Roland and Almita Vamos
Roland and Almita Vamos (affectionately known as 'The Vamoses') are a husband and wife who are among the leading violin and viola instructors in the world. Their pupils have become prominent soloists, members of world renowned chamber groups and orchestras, and laureates of prestigious international competitions. The Vamoses have been recognized at the White House six times (and Almita Vamos will receive a seventh award in the summer of 2009) and were named Distinguished Teachers by the National Endowment for the Arts. They have been honored by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) with the Distinguished Service Award, and showcased on CBS' Sunday Morning News.
Students of the Vamoses
Prominent Students
- Rachel Barton Pine (Highly active violin soloist, plays on the priceless 'Ex-Soldat' Guarneri del Gesu violin. 1st Prize Johann Sebastien Bach International Music Competition, 2nd Prizes in the József Szigeti Violin Competition, the International Fritz Kreisler Competition and 3rd Prizes in the Paganini Competition and the Montreal International Musical Competition. Rachel is also a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. In addition to her classical career, Rachel is an active philanthropist and is part of the heavy metal band, Earthen Grave)
- Jennifer Koh (Highly active solo career with many performances with major orchestras and critically acclaimed of recordings. 2nd Prize International Tchaikovsky Competition and 1st Prize Irving M. Klein Competition.)
- Benny Kim (Soloist)
- Cathy Basrak (Assistant Principal Violist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra and winner of the 1995 Primrose International Viola Competition and winner of Irving M. Klein Competition)
- Kirsten Johnson (Associate Principal Violist in the Philadelphia Orchestra)
- Simin Ganatra (Violinist in Grammy Award winning Pacifica Quartet)
- Sibbi Bernhardsson (Violinist in Grammy Award winning Pacifica Quartet)
- Erin Schreiber (Assistant Concertmaster of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra)
- Ying Quartet: Janet Ying, Timothy Ying (violins) and Philip Ying (viola) (Grammy Award winning Ensemble In Residence at The Eastman School of Music and winner of the 1993 Naumburg Chamber Music Award)
- Daniel Ching (Violinist in Miro Quartet and on faculty at the University of Texas at Austin)
- Lydia Hong (Principal 2nd violinist of New York City Ballet)
- Elisa Barston (Principal Second Violin of the Seattle Symphony. Previously the Associate Concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra)
- Stephanie Arado (Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra)
- Siow Lee Chin (Soloist and winner of the 1994 Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition in Mexico City)
- David Bowlin (Violinist and teacher at The Juilliard School from 2002-2005 and currently a professor at Oberlin Conservatory of Music)
- Benjamin Beilman (Soloist and winner of 2009 Corpus Christi International Competition)
- Viacheslav Dinerchtein (Viola Soloist)
- David Yonan (Violin soloist, chamber musician and teacher, faculty North Park University, Chicago, Midwest Young Artists), 1st Prizes at the International Violin Competition Kloster Schoental, Germany and the International Ruggero Ricci Concerto competition Berlin, 2nd prizes and silver medal at the International "Luis Sigall" Violin Competition, Vina del Mar, Chile and the International "Concours Ruggiero Ricci", Iserlohn, Germany, 3rd prizes, International Queen Sophie Charlotte Violin Competition, Mirow,Germany and at the Guderyahn Strings Competition, University of South Dakota, USA, Brahms Prize of the Carl Flesch Academy Baden-Baden, Germany.
Orchestra Positions
- New York Philharmonic
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- Boston Symphony Orchestra
- Philadelphia Orchestra
- San Francisco Symphony
- The Cleveland Orchestra
- Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Metropolitan Opera
- St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
- Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
- Minnesota Orchestra
- Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
- Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
- Oslo Philharmonic
- Seattle Symphony
- Iceland Symphony
- Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Competition Winners
Gold/1st Place
- Tchaikovsky Youth Competition
- Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition
- Primrose International Viola Competition
- Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists
- Irving M. Klein Competition
- Carl Flesch International Violin Competition
- Sebastien Bach International Music Competition
- Corpus Christi International Competition
- Kingsville International Young Performers Competition
- WAMSO
- Stulberg International String Competition
Silver/2nd Place
- International Tchaikovsky Competition
- Michael Hill International Violin Competition
- József Szigeti Violin Competition
- International Fritz Kreisler Competition
- Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition
Bronze/3rd Place
Laureates
- Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
- Stradivarius International Violin Competition
Note: None of these lists are exhaustive, and it is possible that many of their students performing at the highest levels have been left out.
Roland studied with Oscar Shumsky and William Lincer at the Juilliard School. He is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching four times, and has been honored with the ASTA Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award for his achievements.
Almita studied with Mischa Mischakoff and Louis Persinger at the Juilliard School. She is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching six times, and has been honored with the ASTA Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award for her achievements. A performing artist of the highest caliber, she won the prestigious Concert Artist Guild award in New York City along with many other prizes.
The Vamos' pedogogical lineage can be traced back to Eugène Ysaÿe, Henri Vieuxtemps, Henryk Wieniawski, and as early as Arcangelo Corelli.
Dr. and Mrs. Vamos have been members of the music faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago, Western Illinois University, University of Minnesota, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. They are currently on the faculty at Northwestern University.