Spencer Martin
Violist and Conductor
Spencer Martin serves as Professor of Music at Luther College, where he teaches viola, conducts the Luther College Philharmonia, and teaches conducting. He is on sabbatical leave during the 2019-20 school year, during which time he is serving as Visiting Professor of Music at Valparaiso University. At Valparaiso University, he conducts the Valparaiso University Symphony Orchestra and teaches viola.
Spencer has performed and taught throughout the U.S., Canada, Israel, and Europe. An active chamber and orchestral musician, he performs frequently in the Luther College Piano Quartet and plays Baroque violin and viola with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra. He has appeared as guest violist with the Harrington and Pro Arte String Quartets as well as the Amelia Piano Trio. His solo performances include Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra and Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the Luther College Symphony Orchestra in venues in Austria, including Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Spencer has served as Principal Violist in the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and also frequently performed in the viola sections of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Spencer’s solo, chamber, and orchestral performances have been featured in numerous radio broadcasts including National Public Radio, CBC, Minnesota Public Radio, and Kansas Public Radio.
Spencer’s CD, Gems Rediscovered, was released to critical praise on the Delos label, and features lesser-known works for viola and piano by Ernest Walker, Paul Juon, Robert Fuchs, and Benjamin Dale. Spencer can also be heard on the Innova label on the disc Waves of Stone, Music by Brooke Joyce.
Spencer serves as director of the International Music Festival of the Adriatic, a chamber music festival for piano, strings, voice, and composition in Duino, Italy. A former member of the music faculty at the University of Alabama, Spencer holds degrees from Butler University, Wichita State University, and the University of Minnesota. His teachers include Korey Konkol, Catherine Consiglio, and Barbara Westphal. Also an avid proponent of Baroque music, Spencer performs frequently on Baroque violin and has studied with Baroque violinist Bernhard Fork in Berlin.
Recent engagements include guest recitals and master classes at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the University of Minnesota, as well as recitals in Berlin, Germany and at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy in Poznań, Poland, where Spencer was a guest performer and master class teacher at the European Viola Forum. Recent recital programs have included performances of a "1919" program featuring three important works written in that year by Ernest Bloch, Rebecca Clarke, and Paul Hindemith as well as the "Gems Rediscovered" program featuring works by Robert Fuchs, Paul Juon, Benjamin Dale, and Ernest Walker. Spencer performs frequently with pianist Nicholas Shaneyfelt. Upcoming solo performances include Mozart's Symphonie Concertante with the Amadeus Adriatic Orchestra in Trieste, Italy.
Spencer plays on a viola made in 1913 by Ferruccio Varagnolo in Milan.
Spencer has performed and taught throughout the U.S., Canada, Israel, and Europe. An active chamber and orchestral musician, he performs frequently in the Luther College Piano Quartet and plays Baroque violin and viola with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra. He has appeared as guest violist with the Harrington and Pro Arte String Quartets as well as the Amelia Piano Trio. His solo performances include Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 with the Lyra Baroque Orchestra and Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the Luther College Symphony Orchestra in venues in Austria, including Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Spencer has served as Principal Violist in the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and also frequently performed in the viola sections of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Spencer’s solo, chamber, and orchestral performances have been featured in numerous radio broadcasts including National Public Radio, CBC, Minnesota Public Radio, and Kansas Public Radio.
Spencer’s CD, Gems Rediscovered, was released to critical praise on the Delos label, and features lesser-known works for viola and piano by Ernest Walker, Paul Juon, Robert Fuchs, and Benjamin Dale. Spencer can also be heard on the Innova label on the disc Waves of Stone, Music by Brooke Joyce.
Spencer serves as director of the International Music Festival of the Adriatic, a chamber music festival for piano, strings, voice, and composition in Duino, Italy. A former member of the music faculty at the University of Alabama, Spencer holds degrees from Butler University, Wichita State University, and the University of Minnesota. His teachers include Korey Konkol, Catherine Consiglio, and Barbara Westphal. Also an avid proponent of Baroque music, Spencer performs frequently on Baroque violin and has studied with Baroque violinist Bernhard Fork in Berlin.
Recent engagements include guest recitals and master classes at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the University of Minnesota, as well as recitals in Berlin, Germany and at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy in Poznań, Poland, where Spencer was a guest performer and master class teacher at the European Viola Forum. Recent recital programs have included performances of a "1919" program featuring three important works written in that year by Ernest Bloch, Rebecca Clarke, and Paul Hindemith as well as the "Gems Rediscovered" program featuring works by Robert Fuchs, Paul Juon, Benjamin Dale, and Ernest Walker. Spencer performs frequently with pianist Nicholas Shaneyfelt. Upcoming solo performances include Mozart's Symphonie Concertante with the Amadeus Adriatic Orchestra in Trieste, Italy.
Spencer plays on a viola made in 1913 by Ferruccio Varagnolo in Milan.