Bio
Praised by the Boston Globe as a “fearlessly expressive” soloist with a “finely honed tone,” Byron Hitchcock is quickly building a multi-faceted career as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. His “brilliant” and “uninhibited” playing has won him prizes in numerous competitions, including the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition, Jefferson Symphony Young Artists’ Competition, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project Concerto Competition.
An enthusiastic chamber player, Byron has studied with members of the Juilliard, Takács, Cavani, Emerson, and Cleveland Quartets. His extensive chamber music performances have taken him all over the world, from La Petite Maison des Arts in Montreal to the Candido Mendes Theatre in Rio de Janeiro to Boston’s Jordan Hall.
As an orchestral musician, Byron has performed with such varied and esteemed artists as Andrea Bocelli, Itzhak Perlman, Jake Shimabukuro, Yo-Yo Ma, Semyon Bychkov, and Bramwell Tovey. He has served as Concertmaster of many orchestras, including the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, the Manhattan Symphonie Orchestra, and the Spoleto USA Festival Orchestra. He now enjoys playing with a variety of orchestras across America.
Byron earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music under David Updegraff, a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory under Lucy Chapman, and an Artist Diploma from SUNY Purchase under the tutelage of Laurie Smukler. He has spent summers at the Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Music Festival, at Kneisel Hall, “the cradle of chamber music teaching in America,” on faculty at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont. He now enjoys working with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.
Byron currently performs on a 1998 Stanley Kiernosiak violin from Chicago.