Karine Stone, Violin

Karine Stone is an active recitalist, chamber musician, teacher, conductor, and arts administrator. An experienced orchestral musician as well, Karine was a member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, has performed as Acting Concertmaster of the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra, was in the first violins of the Santo Domingo Music Festival, the Todi Music Festival, and the Skaneateles Festival, and performed as Principal Second of the Rochester Oratorio Society and as Concertmaster of the Finger Lakes Symphony. She performs frequently in the second violins of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and was the first violinist of the RPO Educational Quintet from 2002 to 2005. Through her freelance work, Karine has provided backup violin for artists such as Josh Groban, The TransSiberian Orchestra, Harry Connick Jr., Johnny Mathis, Wayne Newton, and the Capitol Saxophone Quartet. Karine is currently on the conducting faculty of the Eastman Community Music School where she conducts the Eastman Youth String Orchestra, the Eastman Youth Chamber Soloists, the New Horizons String Orchestra, and the New Horizons Symphonic Orchestra. Formerly Karine was an adjunct faculty member at RIT, teaching violin and viola, and performing as concertmaster of the RIT Orchestra. Karine also founded and conducted the Eastman Kaleidoscope Community Orchestra for many years. Karine currently teaches violin and viola in her private studio and at the Harley School. Through her extensive administrative and creative work as the Executive & Artistic Director of Gibbs & Main, Karine is committed to keeping chamber music alive in Rochester.

Education:

Eastman School of Music, Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Literature
Eastman School of Music, Master of Music in Violin Performance and Literature

Performed with:

Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, first violin
Erie Philharmonic Orchestra, acting concertmaster
Greater Buffalo Opera, first violin
Rochester Oratorio Society, principal second
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, violin
RIT Orchestra, concertmaster
RPO Educational Quintet, first violin
Santo Domingo Music Festival (Dominican Republic), first violin
Schlossfestspiel Orchestra (Germany), first violin
Skaneateles Festival, first violin
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, first violin
Todi Music Festival (Virginia), first violin

Teaching, conducting, administrative engagements:

Cobblestone Chamber Ensemble, founder and conductor
Eastman Kaleidoscope Community Orchestra, founder and conductor
Eastman Youth String Orchestra, music director
Idaho State Civic Symphony String Festival, violin faculty
New Horizons String Orchestra, conductor
New Horizons Symphony Orchestra, guest conductor
Rochester Institute of Technology, violin and viola faculty
The Quartet Program at Bucknell University, dean
Gibbs & Main, executive and artistic director

Trained with:

Charles Castleman
Camilla Wicks
Lynn Blakeslee
Nell Gotkovsky
Lisa Kim

Earliest sign of musical ambition:

I was maybe 18 months old and I heard some young children playing a concert at a mall. I remember wanting to do that more than anything… except maybe have a puppy.

Favorite performance memory:

When I was a teenager I gave several solo recitals each year, and I remember loving the feeling of hearing my sound fill a church, a living room, a recital hall, and also the feeling of making people happy. Sometimes someone would come up to me and say, “You took me out of my day-to-day life,” and I was thrilled that this person was totally present in that moment, enjoying the music.

Dealing with stage fright:

I suffer from disaster fantasies. I get through them by watching Harry Potter or Finding Nemo. They remind me that if a young boy can defeat Lord Voldemort and if a clownfish can defeat sharks, jellyfish, and rogue dentists, I have significantly better odds of giving a good concert!

Outside interests:

I love running and hiking. I also love to shop but usually have to do so from my computer since my days are pretty busy with playing, teaching and conducting. I also grow orchids in my basement—even in winter!

Pets:

I have a cute, cuddly, little man-eating Doberman puppy who (thanks to the circus being in town) we now know is not afraid of tigers, elephants, or other wild animals. He is a speedy runner who gets me out every day at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning and pushes me to improve my times out of sheer joy for being fast!