Heather Kufchak began playing violin at age four. She is a recent graduate of Ohio University, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance, studying with Marjorie Bagley. Former teachers include Jim McCullough, the late Michael Davis, Heather Garner, and Beverly Spensiri.

Heather was the Ohio recipient of the Kennedy Center National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute’s fellowship scholarship in 2003. She was the winner at the local and state levels of the Ohio Music Teachers Association Buckeye Auditions in 2003, the Columbus Music Teachers Association Achievement Awards in 2004, and she won the Columbus Symphony Young Musician’s Competition in 2004, performing the first movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra the following spring.

She has attended numerous summer festivals studying with Marjorie Bagley, including the Brevard Music Center in 2004, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in 2006 and 2007, and the International Music Academy at Pilsen, Czech Republic, in 2008. There she also studied with Stephen Shipps of the University of Michigan, and Sylvie Gazeau of the Paris Conservatory. She worked and performed with pianist Gordon Back. Additionally, Heather performed in masterclasses for Jindriska Holotova, violin professor at the Pilsen Conservatory of Music and Miroslav Vilimec, concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Heather has been collaborating with other musicians in chamber music settings since she was seven years old. A Chamber Music Connection Fellowship alumna, she is a three-time quarterfinalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and in 2005 advanced to the semifinals with her ensemble Trio Riendo. She has received coachings from and performed with the Cavani String Quartet of the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has played master classes for artists such as Donald Weilerstein, Peter Salaff, Lawrence Dutton, Pamela Frank, Eugene Drucker, and the Miami String Quartet.

In 2006, Heather won a position in the New York String Orchestra Seminar, giving her the opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall. She was a winner of the student concerto competition at Ohio University both her freshman year and her senior year, performing the Barber Violin Concerto and the Sibelius Violin Concerto, respectively. Heather has performed as a section member with the Columbus Bach Ensemble, the Ohio Valley Symphony in southern Ohio, the Huntington Symphony Orchestra in West Virginia, and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Charleston, WV.

Begininng fall 2009, Heather will attend Rice University on full scholarship to pursue her Master’s Degree in Violin Performance, studying with Kathleen Winkler.