Nancy Hunt
Instrument: Violin
With the RPO since: 1977
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Non-RPO activities and hobbies: gardening, hiking, reading, snowshoe trekking
What music school did you attend, and who were your most inspirational teachers? Univ. of Cincinnati College-Conservatory; Henry Meyer and Jeanette Drinkall
Favorite books/movies: favorite current fiction authors: Elizabeth Strout and Leif Unger. Also enjoy a good detective or spy thriller
What kinds of music do you enjoy listening to? Depends - too hard to answer
And if you had to pick just one, what's your favorite piece? Anything Brahms - but his F minor piano quintet is perfect.
People would be surprised to know ... My uncle Arthur Eresman is a clarinetist who, as an Eastman student, played clarinet in the RPO under Erich Leinsdorf in the late 1940s.
What do you most enjoy about living in the Rochester area? The changing seasons and beautiful surrounding areas – and the ease of getting there and back
What are your favorite restaurants in Rochester, and why? Scotch and Sirloin – an old reliable with lots of memories
What sports team(s) do you root for? I am still waiting for my hometown Cleveland Indians to make a comeback.
Favorite late-night snack: popcorn
What is your favorite way to spend your day off? Outdoors
What is your most memorable musical experience? As a high school student, I participated in a weekend workshop and "side by side" concert with the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall during the George Szell years. Violinist Leonard Samuels was my "stand partner" who very kindly instructed me in what he called "the cardinal rules of orchestral playing.” Cleveland did not have a select youth orchestra at that time, so this experience was really memorable.
Biography
Nancy Hunt has been a violinist in the RPO since 1977. She also performs in the Music in the Mountains summer festival orchestra in Durango, Colorado. Previously she held orchestral posts in the Dayton Philharmonic and the Filarmonica de las Americas in Mexico City.
In addition, Nancy maintains a busy private teaching studio. She was also Lecturer of String Techniques at Nazareth College for 24 years and was a string class instructor in the elementary schools of Forest Hills, Ohio, Penfield, New York, and at Rochester Christian School.
Nancy attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she received degrees in violin performance and music education. Nancy also participated in Suzuki teacher training at Ithaca College.
Nancy Hunt is married to William Hunt, who is also a violinist in the RPO. They have two adult children.
