Julia Immel
Workshop Faculty
Violist Julia Immel is an active performer and teacher in the Houston area with a performance career defined by orchestral and chamber performances. As a strong advocate of musical outreach in the community, Julia currently organizes and performs educational concerts for children and adults.
Julia has given outreach concerts and presentations at elementary schools, middle schools, hospitals, and community programs. In 2009 she received the Sviatoslav Richter Grant at Rice University, an award designed to encourage musicians to reach out to new audiences. The subsequent performance series included concerts at venues ranging from a local women’s shelter to an architecture firm. Other outreach work has included presentations for children overcoming addictions. Julia plans to continue initiating outreach projects with adults and children in Texas.
As a devoted orchestral musician, Julia has played with many ensembles in Iowa, Colorado, and Texas. She held the Associate Principal Viola position in the Cedar Rapids Symphony and played as principal of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. She has been awarded two fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival and School and has participated as an orchestral and chamber musician at the Spoleto USA festival in Charleston, SC.
Julia’s musical success in Iowa City included winning first prize in the 2004 Iowa Viola Society competition. The prize included a performance the Bartók Viola Concerto with the orchestra. She was a winner of the 2005 Fort Dodge Symphony Young Artist Competition and the 2006 Sigma Alpha Iota scholarship competition. Her studies have been supplemented by master classes with Kim Kashkashian, Roland Vamos, Donald McInnes, and Helen Callus.
Julia has attended the New England Conservatory, Columbia College, and has a Bachelor’s of Music degree from University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. Her major teachers have included Carol Rodland, Christine Rutledge, Elizabeth Oakes, Catherine Carroll, and, most recently, James Dunham at Rice University.
