Romona Merritt

Romona began her viola training at Pine Forest Elementary School (currently known as Pine Forest School of the Arts) in Jacksonville, Florida. Her first private teacher was Ruth Paugh, a long-time violinist with the Jacksonville Symphony. As a High School Senior, she was a Jacksonville Symphony concerto competition winner and performed as a guest soloist for area high school educational concerts. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Performance from the North Carolina School of the Arts and University of Minnesota respectively. Her primary teachers were Sally Peck and Roland Vamos. She was a full-time member of the Alabama Symphony viola section for 17 seasons. Romona enjoys sharing her desire to provide a solid musical foundation for young violin and viola students. Since 2011, Romona has been a substitute violist with the Detroit Symphony. In 2018 and 2021, Romona was honored to be awarded a Sphinx MPower Grant that has allowed her to receive additional teacher training.