Award-Winning Violinist Named SMU Chamber Music Director
Award-winning violinist Aaron Boyd, a member of the acclaimed Escher String Quartet, has been named director of chamber music and professor of practice in violin in the Division of Music at SMU Meadows School of the Arts, beginning with the fall 2017 semester.
“During the past two years, Aaron has worked with many of our students and faculty as a member of the renowned Escher String Quartet and, this past year, as interim associate director of chamber music,” director of the Meadows Division of Music David Mancini said.“Aaron’s experience and artistry make him an excellent choice to oversee a vibrant program that touches practically all of our students and also engages a large number of our faculty.”
As director of chamber music, Boyd will oversee all student chamber ensembles and direct the end-of-semester chamber music honors concerts each fall and spring. As professor of practice in violin, he will teach advanced undergraduate and graduate violin students.
In addition, he will oversee the Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence program at Meadows, a two-year chamber music fellowship designed to foster the professional development of a young, up-and-coming ensemble. He will mentor the 2017 winners, the Julius Quartet, helping the group members plan artistic and pedagogical goals to further their careers.
Boyd enjoys an international career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, recording artist, lecturer, and teacher. Since making his New York recital debut in 1998, he has given concerts throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, Asia, and has performed with such artists as Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Anner Bylsma, Cho-Liang Lin, Jerome Lowenthal, and Wu Han, as well as with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Emerson, Tokyo, and Orion quartets. His numerous summer festival engagements include the Music@Menlo, La Jolla Summerfest, Caramoor, Marlboro and Tanglewood festivals. In addition, he has led numerous ensembles as a concertmaster, including the Kansas City and Tucson symphonies.
Boyd joined the Escher String Quartet in 2012. The group received a 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2015 Martin E. Segal Prize from Lincoln Center. All members of the group, as well as the quartet itself, serve as artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Boyd has also been a prize winner in the Ecoles D’art Americaines de Fontainebleau, Tuesday Musical Society, and Pittsburgh Concert Society competitions, and was awarded a proclamation by the city of Pittsburgh for his musical accomplishments.
