The “freedom” and “brilliance” (New York Concert Review) of violinist Rebecca McFaul has fashioned performances that “glide through with a dancer’s grace” (Charlotte Observer). Rebecca has toured North and South America, the Balkan States, Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, and Israel as soloist and chamber musician. At age 15, Rebecca spent the summer at Tanglewood in the presence of great artists such as Leonard Bernstein and Yo Yo Ma, after which the pursuit of a life in music became imperative. It was the medium of the string quartet, with its fantastic literature, range of expression, and ability to connect with an audience that called; the Fry Street Quartet has been and continues to be the realization of that pursuit. As a founding member of the Fry Street Quartet, Rebecca enjoys the privilege of wonderful colleagues, collaborations with many of today’s great musicians and composers, and the opportunity to work with students from all over the globe.
Originally from Wisconsin, Ms. McFaul received a B.M. in violin performance from the Oberlin Conservatory as a student of Marilyn MacDonald and continued her studies earning a M.M. in violin performance with Gerardo Ribeiro at Northwestern University. Under the mentorship of Marc Johnson and Shmuel Ashkenasi of the Vermeer quartet, Ms. McFaul founded the Fry Street Quartet in 1997. Shortly thereafter, the group received a “Rural Residency” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and invitations from the late Isaac Stern to give their Carnegie Hall debut on the Alexander Schneider Series at Weill Hall, and to perform at the Jerusalem Music Center in Israel.
A committed educator, Rebecca is currently an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at the Caine College of the Arts, Utah State University, as well as a sought-after guest teacher at festivals such as Madeline Island Music Camp, Oficina de Musica in Curitiba, Brazil, and the Einfeldt Chamber Music Seminar, to name a few.
Rebecca performs on a Carl Becker Sr. violin, dated 1926, and a bow by Nicolas Maire. Rebecca goes to great lengths to attend yoga classes whenever she can, has recently discovered trail running in Logan Canyon, and is passionate about issues of sustainability and the environment.
