Violinist and composer Gloria Justen is equally at home in several very different musical settings: the traditional world of Western classical music and the experimental realm of improvisation; the popular music recording studio and her own composition studio. She has performed with many kinds of ensembles including the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (as Concertmaster from 2004-2011) and many contemporary music groups. Justen has worked with composers such as Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Jennifer Higdon, Andrea Clearfield, and Peter Price, as well as recorded for numerous popular music stars such as Justin Timberlake, Vivian Green, Janet Jackson and Timbaland in the Studio of Larry Gold. Gloria currently performs with contemporary music ensembles and orchestras in the San Francisco Bay Area. She teaches violin at Mills College in Oakland, CA. As both composer and performer, she has released a CD of original works called Four-Stringed Voice: music for solo violin. You can hear samples and purchase the CD at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/gloriajusten.
Various facts:
Gloria’s major violin teachers were Fredell Lack (in Houston, Texas) and Szymon Goldberg (at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA.) She admires the musicianship of violinist Gidon Kremer and has learned much through listening to his recordings.
Ensembles with which Justen has performed in Philadelphia include The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philly Pops, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Opera Company of Philadelphia, Network for New Music, Orchestra 2001, and Relâche. She has also done collaborations with modern dancers/choreographers Myra Bazell, Manfred Fischbeck, and Megan Bridge.
Groups with which Justen has played in the San Francisco Bay area include the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra (which also performed one of her compositions), the Empyrean Ensemble, the eco-ensemble of UC Berkeley , Earplay (coming up this season), The Napa Valley Symphony, and the Magik*Magik Orchestra.