Degrees

B.M. and M.M., University of Cincinnati; Assistant Principal Viola, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Short Bio

Bruce Owen has enjoyed a career as both an orchestra and chamber musician, and as a teacher. In New Orleans, he is the assistant principal violist with the Louisiana Philharmonic where he has been a soloist on works including Don Quixote and Bach’s sixth Brandenburg Concerto. He has also performed with the Dallas and Baltimore Symphonies. Since 1992, Owen has spent his summers in the viola section of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, where he has also been featured in the festival’s chamber music series. Not only does he perform regularly with his colleagues at Loyola University’s School of Music, but, in 2006, he founded Musaica, a chamber ensemble which presents a regular series of concerts featuring both new and less frequently heard works; and was hailed by the Times-Picayune as “a triumph of musicianship and adventurous programming”. Owen earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music degrees at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati where he was the teaching assistant to Masau Kawasaki. He also spent two years at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria, studying with Hatto Beyerle, formerly of the Alban Berg String Quartet. His training also included coaching with the LaSalle and Tokyo Quartets. He spent four summers as a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival where he was a member of the Chamber Symphony and a winner in the Geraldine B. Gee International Viola Competition. Owen does master classes around the country including recent visits to the University of Colorado and Florida State University. He is a board member of the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra (GNOYO) of which he was also a founding board member when it started in 1994. He works with violists in GNOYO as a sectional coach, private teacher, and at its annual summer festival. He has been with the College of Music since 1999.

Courses Taught

• Applied Viola