Tonya Burton completed her Masters Degree at Rice University studying with James Dunham. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her principal teachers were Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey. She was recently a finalist in the Frances Walton Competition and was the recipient of the Angela Svendson Memorial Music Scholarship, Paula Meredith Mosle Endowed Scholarship, and the Elaine Christian Creative Arts Scholarship.
As a chamber musician, she is a member of KINETIC, a Houston based conductor-less ensemble, and has performed on the Hear and Now Series, Brecksville Chamber Music Series, Caroga Lake Music Festival, Houston Viola Society Recitals and on a Faculty Chamber Recital at CIM. She has collaborated with such esteemed artists as Donald Weilerstein, Jeffrey Irvine, Mark Kosower, Richie Hawley.
Tonya has participated in music festivals including the Perlman Music Program, Heifetz International Music Institute, and the Talis Festival. She has served as principal violist of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, MasterWorks Festival Orchestra, and associate principal of the Portland Festival Symphony. She also travels to Zhengzhou, China to play with the Zhengzhou Symphony Orchestra under Timothy Su.