ABOUT 

Freya Downey is a violist and composer dedicated to building community through music and providing concert experiences that inspire listening, mindfulness, and accessibility. Her recent performances include a Faculty Artists Recital at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Lenox, MA, an experimental solo performance at Transporter Boston in Boston, MA, the first of five recitals in her Doctoral degree, two solo recitals at the Resonator Art Institute and Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery in Norman, OK, and a recital alongside the Fest Quartet at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall in New York City. She developed “Project Pause: 4 Recitals, 8 months,” intending to make art music accessible to smaller communities and create performance opportunities.

 

As a teacher, she approaches lessons holistically and student-led. Her primary goal is to teach her students how to be lifelong learners by showing them how to continue the work from their lessons in their practice. She has managed a private studio for ten years, teaches private viola to music minors at Boston University, and has served as assistant faculty at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute.

 

Freya is a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Viola Performance candidate at Boston University and holds degrees from Baylor University and the University of Oklahoma. Her mentors include Michelle LaCourse, Kathryn Steely, Mark Neumann, Helen Callus, and Kathleen Gallagher. Freya enjoys painting, reading, swimming, and spending time outside with her dog in her free time.