Thomas Rodgers

Thomas Rodgers, a native of Anderson, Indiana, joined the RPO in March 2012 as a member of the first violin section. During the 2014-2015 season, he served as principal 2nd violin. He holds a Master of Music degree in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. He also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (graduated summa cum laude), where he studied with Alexander Kerr, former concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and current concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Rodgers began studying the piano at age five with his father and started violin lessons at the age of six. During high school as a member of the Indiana University Violin Virtuosi directed by Mimi Zweig, Rodgers performed with the group in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. He is the winner of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Concerto Competition and Kuttner Chamber Music Competition, the Indianapolis Symphony Side-By-Side Concerto Competition, the MTNA Jr. High String Competition, the Chamber Music Fellowship sponsored by the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and is the winner of various young artist competitions in Indiana.

Rodgers has attended a number of summer festivals including the Pacific Music Festival, the Sarasota Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme directed by Pinchas Zukerman, Encore School for Strings, and Meadowmount. He has participated in masterclasses by Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Mauricio Fuks, Ruggiero Ricci, Peter Salaff, and Donald Weilerstein. In the fall of 2012, Rodgers joined the faculty of the Kanack School of Musical Artistry in Rochester.