John Roxburgh is a violist and music educator who seeks to inspire, connect, and bring joy through music. He is a captivating and expressive musician who performs in a wide variety of styles, genres, and settings.
John enjoys sharing his love for music through education, whether it be teaching individual students on violin and viola, coaching small and large ensembles, or sharing music history and theory in classrooms and lecture halls. His experience as a teaching assistant at Shenandoah Conservatory and Penn State University have allowed him to teach music history and applied viola at the collegiate level. John enjoys the challenge of helping a student find their own musical voice, or presenting music history in a way that is relatable and accessible. He has also spent many years teaching and coach children and adolescents both violin and viola, chamber and large ensemble skills, and fundamental aural and theory skills.
John enjoys a wide variety of performance opportunities. He performed chamber music at the 39th International Viola Congress in Wuerzburg, Germany, and other festivals in New Zealand, Australian, and the USA. John has performed on stage with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steamroller, and for a Beatles reenactment concert. He has performed as soloist with orchestras and even viola ensemble. He supports new music, most recently performing works by Corigliano, Kats-Chernin and Alessandrini for Shenandoah Conservatory’s EDGE Ensemble series, premiered works for chamber ensembles by Scott Slapin and William Kenlon, to name a few.
Orchestral playing has long been a passion for John. Currently, he holds the position of Principal Viola with the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra and subs with the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra (VA). Recent engagements for principal viola include the Altoona (PA) and Williamsport (PA) Symphony Orchestras, and the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra. Highlights of his orchestral career include performing with the Eastern Music Festival Faculty Orchestra as a string fellow, and performing a semi-staged concert production of Die Walküre with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, John started violin lessons at age 5 through the Suzuki Method, switching to the viola during high school. After high school, he moved to Wellington, New Zealand, to study viola with Donald Maurice at the New Zealand School of Music (BMus ‘11, PGDip Mus ‘12, MMA ‘14). Other influential teachers while at NZSM include Claudine Bigelow, Gillian Ansell, and Vyvyan Yendoll. In 2013, John moved to the USA to be with his his future wife. After some travelling, they settled in State College, PA, for two years while John studied with Tim Deighton at the Pennsylvania State University (MM ‘16). Currently residing in Leesburg, VA, John is completing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Viola Performance with Doris Lederer at Shenandoah Conservatory. In his free time, John enjoys going for hikes in the beautiful Virginia countryside with his wife and dog.