples, 1912.
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