Violin 2
Fred was born in Ann Arbor Michigan and after a brief family foray to the SF Bay Area, he grew up in Newton Massachusetts. Fred began violin lessons at the age of 13 and 3/4 following a few years of unsuccessful piano study and loud electric guitar playing.
He began playing chamber music almost from the beginning – gravitating to the second violin role when playing with his more advanced and encouraging middle and high school colleagues.
At 15 he spent his first of two summers at the Kneisel Hall School in Blue Hill Maine. This cemented his desire to pursue a life in the string quartet genre.
After studies at Indiana University, he was concertmaster of both the Chautauqua Festival Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center orchestra.
Two years of freelancing followed in Boston, working as a principal substitute in the Boston Symphony and Pops orchestras.
Fred joined the Alexander String Quartet in 1987.
Fred’s teachers include David Schreiber, Marylou Churchill and Paul Biss.
His other pursuits include extensive writing and watercolor painting. He combines a lifelong Yoga practice with long walks and hikes along the California coast.
He plays on one of two violins by Francis Kuttner- a 1987 Stradivari copy on loan to the Quartet from a dear friend and his own 2006 Violin made by Francis in November of that year.