Chicago-based violinist Deborah Ferry Palmer began her violin studies in Salt Lake City at the age of 3 as a Suzuki student of Deborah Moench. She made her solo debut at the age of 8 with the Utah Symphony (conducted by Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops) as the youngest musician to ever solo on its annual "Salute to Youth" concert.
Deborah received her B.M. in Violin Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied privately with Daniel Ching, 1st Violinist of the world-acclaimed Miró Quartet, and her M.M. in Violin Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College as the Joseph L. Horner Endowed Scholar under the tutelage of Jesse Mills, founding member of the celebrated Horszowski Trio. Most notably, Deborah was awarded “Most Outstanding Senior Recital” for the 2012-2013 academic school year, and during her time in Austin played as a section violinist with the Austin Symphony. While at Longy, Deborah was the sole recipient of both the Roman Totenberg Award, given in recognition of stellar academic and artistic achievement and a deep commitment to perpetuating the art of music, and the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Artistry for demonstrating the skills and artistry needed in engaging audiences of all ages and contexts in musical experiences.
An experienced orchestra, opera, and chamber musician, Deborah has been highly sought after as concertmaster of numerous ensembles and has been coached extensively by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Horszowski Trio, the Shanghai Quartet, the Miró Quartet, and the Aeolus Quartet. She has performed for violinists Vivian Hagner, Joseph Silverstein, Donald Weilerstein, Kathleen Winkler, Robert Lipsett, David Kim, Cho-Liang Lin, and Ilya Kaler, among others.
While living in Boston, Deborah performed with various ensembles, including the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. She taught graduate students as Professor of Teaching Artistry at the Longy School of Music and worked as an Arts and Music Resident Tutor for undergraduate students at Harvard University where she helps organize and execute artistic events and concerts on campus.
An avid teacher, Deborah is Suzuki and El Sistema trained and has maintained a private violin and viola studio of all ages and levels since 2003. She was born into a musical family and raised attending Suzuki institutes every summer as a child. She has completed Suzuki Teaching Training in Books 1-5 with Pat D’Ercole, Allen Lieb, and Cathryn Lee, among other pedagogical courses. She is also a devoted Suzuki parent herself.
In her spare time, Deborah enjoys baking, HIIT exercise classes, organizing spaces, reading design blogs, and exploring the North Shore with her husband, Jon, and their four young children.