Born in Russia, violinist Anna Gendler received her musical education at the celebrated Moscow Conservatory, where she studied under Mikhail Kopelman, a member of the world-renowned Borodin Quartet. In 1991, she began her tenure with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, in which she plays violin. She and her husband, the accomplished pianist Alexander Tentser, currently live in Tucson, Arizona, where they are raising their family and contributing in a variety of ways to the enrichment of the city’s musical culture.
Gendler is a faculty member at Pima Community College and a teaching artist for the OMA Foundation. A studio teacher with a devoted following of private students, she has also served as a violin instructor for The Symphony Women’s Association, and—at the invitation of its founder—she has taught for Arizona Music and Dance Academy. In addition to teaching, Gendler has given frequent public performances as a member both of the Tucson Symphony String Quartet and its Flute Trio, and she and her husband collaborate regularly in piano and violin duets. Finally, she is a founding member of Daystar Chamber Players, plays with Tucson Chamber Artists, and is currently planning a series of performances with various groups for next season.
Gendler also performs nationally. She has been a guest artist (alongside her husband) in WFMT’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series; has played with the Phoenix Symphony; contributes to the Arizona Musicfest in Carefree, Arizona; and participates in the “Music in the Mountains” SummerFest in California’s Gold Country and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta annual concert series in Upstate New York.