She is a violinist born in New York who studied with several teachers and at the Eastman School of Music, during which she was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic and toured with the school orchestra on a State Department tour of the Soviet Union and Europe. She earned her BMus from Eastman in 1965.
Over two summers she attended Tanglewood as a participant at the Berkshire Music Festival where she was the recipient of the Joseph Silverstein and Mary H. Fowler Awards.
She became a member of the Detroit Symphony and while with them was in the string section that played on several Motown records, including “What’s Going on” by Marvin Gaye, in the early 1970s.
In 1972 she became a violinist with The Philadelphia Orchestra and remained with them until she retired in 2010.
Recordings she appeared on during her career include Goin’ for Myself by Dennis Coffey, What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye, Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”/Dumka by The Philadelphia Orchestra and Strung Out by Gordon Staples and the String Thing.
She passed away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2012 when she was 68 years old.
She performs here…
Sources:
- https://old.philorch.org/sites/default/files/2012-13_FebruaryPlaybill-Complete.pdf
- https://www.stokowski.org/Philadelphia_Orchestra_Musicians_List.htm
- https://music.negativedead.com/dar/396354
- https://www.instantencore.com/buzz/tag.aspx?FeedEntryId=225121
- https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20121201_Virginia_Halfmann__Phila__Orchestra_violinist.html
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/396354-Virginia-Halfmann