Nov. 7, 2022

(photo credit: Mahting Putelis @mahting_putelis)

Drawn to story just as much as sound, Canadian violinist Veda Hingert-McDonald (she/her) aims to balance personal connection with tradition in her performance of both new and standard repertoire. She is currently pursuing a masters at University of Colorado (CU) Boulder where she studies with Takács Quartet violinists Harumi Rhodes and Edward Dusinberre, and has received honorable mentions in both the Bruce Ekstrand Graduate Student Performance Competition and the Honors Concerto Competition.

Veda is a member of the CU Playback Ensemble, a theatre troupe dedicated to centering empathy in the improvised telling of audience’s stories. She is also a frequent performer at Pendulum New Music and was a 2021-2022 Performer Fellow with the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, leading to the premiere of a new work in collaboration with composer Che Buford. Veda completed her undergraduate degree with Jerzy Kaplanek at Wilfrid Laurier University, and has additional training from Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival, Western University, Music at Port Milford, and Summer Music Vancouver.

Outside of her musical life Veda is active in environmental and food justice work including training in permaculture design, founding a zero-waste concert series, and creating a food justice garden. She sees both chamber music and permaculture as opportunities to build and model the kind of interconnectedness and empathy she wishes to see in the world.

Veda’s current graduate studies are generously supported by the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation.