Abigail Spichke
Instrument: Violin
Biography:
Abigail Spichke is a violinist from Minneapolis Minnesota. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in violin performance from the University of Minnesota, under the tutelage of Sally O’Reilly. She then went on to complete a Master’s Degree in Music from Columbus State University under the tutelage of Sergiu Schwartz, where she was also his graduate assistant. She had the privilege of playing in masterclasses for Dr. John Gilbert-Professor of violin at Texas Tech School of music, Dr. Michael Heald-Associate Professor of Violin at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, University of Georgia, Timothy Lovelace- director of the Collaborative Piano Institute at the University of Minnesota, Andrew Ling principal viola of the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra, and Sam Fischer Colburn School of Music. During her time at the University of Minnesota, she worked under the direction of maestro Marc Russel Smith, director of the University Symphony Orchestra, and gained leadership skills as Assistant Principal Second Violin, and later held Principal Second Violin and Concertmaster positions in the Schwob Philharmonic in Columbus GA, under the leadership of Paul Hostetter. Recent music festivals Abigail attended include the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, where she was a semifinalist in the concerto competition, and the Red Rocks Winter Chamber Music Festival. She is passionate about music and teaching violin, and has an active private studio out of her home in Minneapolis. She loves sharing the invaluable information passed along from my own teachers (Sergiu Schwartz (CSU-Schwob), Sally O’Reilly (UMN), and Roger Frisch (Minnesota Orchestra). She also looks for ways to expand her reach in music education. In June 2022, she became an Ambassador for the Samuel Vargas Foundation, which envisions access to life-changing opportunities through music education while preserving the humanistic and creative values within communities. She coordinated a donation drive in August of 2022 to help support these aspiring young musicians. As well as teaching, she currently is full time faculty at Providence Academy, which has a Fine Arts department and a thriving strings program of over 100 students from grades 2-12. Most recently, she was asked to be the director of strings for the live production of the Music Man in the Providence Academy Fine Art Center. Abigail also has been hired to perform monthly for various churches in her area. She performs on a 1993 Douglas Cox violin, on loan from the Virtu Foundation.
