Lynn Blakeslee (violin) Lynn Blakeslee was born in Los Angeles and began the violin at the age of four. She studied with Sascha Jacobsen, and received a bachelor's degree and diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Efrem Zimbalist. A Fulbright Grant took her to Vienna, where she was a pupil of Ricardo Odnoposoff, and received a concert diploma with distinction from the Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst. Master classes with Sandor Vegh rounded out her education.
A member of Die Wiener Solisten for many years, she was also concertmaster at Theater an der Wien, a member of the Wiener Kontrapunkte, and of the Deutsche Bach Solisten. She has been a soloist with many orchestras, among them the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Wiener Ton-Künstler, and the Wiener Kammerorchester.
A recipient of the Martha Baird Rockefeller Grant, Blakeslee has performed in most of the major cities of Europe. Other honors include first prize at the International Musikwettbewerb, Vienna, and the Philadelphia Orchestra Award. For 15 years, Blakeslee was first violinist of the Streichquintet Mozarteum, and together with members of this ensemble, she runs a chamber music festival and violin workshop during the summer at Schloss Raabs in Austria. She has recorded for radio in France, Germany, and Austria, as well as for the Lyrinx label.
Her teaching credits include the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Bruckner Konservatorium in Linz, the Casals Festival in Prades, and the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival. She has been a member of the Eastman faculty since 1987.