Violist Deborah Barrett Price is recognized throughout the country as an innovative pedagogue and versatile performer. She is the founder and artistic director of the Chamber Music Connection, Inc. (CMC), a nationally recognized program providing education, service and performance opportunities to students of all ages and skill levels.
In recognition of her work as a chamber music entrepreneur, pedagogue, and performer, Debbie has received numerous awards, including the Alumni Achievement Award from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra Community Educator of the Year, in addition to receiving commendations from both the Ohio State Senate and the House of Representatives. She has also received multiple nominations for the Ohio Governor’s Award for Arts Education and Arts Administration. Chamber ensembles under her mentorship have won medals at St. Paul String Quartet Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Coltman National Chamber Music Competition, and Discover Chamber Music Competition, as well as several features on NPR’s From the Top including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall features.
A respected performer, Debbie currently serves as principal violist of the Opera Project Columbus and the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra. In the summers, she is an artist-in-residence at the Caroga Lake Music Festival (NY) and serves on the faculty of several summer festivals including Cincinnati Young Artists and Columbus Suzuki Institute. As a chamber musician, she has performed with members of the Hausmann, Cavani, KASA, and Claremont, and with numerous artists in faculty collaborations. She has directed and performed in festivals throughout Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Czech Republic including performances at Santa Cecelia in Rome and the Beethoven Festival in Prague. For over a decade, she served as the co-conductor of the Cleveland Institute of Music Youth Camerata Strings and as the music director of the Women-In-Music String Sinfonia.
Debbie is an advocate of new music and has debuted several new works as part of the Denison Tutti Festivals, commissioned several chamber music works, and served as principal violist for Tom Vignieri’s There will Come Soft Rains, recorded in Boston’s Symphony Hall.
Debbie serves on the faculty of Denison University, the Columbus Suzuki Institute, and the OSU Midwest String Teachers Conference. She is a Yamaha Certified String Educator Clinician, a frequent guest artist for chamber music and orchestra festivals, and has given numerous presentations at music schools and national conferences. Articles highlighting her unique teaching style are published in American Music Teacher, Journal of American Viola Society, Keyboard Companion Magazine, American String Teacher, and Chamber Music America.