Steven Copes
Concertmaster, John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser Chair
A native of Los Angeles, violinist Steven Copes leads a diverse and enthusiastic musical life as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader.
He joined the SPCO as concertmaster in 1998 and has led the orchestra from the chair in several highly acclaimed, eclectic programs, and performed concertos by Berg, Brahms, Hindemith, Kirchner, Lutoslawski, Mozart, Prokofiev, and Weill. A zealous advocate of the music of today, he gave the world premiere of George Tsontakis’ Grammy-nominated Violin Concerto No. 2 (2003), which won the 2005 Grawemeyer award, and has been recorded for KOCH Records. Copes was co-founder of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Colorado, and is a member of Accordo, a new chamber group in the Twin Cities. He has also performed at festivals and concert series such as Boston Chamber Music Society, Bridgehampton, Caramoor, Chamber Music Northwest, La Jolla Summerfest, Mainly Mozart, Mozaic, Norfolk, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Skaneateles, and the Styriarte Festival in Graz, among others.
A frequent guest concertmaster, Copes has toured extensively in Europe and Asia with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and has performed in the same capacity with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony. He holds degrees from The Curtis Institute and Juilliard.
