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 reknowned 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 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 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)
  
• 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: Both violinists and the violist (Grammy Award 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 (Assisstant 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

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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
  
• Oslo Philharmonic
  
• Iceland Symphony
  
  

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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
  
• 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

• Paganini Competition
  
• Montreal International Musical Competition
  

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.