Routa Kroumovitch

Referred to as one of the best violinists of her generation, Kroumovitch participated in numerous concert tours and was recorded on radio and television throughout the former USSR, in cities such as Leningrad, Vilnius, Tallinn and Moscow. She was chosen to represent Latvia in a special concert at the Kremlin in Moscow. At many concerts, she shared the stage with Gidon Kremer, Phillip Hirshhorn, Misha Maisky, Oleg Kagan and others.

Kroumovitch attended master classes and had lessons with Galina Barinova and Leonid Kogan in Moscow. Kroumovitch was not only awarded a full scholarship as a student in the P.I. Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory but also, after auditioning for one of the best violinists of the 21st century, David Oistrach, was fortunate to be accepted into his class and learn under his direct guidance prior to his death.

Oistrach said of her that "Kroumovitch is a violinist of exceptional talent with an expressive, rich sound and brilliant technique."

After emigrating to Chile, South America, Kroumovitch completed her studies with honors at the Universidad de Chile.

While in Chile, Kroumovitch held positions such as first violin of the Santiago Chamber Orchestra, concertmaster of the Chilean Philharmonic Orchestra and concertmaster of the Chilean Symphony Orchestra. She also received the "El Circulo de Criticos de Arte" Critic's Award for the best solo performance in Santiago, Chile and a Fulbright Award. During her years in Chile, she toured all over the world as a soloist and in duo with her husband, Chilean violinist Alvaro Gomez. Thus, Kroumovitch has become internationally hailed for her "virtuoso brilliance" (Cambera, Australia), "clear sensitive tone" (Jerusalem Post) and "exquisite beauty of sound" (Straits Times, Singapore). Her solo performances appear in Asian, South American, European and North American radio, television and live video recordings.

Kroumovitch and her family eventually emigrated to the United States. After teaching various masterclasses in the New England area, she became the first violin of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and taught at the University of Central Arkansas. Kroumovitch became a professor of violin, viola and chamber music at Stetson University's School of Music, where she teaches today.

Apart from being a Stetson University faculty member, Kroumovitch tours all over the United States, Canada, Europe and South America, and her master classes in Australia, China, Korea, Japan, Israel and Europe are in high demand. Professor Kroumovitch represents the United States as a judge in international violin competitions, and she has been the concertmaster of many symphony orchestras. For the last 21 years, Professor Kroumovitch has been the Bach Festival Orchestra concertmaster in Winter Park, Florida. Professor Kroumovitch has participated as soloist in festivals such as Grand Tetons, the Florida International Festival, Fairbanks Summer Festival and many music festivals in Chile.

Kroumovitch has been a soloist with the following conductors: V. Tevah (Chile), J.C. Santos (Peru), W. Torkanowsky (U.S.), S. Bedford (UK), L. Halaz (U.S.), R. Henderson (U.S.), M. Benzecry (Argentina), U. Mayer (Canada), T. Sleeper (U.S.), Tovi Lifsics (Latvia), Kypros Markus (Greece), J. Sinclaire (U.S.) and many others.

During the summers, Professor Kroumovitch teaches at the Orfeo International Music Festival, Italy.