Violinist Neil Bacon grew up in the UK, and has pursued parallel careers in music and science. He runs a private violin studio near Seattle, and is a part-time professor of physics at the University of Washington. As a Rolland Pedagogue, he draws on both his musical and scientific knowledge, and is endlessly fascinated by the art and science of violin playing. Rolland Pedagogy and its principles of balance and whole-body motion are complemented by integrative Alexander Technique, which he studies with the renowned teacher Cathy Madden.
His teachers have included Robert Szreder at the Maastricht Conservatory and Steven Staryk at the University of Washington, and he has participated in numerous masterclasses including the Zenon Brzewski festival in Poland. While living in Ireland, he learned traditional Irish fiddle and studied violin performance at the Cork School of Music, where he won an opportunity to perform the Bruch Concerto at Cork City Hall. He has performed with the National Symphony of Ireland, the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra, the North Corner Chamber Orchestra, and the Cascade Symphony, where he is the Associate Concertmaster.