She is a violinist and author from Spokane, Washington whose mother was the violinist Evelyn Ayer and sister is the violinist Jane Ayer Blegen. She studied for her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Washington and earned her Masters of Music degree at Indiana University Bloomington.
She became a member of the Houston Symphony before joining the Minnesota Orchestra as Assistant Principal Second Violin in 1976. She remained with the orchestra for 36 years until her retirement in 2012 but rejoined the orchestra in 2015 for their tour of Cuba.
As a chamber musician she is a founding member of the Hill House Chamber Players which is the resident ensemble of the James J Hill House in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has also performed at the Oregon Bach Festival and with the Classica Chamber Players.
Other orchestras she has been a member of include the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Spokane Chamber Orchestra and Spokane Symphony. She was an organiser of a musician exchange with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia in 1999.
Recordings she has performed on outside of orchestral recordings include Gettin’ Away with Murder by Patti Austin, Bless the Lord by Stephen Hill, Music in the Gallery II by the Hill House Chamber Players, Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson and It’s Gonna Be Right by Cheryl Lynn.
As an author she has published More Than Meets the Ear, How Symphony Musicians Made Labor History.
She performs here…
Sources:
- https://julieayer.com/about/
- https://www.facebook.com/julie.ayer.1
- https://iml.esm.rochester.edu/polyphonic-archive/article/an-endearing-legacy/
- https://schubert.org/event/wednesday-date-free-courtroom-concert-featuring-clasicca-chamber-players-julie-ayer-violin-viola-tanya-remenikova-cello-maryjo-gothmann-piano/
- http://www.spokanestringquartet.org/stories/072306.htm
- https://dojour.us/e/8775-hill-house-chamber-players
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/798956-Julie-Ayer
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/julie-ayer-mn0001697255