Ronda Respess, Artistic Director and Founder
Ronda Respess, a violinist in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, has been recognized for her active role in the orchestra’s outreach programs by being named to the UPS Community Service Chair. Deeply committed to education, she teaches privately, gives masterclasses, coaches chamber music, and was a long-time coach of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. In cooperation with WGTV and the ASO she filmed a teaching video that can be viewed online here. She is founder and director of Franklin Pond Chamber Music, a summer string-quartet program in Atlanta for talented young musicians. In 2007 Ronda received the Loridans Arts Award given in honor of her work with Franklin Pond and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. As a former teaching affiliate at Emory University she has performed in several chamber-music concerts there and around the city. She also served as Principal Second Violin of the Atlanta Opera for eight years. Ms. Respess, a New Jersey native, took lessons from Samuel Applebaum. As the high school winner of the New Jersey Music Educators Association Solo Competition, she played a recital in Carnegie Recital Hall. She went on to study with Sally Thomas and Ivan Galamian in New York, then received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Indiana University as a student of Daniel Guilet and Josef Gingold. She also had chamber music coaching with Janos Starker and William Primrose at Indiana University and Walter Trampler at the Sarasota Music Festival. After winning a position with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra she continued her study in Florida with Richard Burgin and did graduate work toward a Masters in Music Education at Georgia State University. In 2013, Ronda was elected to the Board of the ASO. She is the mother of Virginia Respess, a young professional violinist, and adopted mother to two cats, two dogs, and two grand-cats.