Monte Belknap?s performing career spans 30 years with notable solo performances and accomplished mentors. He won the International Starling Violin Competition in Aspen, Colorado in 1989. This honor awarded full scholarship and stipends to the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, where he earned his BM and MM degrees in violin performance as a student of Kurt Sassmannshaus and Dorothy Delay. Mr. Belknap served as concertmaster of the Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony, and other respected ensembles. He studied Chamber music with some of the world?s leading performing ensembles including the Julliard, Tokyo and LaSalle String Quartets and the Beaux Arts Piano Trio. He soloed with the Illinois Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic, and the Jacksonville Symphony and recorded on the Lagossa and Encore labels. His reputation and distinguished skills as an instructor of violin led many of his students to win competitions and perform as soloists with noted symphonies including the Cincinnati Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic, and the Jacksonville Symphony. Mr. Belknap teaches a blend of technical master, memory, the use of modern technology and motion training. He recently joined the music faculty of BYU as the coordinator of the violin area, having previously taught at BYU-Idaho and Western Illinois University. For additional information please see theviolinsite.com. Education Former Concertmaster of Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestras Further studies in Viola and Orchestral Conducting at CCM-Univ. of Cincinnati MM, Violin Performance, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, 1994. BM, Violin Performance, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, 1991. Courses Taught Violin lessons Orchestral Excerpts Violin Pedagogy