Penny Thompson Kruse, associate professor of violin at the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University, has performed extensively as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. Prior to her BGSU appointment in 2000, Kruse was on the faculty of William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, for eight years. For five seasons she was a member of the Kansas City Symphony, serving as associate concertmaster during the 1989-90. Kruse has been featured as soloist with several orchestras in the Midwest, including the Kansas City Camerata, Lima Symphony, Northland Symphony, Overland Park Orchestra, Philharmonia of Kansas City, as well as in Hanoi with the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Orchestra. In spring 2006, she performed concertos with the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra and the State Philharmonic of Sibiu in Romania. Besides a very active solo career, Ms. Kruse performs frequently in music festivals, such as Spoleto, Grand Teton just to name a few, and has been given master classes and recitals in Taiwan, Romania and Australia. An active adjudicator, she received her training at Northwestern and Yale universities and earned a D.M.A. in violin performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Conservatory of Music. Her performance of Chen Yi's Chinese Folk Dance Suiteis available on Albany Records. Dr. Kruse has co-authored articles in American String Teacher, the Strad and Journal of the American Viola Society with her husband, Steven Kruse.
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