Concertmaster, Ruth Lenz

Ruth Lenz is concertmaster of both the Reno Philharmonic and Reno Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the Classical Tahoe Orchestra. She has also served as concertmaster for the Sunriver Festival Orchestra, Nevada Opera, and Fresno Philharmonic. Dr. Lenz appears regularly with La Musica International Chamber Music Festival, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, Apex Concerts, Festival Napa Valley, Aurelia Chamber Players, and the Tahoe Chamber Music Society. Past performances include: Spoleto Festival, Telluride Chamber Music Festival, Carpe Diem String Quartet, Kammermusiktage in Barth, Germany, and the Mayshad Festival in Morocco.

She has had the honor of collaborating with such distinguished artists as Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Buswell, Natalie Cole, Pamela Frank, Bruno Giuranna,Robert Levin, Johnny Mathis, Edgar Meyer, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Pascal Rogé, Peter Wiley, and Carol Wincenc. She has appeared as a soloist with the Reno Philharmonic, the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Classical Tahoe, the Ruby Mountain Symphony, the Carson City Symphony, the Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival Orchestra, the Toccata Orchestra and the Reno Baroque Ensemble. She recently led the Reno Chamber Orchestra in a conductor-less performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Ruth began her violin studies at age two with her mother, Paula Lenz. Other formative childhood teachers include Roy Malan, Suzanne Beia, Won Bin Yim, and Cynthia Lang. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Performance from the University of Nevada, Reno studying with former Reno Phil concertmaster Phillip Ruder. She then went on to earn her Doctorate at the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana, studying with SherbanLupu and Danwen Jiang. In addition to performing, Ruth enjoys teaching her lively studio of violin students, hanging out with her kids, and being in the wilderness on foot or horseback.