The Lubbock violinist

Violinist and teacher Orion McKenzie who was acclaimed by Philadelphia Orchestra
concertmaster David Kim as a “very, very good violinist, who’s obviously been playing a long
time” is a diversified musician. He has been a concerto soloist at the ICT (Wichita) young artist
academy playing the second movement of Vivaldi concerto for 2 violins, a finalist at the music
international Grand Prix competition in New York City where he played Beethoven violin sonata
no.4, and a second-place winner at the Missouri Music Teachers Association junior division,
where he played Amy Beach romance, Bach partita no.3, and Mozart violin concerto 4.
Orchestrally, he has played with the Lubbock symphony, Lubbock ballet, Big Springs
symphony, and has been invited to play with the Amarillo symphony.
Orion started his training at age 12 at the local public school institution Union 6th and 7th grade
center at age 12 and started private lessons at age 14 where he studied with violinists Esther
Fellows, Paulo Eskitch, and his brother Ian Jett. Later, he went to university to study violin
performance at Missouri State University for 3 years under the tutelage of Dr. David Hays. He
has had masterclasses with significant violinists of our time including orchestral- Sheryl Staples
(co-concertmaster) of the New York Philharmonic, Ilhom Muhidinov (Pittsburgh Symphony),
David Kim (Philadelphia Orchestra) Gregory Lee (Queensland Symphony Orchestra), and solo-
Brian Hong (Cincinnati Conservatory), Alexandra Kazovsky (Cincinnati Conservatory),
Alexander Hersch (NEXUS chamber music director), Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva (UGA), Hal
Grossman (University of Oregon), and many more. Currently, Orion is a transfer student at
Texas Tech university where he studies with the extraordinary violin professor Annie Chalex
Boyle. Orion particularly likes to study the works of underrepresented women composers who
wrote in the romantic era, including Amy Beach, Florence Price, and Clara Schumann.
Orion is also an educator, he teaches privately where he’s maintained his private studio “The
Stradivarius String Studio” for 5 years, leading his students to get high scores in solo and
ensemble, and play in the local Springfield youth symphony. He also participates in group
lessons, sectionals, and occasional middle school conducting. He has taught at Texas Tech
University String Project as a student teacher, Frendship ISD (Lubbock Texas) Reed Middle
School (Springfield MO), Hillcrest High School (Springfield MO), and started an all-violin
Suzuki program at Springfield Adventist Academy. He loves to volunteer anytime a local
institution needs an extra violin.
Once graduating from Texas Tech, Orion is aiming to become a professional recitalist and
educator who tours the world giving recitals, performing concertos, and teaching masterclasses at
every institution possible. He believes in the Suzuki philosophy in the purpose of teaching violin
“For the child to build a noble soul, to develop an appreciation of beauty, to give a sense of
purpose to life, to learn the discipline of acquiring a skill and to become a fine human being.” -
Dr. Suzuki
Orion plays on a 1766 Leopold Widhalm violin