Evelyn Petcher Brandes
New York City based violinist Evelyn Petcher Brandes brings a passion for innovation and community to both her performing and teaching. She has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician for a variety of concert series in the United States, the Bahamas, and Canada. Recent highlights range from playing Beethoven’s Romances solo with the Covenant College Chamber Orchestra, to collaborating with the internationally acclaimed throat-singing ensemble Alash in Baltimore, Maryland. In February 2017, her duo Colibri with pianist Hannah Mindeman made its New York City debut at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. As an orchestral musician, Evelyn has played with the New World Symphony, Symphony in C, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and the Annapolis Symphony among others.
Evelyn received her M.M. in Violin Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she studied with renowned violinist Pamela Frank. She earned a double bachelor’s degree in Music and English from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, studying with Jay Christy. Throughout her training, she was chosen as concertmaster and principal for groups like the Peabody Symphony and Covenant College Chamber Orchestra. She has participated in the Heifetz International Music Institute, the Masterworks Festival, and workshops with the Chiara String Quartet, Community Music Works, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Evelyn is currently on the faculty of the Heifetz International Music Institute in the PEG program (Program for Exceptionally Gifted).
With a decade of experience teaching students aged 4-adult in private and group contexts, Evelyn recently became an associate faculty member teaching violin for the Elizabeth Faidley Studio. Over the past few years, Evelyn has worked as a violin class and string ensemble instructor for the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s and before that for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s ORCHKids. In Baltimore, she taught workshops at the Peabody Preparatory, maintained a private studio, and coached sectionals and chamber ensembles for the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras.
Sought after for her versatility as a teaching artist, Evelyn frequently does residencies in strings, composition, and musicianship with organizations such as the Center for Arts Education, LeAp (Learning Through Expanded Arts Programs) NYC, the Noel Pointer Foundation, and the Little Orchestra Society. She is also the co-founder of East Lake Expression Engine, an El Sistema inspired program in Chattanooga, TN which offers holistic musical instruction to underprivileged children.
