Megan McClendon Rios

Growing up in Dallas, TX, Megan McClendon Rios was inspired to learn play the violin after seeing Itzhak Perlman on Sesame Street. She began lessons at age 7, and later joined the SMU Pre-College Conservatory under the guidance of her teacher, Arkady Fomin. She won numerous competitions throughout high school and went on to study at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore earning a Bachelor of Music degree and Graduate Performance Diploma. She continued her studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for a Masters degree, studying with Camilla Wicks and Ian Swensen. There she also met Jorja Fleezanis, who became a driving force in her orchestral career as her teacher, mentor and musical hero.

She was a violin fellow at the New World Symphony, gaining leadership and orchestral experience from director Michael Tilson Thomas and other guest artists. She has regularly performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, and the Boston Pops. She has performed in festivals including the Edinburgh Festival, the Spoleto Festival in Italy and US, the Zephyr Festival in Valle d’Aosta and Barbaresco Classico in Italy. She has previously been a member of the Fresno Philharmonic, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and the San Antonio Symphony, where she met her husband, oboist Daniel Rios.

Equally passionate about teaching, she has served on the violin faculty of Miami Dade College, the Oklahoma City University Bass School of Music and is certified in the Suzuki Method. She assisted Rebecca Henry at the Peabody Preparatory, including workshops with pedagogue Paul Rolland and thoroughly believes every child can learn to become a great artist and person through music.

She lives in Jacksonville with her husband Danny, their two young children Mateo and Julia, and their dog Emmylou. In her spare time she enjoys doing yoga, traveling and watching women’s soccer.