Brian Allen, D.M.A.

About Brian

Dr. Brian Allen, Principal Second Violinist of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, is an orchestral musician and private teacher. Before joining the HHSO this year, Allen spent a year in St. Louis as a one-year contract member of that Symphony. In addition to his duties with his orchestra, he is honing his skill at drawing out the very best in his violin students. Allen’s current favorite subjects are left/right hand coordination and Pythagorean Expressive intonation.

Allen studied with Brenda Brenner and Mimi Zweig at the Indiana University String Academy, where he was a member of the renowned Violin Virtuosi. He then entered college at the Cleveland Institute of Music, completing his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with Jaime Laredo and William Preucil. Allen spent nine summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, learning directly from concertmasters David Halen and Robert Chen. His terminal degree is a Doctorate in Violin Performance (D.M.A.) from the University of Michigan, where he studied with David Halen.

We need two things to become a great violinist: a cohesive branch of knowledge passed down in generations of apprenticeship, and a deep and consistent drive to apply that knowledge. I believe any student who is struggling simply needs either knowledge of how to practice, or inspiration to drive their practice.