David Bowlin

Founding ICE violinist David Bowlin has won recognition as an passionate and accomplished interpreter of a wide-ranging repertoire. Among his performances are dozens of premieres, including the 2007 Weill Hall world premiere of Mahagoni, a violin concerto written for him by Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin, and the 2016 Lincoln Center world premiere of Marcos Balter’s Violin Concerto. 

In addition to his work with ICE, Bowlin is a member of the Oberlin Trio and a former member of the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players, whose CD of music by Chinary Ung won a 2010 NPR Top 5 American Classical Albums award.  In recent seasons Bowlin’s varied activities have included tours with Musicians from Marlboro, performing as guest concertmaster with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Iris Orchestra, and performing with members of the Juilliard and Emerson string quartets.  Accolades include first prize in violin at the Washington International Competition and the 2007 Samuel Baron Prize from Stony Brook University.

Bowlin’s performances have been frequently heard on air, including broadcasts on NPR’s Performance Today with pianist Richard Goode, and live broadcasts on New York’s WQXR, WFMT Chicago, Vermont Public Radio, and WCLV Cleveland.  Recent recordings include a CD of solo works and concerti by Huang Ruo and Luciano Berio for Oberlin Music, a solo and duo CD of music by Roger Sessions on the Bridge label, and piano trios by Dvorak, Shostakovich, and Joan Tower with the Oberlin Trio.  

Bowlin currently serves on the violin faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and in the summers teaches at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival.  He also serves as Artistic Director of Chamber Music Quad Cities.  He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and Stony Brook University, where his principal teachers were Roland and Almita Vamos, Ronald Copes, Pamela Frank, Ani Kavafian, Philip Setzer, and Stephen and Kimberly Sims.