Dr. Claudine Bigelow is head of viola studies and string division coordinator at the Brigham Young University School of Music in Provo, Utah. She has performed in Europe, the US and New Zealand, and continues to be an active recitalist. As a soloist and chamber musician, she can be heard on the Tantara label. She has been privileged to collaborate with Manahem Pressler, Orli Shaham, Ralph Matson, Paul Katz, Brant Bayless, as well as the Fry Street and Avalon String Quartets.
Claudine has played with the viola sections of the National and Utah Symphonies, Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, National Chamber Orchestra and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D. C. Every summer she performs with the Grand Teton Music Festival. Her varied performances have been broadcast on radio and television, including PBS, NPR’s “Performance Today,” and KBYU-FM and KBYU-TV. Her studio recording work for television and film has been affiliated with LA East and LDS Motion Picture Studios.
In 2012, Claudine was chosen to be a Fulbright Senior Scholar, where she served as artist-in-residence at the Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music in Wellington.
Students from the studio have found success in playing in sections of major symphony orchestras, have been featured on radio programs such as NPR’s “From the Top,” and won opportunities to solo with renowned orchestras, including the Utah Symphony.
Claudine has given presentations on BYU’s Primrose International Viola Archive (PIVA) around the globe. In May 2005, she was the host chair for the Primrose Competition and Festival and in 2008 served as the jury chair. She served on the executive board of the American Viola Society for seven years and has also been president of the Utah Chapter. Claudine coordinates the annual Primrose Memorial Concert.
Her articles have appeared in The Strad, Journal of the American Viola Society, American String Teacher and Strings Magazine. Her scholarship has focused on William Primrose, PIVA and viola-cello duos.
Claudine received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Brigham Young University. Her teachers have included Daniel Foster, Michael Tree and David Dalton. At the University of Maryland, she participated in an intensive chamber music program coached by the Guarneri String Quartet.