Violinist announced as director of chamber music at Peabody Conservatory

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The Peabody Conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, has announced the appointment of violinist Annie Fullard as its new director and chair of chamber music, commencing autumn 2024.

Fullard will lead the chamber music programme, which forms an essential part of the students’ artistic development at the conservatory. She succeeds Michael Kannen, who has led the programme for over 20 years and will remain on the Peabody faculty.

Fullard is a founding member of the Cavani Quartet and currently serves as the Charles and Mary Jean Yates chair in chamber music at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University.

Fullard said she was thrilled and honoured to join the institution. ’Working as a team with Peabody faculty and leadership, I am excited to lead a programme that demonstrates the power of chamber music to create connection and empathy and empowers students to effectively communicate the profound beauty of repertoire from the past, present, and future,’ she said.

’I envision our students as future collaborative leaders in the arts and will encourage them to see the world from a chamber music perspective.’

Fullard has enjoyed an extensive career of chamber music and pedagogy, having previously served as co-director of the orchestral programme at Cleveland State University alongside her Cavani Quartet colleagues. She also been coordinator of string chamber music at the University of Michigan and served as a member of the quartet-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

While in residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Fullard and her fellow Cavani ensemble members collaborated with Grammy-award winning violinist Peter Salaff on seminar presentations designed to teach audience development and community connectivity skills to musicians. Fullard has also curated chamber music residencies in communities around the country and founded Friday Night Chamber Music for pre-college age music students.

She has taught throughout the US and internationally at education institutions and venues including the Perlman Music Program, New World Symphony, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Juilliard Summer Arts Program in Shanghai, Chautauqua Festival, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Beaujolais (France) Stage, and a Mozart Anniversary Tour of Austria and the Czech Republic.

She has served as a juror for competitions including the Washington International, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Saint Paul String Quartet, and Chicago Chamber Music.

’With a distinguished performance career and dedication to teaching the next generation of professional artists, I am thrilled that Annie Fullard is joining Peabody’s faculty of world-class performers and educators,’ said Townsend Plant, Peabody’s senior associate dean of institute affairs.

’Building on the exemplary chamber music programme developed under current director and chair Michael Kannen, she will bring new energy to the programme, further strengthening Peabody’s offerings and helping students excel as creative and collaborative artists and leaders within their communities.’

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