Violin Faculty: Derek Ratzenboeck
Derek Ratzenboek is currently Acting Principal Second Violin of the Louisville Orchestra, First Violin of the Da Kappo String Quartet, and a teacher at the Louisville Academy of Music. Prior to his current position he performed with such groups as the Florida Orchestra, the Sarasota Orchestra, and Opera Tampa. He made his solo debut with the Florida West Coast Youth Symphony at age 14 and is a two-time winner of the Florida West Coast Symphony Young Artist Competition as well as a Semi-Finalist in the 6th International Henryk Szeryng Violin Competition in Toluca, Mexico. Derek has toured Europe, Asia, and the Americas performing with orchestras such as the Vienna Mozart Philharmonie and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra. He has also performed in the Sarasota Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Musica Mallorca, and the Lucca Opera and Chamber Music Festival. In addition, he has been featured and broadcasted by WUOL Louisville Classics, Netherlands Radio, North German Radio, and the Bavarian Radio. Derek has a Bachelor's degree in Violin Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has pursued post-graduate studies in Vienna and at the Amsterdam Conservatory and has a Master's degree in Violin Performance from the University for Music and Theater in Munich, Germany. Throughout his studies he has had the opportunity to study with renowned soloists and pedagogues such as Henryk Kowalski and Jens Ellermann and has been coached in Masterclasses by Pamela Frank, Joseph Silverstein, Martin Chalifour, Alexander Kerr, Ilya Grubert, and Boris Kucharsky.