Hello, I`mKevin LeFohn
Hailed as a “barnstorming violin exponent” (Flying Inkpot, Singapore), violinist Kevin A. Lefohn maintains an international career as recital soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and educator. His frequent chamber music collaborations and numerous recital performances have earned international acclaim, with performances, workshops, and masterclasses presented throughout Australia, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and South East Asia. He is a National Recording Artist for Radio New Zealand Concert and has frequently performed on Thursdays at Three, All Classical Radio’s live performance show.
“There is a youthful freshness and vibrancy in Lefohn’s playing, well complemented by fine technique. He is not afraid to take risks with his interpretations.” — The Star, New Zealand
“Lefohn’s abilities as a barnstorming violin exponent were never in doubt, not even with Heifetz’ showoffy figurations which he negotiated with intensity and spirit.” — Flying Inkpot, Singapore
“The soloist delivered a flawless performance full of beauty, wit, style and emotion which from start to finish had the audience in the edge of their seats.” — 4barsrest.com
He studied with the Dorothy DeLay, Piotr Milewski, and Kurt Sassmannshaus at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, Kathryn Lucktenberg at the University of Oregon, and with members of both the Emerson and the Tokyo String Quartets.
Committed to a passion for teaching, his students include prizewinners of international competitions, soloists, chamber musicians, and orchestra musicians in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States. He has held faculty teaching positions at the University of Otago (New Zealand), the University of Oregon (USA), and the University of Portland (USA). He was the founding director of the renowned Marama Strings Project at the University of Otago where he was Professor of Violin from 1998-2007 and founder and Artistic Director of the Queenstown Violin Summer School and Festival of Chamber Music (New Zealand).
He is much sought after as an adjudicator and has served as a jury member of numerous international competitions including the International Violin Competition Sion Valais, at the invitation of Maestro Shlomo Mintz, and the selection panel of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.
He currently holds a faculty teaching position at Pacific University, is Artist in Residence at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, and maintains in person and online private studios.
He is the founder and director of virtuosity.online, an international online learning platform created as a response to grow connections between professional musicians, university faculty, studio teachers, and students throughout the world.
Furthering his dedication to developing talented young string players, he was appointed as founding conductor of Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s Hillsboro Chamber Strings in 2017, a success which led to expanding the program to include Hillsboro Camerata in 2022.