Jeffrey Thayer

Violinist Jeff Thayer holds the Deborah Pate and John Forrest Concertmaster Chair of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Camera Lucida ensemble and previously served as assistant concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony and concertmaster of the Music Academy of the West for 13 years. Thayer is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, and The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division, having studied under Dorothy DeLay Zvi Zeitlin, William Preucil Jr., and Donald Weilerstein. A laureate of the 2001 Wieniawski Violin Competition, his numerous honors include the Stephen Hahn/Lillybelle Foundation Award, the Starling Foundation Award, and victory in the Fort Collins Symphony Young Artist Competition. He has appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, Jupiter Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and Canton Symphony, among others. A frequent festival guest, he has performed at The Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, Interlochen, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Mainly Mozart, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. Through a generous gift to the SDSO from Joan and Irwin Jacobs and the Jacobs Family Trust, Thayer performs on the 1708 “Bagshawe” Stradivarius.