Professional Biography

MUSC 5708

Introduction to Music Bibliography and Research

Dr. Sampsel

Professional Biography

Austin Stevens

8/4/2012

Ein Heldenleben

Austin Stevens is a violinist who persistently pursues a greater understanding of music. He seeks to engage with each work wholeheartedly, believing that the ultimate meaning and beauty within music is revealed through the honest, emotional connections a performer forms with the notes.

Austin began his musical career at the late age of 8. Due to complications at birth he is deaf in his left ear and it was believed that he wouldn’t be able to succeed in music. However, he soon proved to have a natural affinity for the violin during his first lessons with teacher Muriel Bodley. Originally from Syracuse, NY, his family moved to Franklin, TN when he was 11.

Completing his undergraduate work at Vanderbilt University, earning a B.M. in violin performance, Austin graduated in May, 2011. He studied with Professor Cornelia Heard. Austin is currently pursuing his M.M. in violin performance at Colorado University at Boulder. He studies with both Dr. Lina Bahn and Professor Charles Wetherbee.

He has attended several summer music festivals, beginning in 2002 at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. After a second summer in Sewanee, he played in orchestral programs at the Eastern Music Festival from 2004-2005, the MasterWorks Festival from 2006-2008, and the Aspen Summer Music Festival in 2009. He was also fortunate enough to study abroad in Vienna, Austria in the fall of 2010, studying with Barbara Gorzynska.

Being passionate about orchestral performance and following the completion of his graduate work, Austin hopes to work full time in a professional orchestra. Having discovered a love of opera while in Vienna, he also hopes to have the opportunity to perform in a pit orchestra with an opera company. As a lover of German culture, his great ambition is to continue his study of German with the possibility of returning to Austria at some point in his career.

Outside of music, Austin frequently enjoys hiking, drawing, and reading literature and poetry.