James Umber, Violin

photo by Christian Colberg

Inspired by Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, James Umber began violin lessons at age seven with Barbara Pettey.  After further studies with Kevin Roy, he was a scholarship student of Elaine Richey at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he was a winner of the school concerto competition.  A pupil of Yumi Scott and Jaime Laredo, Mr. Umber is a 1990 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Before joining the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1991, Mr. Umber was a substitute player with the Philadelphia Orchestra and a member of the Concerto Soloist Chamber Orchestra.  A participant in the Bowdoin, Taos and Grand Teton Festivals, he regularly appears as a recitalist and chamber music performer.