Artist Biography
As a classical violinist, Alice Blankenship is the co-artistic director of microphilharmonic, Concertmaster of the Oregon Mozart Players, and section violinist with the Eugene Symphony. In addition, she is a baroque violinist, serving as Director of Microphilharmonic Baroque! and performing with Baroque ensembles in Oregon, New Mexico, British Columbia, and Europe.
As duo partners, Alice Blankenship and Ali Luthmers-Teyssier launched Alicats to explore the connections between Baroque and folk music. Alicats perform on period instruments, offering a unique sound and crossover approach to both genres.
A musical partnership between Alice Blankenship and clarinetist Michael Anderson, Violette performs original works for violin and clarinet by composers such as Tomas Svoboda, Paul Safar, and Olivia Davis, along with unique arrangements of Baroque, classical, folk, pop music and Christmas Carols. This partnership also forms the core of both microphilharmonic and Høstedans.
Høstedans is the Scandinavian folk dance band Blankenship formed in 2020, supported in part by the Oregon Cultural Trust. Their first album, Børnemusik Volume 1 was released in the fall of 2020. This album features Blankenship and Anderson's original arrangements of traditional dances at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City, Oregon. Preserving, performing and recording the cherished community dances for future generations is part of the mission of Høstedans. If you would like to Donate to help support the creation of Børnemusik Volume 2, please visit the Høstedans page and click "Donate."
Alice Blankenship has taught violin lessons for more than two decades, and she welcomes players of all levels, from age 8 to adult. Healthy body mechanics related to violin playing are a specialty, drawing upon the work of Kato Havas and others. Inspired by her own mother, Gay Blankenship, a classroom music teacher and chamber musician into her late 80's, Alice hopes to give students the tools and motivation to enjoy the violin for a lifetime!
Alice holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance and Music History from the University of Oregon; a Certificaat of Early Music and Historical Performance Practice from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, The Netherlands; a Master of Music degree from San Francisco Conservatory; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and International Studies, from Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon. Her teachers include Kathryn Lucktenberg, Lawrence Maves, Monica Huggett, Enrico Gatti, Pavlo Besnoziuk, and Kato Havas.