Sharyn Allsopp Peterson brings more than thirty-five years of professional experience to the stage. She has directed orchestras for North Seattle Christian School, Kings Garden High School, Ingraham High School (Seattle), Skagit Valley College (small string ensemble), Cascade Sinfonette (Edmonds), Shuksan Middle School, Whatcom Hills Waldorf School and Sehome High School, as well as many local full-scale musicals. As a professional violinist she has been a featured soloist in the Music Festival in Monteverde, Costa Rica (also vocal soloist); the Lincoln Theatre Baroque Concerts; Brahms Double Concerto with Barton Frank (Thalia Symphony-Seattle);
Whatcom Museum Concert Series with Barton Frank; violin soloist at Whatcom, Gig Harbor and Port Angeles Symphonies; Seattle Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Philharmonic. She has recently soloed with Rainier Symphony (Brahms Concerto), and Whatcom and Skagit Symphonies, on the Sibelius and Mendelssohn Violin Concerti, both to standing ovations. She performs regularly as Concertmaster and orchestra agent for Skagit Valley Chorale, Lynden Choral Society, Northwest Ballet Theatre, and Northwest Community Chorale. She has performed as first violinist and as vocal soloist in the Starry Night concert series at the Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, and as Concertmaster of the Skagit Opera for the first five seasons, during which she also conducted Amahl and the Night Visitors for that organization.
Conducting studies were with Vilem Sokol (Seattle Youth Symphony) and Dr. Gary Bonner, Azusa Pacific College. She received violin technique and Chamber Music instruction from Emanuel Zetlin, Chairman Gadd, David McGinnes, and the Philadelphia String Quartet. On full scholarship at the Tanglewood Music Festival, she studied with Claude Frank and performed under Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein. Her M.A. in Violin Performance and her B.A. in Fine Arts are from the University of Washington. Her Contemporary Group String Quartet took second and first place in consecutive years in the Coleman International Chamber Competition, Pasadena, CA.
Currently, Mrs. Peterson is Director and violin, viola and voice instructor, as well as Director of the Sounds of Summer Music Festival/Camp, at Peterson Conservatory of Music and Arts, and Artistic Director for Mount Baker and Fidalgo Youth Symphonies. She is a former faculty member in the music departments of Seattle Pacific University and Western Washington University, and currently is an adjunct Violin/Viola Instructor for Skagit Valley College.
Mrs. Peterson has taken two concert tours of young musicians from MBYS and FYS to China, Lisbon, Prague, Vienna and Vaasa Finland, performing in many amazing historic venues.
