The Musicians
Cynthia Kempf (Viola)
Member of the JSO: Since 1998
Hometown: Bismarck, ND
Education: Prior to Yale, Cindy earned a Bachelor of Music degree at Michigan State University
Home life: Cynthia Kempf is married to JSO violinist Andrew Bruck. Better known as Cindy and Andy, their performance careers have taken them throughout the country. They met at the Yale School of Music, where they earned their master’s degrees in performance.
Performance highlights: Cindy served as assistant principal viola with the Savannah Symphony from 1994 through 1998. Her solo work includes J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 (for two violas) with both the Savannah and Jacksonville symphonies. Cindy has also performed in the Taos, Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals. In previous JSO seasons, Andy was featured in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (for violin, flute and harpsichord) and performed the "Autumn" Concerto from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Chamber music: Cindy and husband Andy are one-half of the Westbrook String Quartet. For over ten summers, they have been Artists-in-Residence at the Bay View Music Festival in northern Michigan. Over the years they have studied with the Tokyo, Manhattan, Juilliard and Vermeer string quartets.
Faculty residencies: Cindy served on the faculties of Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Tx.) and Youngstown State University (Ohio).
Musical study: In the fifth grade, Cindy began violin lessons in public school. Shortly thereafter she “saw the light” and switched to viola.
Dog training: The Avondale couple is also well known for training dogs for agility competition. Cindy is the “handler” for their two dogs, Banner – a Chihuahua, and Zephyr – a Chinese Crested. The dogs compete in agility trials, which feature obstacles such as jumps, tunnels and teeter-totters. “It’s like the steeplechase for dogs,” said Cindy.