Kent/Blossom Music

Robert Vernon has taught at Kent/Blossom Music since the summer of 1977 following his appointment to the post of principal violist of The Cleveland Orchestra by Lorin Maazel in November 1976. Born in Toronto , Canada , he received his early training in Detroit , where his teachers were Ara Zerounian and Jack Boesen. Mr. Vernon graduated with honors from The Juilliard School, where he was the recipient of the prestigious Martha Dwight Douglas Foundation Scholarship while studying with Ivan Galamian and Sally Thomas.

In addition to his orchestral solos as principal violist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Vernon has appeared as soloist with the Orchestra on many occasions, in Cleveland and on tour. He has also performed at most of this country's major chamber music festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival, the Sarasota ( Florida ) Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the LaJolla Chamber Music Festival, and the Hidden Valley Masters Festival of Chamber Music in Carmel , California . Mr. Vernon is also a member of the Cleveland Orchestra String Quartet and head of the viola department at The Cleveland Institute of Music.