Lauren Roth

Concertmaster

Lauren Rustad Roth was named concertmaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and an Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Arizona in 2013. Prior to these positions, she was concertmaster of the Canton Symphony. In addition to her performances and teaching studio in Southern Arizona, Ms. Roth appears regularly as a soloist, Guest Concertmaster, and Associate Concertmaster with orchestras around the world. Highlights include performing the Mendelssohn and Sibelius violin concertos in the Czech Republic, solo engagements with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and appearances with the Jacksonville Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, and Atlanta Symphony. She enjoys performing with the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, a gathering of concertmasters and principal players from around the country.

A dedicated teacher, Ms. Roth supports the violin studio at the University of Arizona giving instruction in performance, pedagogy, and orchestral repertoire. She spends summers as a faculty member of the Prague Summer Nights Festival, the Marrowstone Music Festival, and she has served on the faculties of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Camp and Carnegie Hall’s New York Orchestra Seminar program. Ms. Roth is Associate Concertmaster of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music each August. In the summer of 2021, she was a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra.

A native of Seattle, Ms. Roth received a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian studies from the University of Washington. She was a student of Professor Ron Patterson. She went on to earn a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of William Preucil. Ms. Roth was also accepted into his prestigious Concertmaster Academy.

Outside of music, Ms. Roth enjoys yoga, playing and watching sports, spending time with her nieces and nephews, and she recently completed her first (and only) marathon.

laurenrothviolin.com

What's your earliest musical memory?

“I vividly remember my first violin lesson on my third birthday. I remember the matching blue sweater and skirt I wore, and my first teacher, Mr. Hirata. He traced my shoes on a large piece of tagboard so I could practice moving my feet from “rest position” to “playing position.””

Who are your musical heroes?

“I revere my dear teachers and mentors who showed me how to play the instrument I love. Other musical heroes are certainly Jascha Heifetz, Joseph Gingold, Michael Rabin, and Hilary Hahn.”

What's your favorite thing about Tucson?

“I love that I can be outside in the sunshine nearly every day of the year, walking, hiking, playing tennis, going to Happy Hour down the street.”