The viola’s voice isn’t one to shout; it doesn’t pierce or dazzle like the higher strings. Instead, it breathes, reaching into the spaces in between, carrying a warmth that feels almost like the pull of memory. Basil Vendryes, longtime Principal Viola for the Colorado Symphony, has spent a lifetime drawing out this quiet intensity, shaping a sound that speaks directly to the heart. When he plays, it’s as if the music has always been there, just beneath the surface, waiting to be drawn out. For over 30 years, he’s woven this understated power into the fabric of the Colorado Symphony, impacting audiences in ways they might not fully understand — but can’t help feeling. This is his story, and it’s one that resonates with a depth only a viola can possess.
Born to West Indian parents in the vibrant heart of 1960’s New York City, Vendryes grew up in a lively household surrounded by family and a steady soundtrack of music that, while not central, wove itself subtly into the fabric of his early years.
“I was born in New York City in 1961 and come from a family of all girls, I have six sisters,” said Vendryes. “Music did not play a large element in my life at the beginning but there was often music playing in our house, so it was ever present in that way.”
“We moved to the Jamaica, West Indies in 1969 when I was eight years old. My father had gotten me a little electric organ for Christmas to learn to play and that was one of the few things that actually went to the island and came back to the states when we returned in 1971. While I didn’t take any lessons on it, I was very curious and tried to write music or make up songs on it.”
“I would take home the cello, viola, and violin, and eventually kind of figured them all out;
it was kind of like a language to me….”
Basil Vendryes, Principal Viola
When he returned to the United States in the early 1970’s, he was introduced to instrumental music through the Public Schools of New York.
“I started out as a bass player in seventh grade, and I had a teacher who saw something in me, thought I had some talent and was kind enough to let me take home any instrument I wanted for the weekends. So, I would take home the cello, viola, and violin, and eventually kind of figured them all out; it was kind of like a language to me, so learning how to read different clefs and music came very naturally to me.”
Though he explored a variety of instruments during his youth, it was the viola’s rich, soulful tone and unique voice within the orchestra that ultimately captured his heart.
“From a purely physical standpoint, the viola was a better match because I’m tall and have long fingers, so the fit of a larger instrument under my chin was MUCH better. From an expressive/artistic standpoint, the viola is a better representative of my persona: singing, introspective, showy when it needs to be but happy out of the spotlight.”
With the world of music now open to him, Vendryes began a journey that would become his life’s work.
“My parents wanted me to consider becoming a lawyer or a biologist, two of the other professions that I was interested in. But I started taking private lessons on a regular basis beginning my sophomore year in high school and I received a scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music, prep division. I studied with Sally O’Reilly there for three years, took theory and ear training courses, played in the orchestra and did a lot of chamber music. All those things were very formative for me as a musician and they helped me make up my mind about what I wanted to do with my career moving forward.”
During this time, he also participated in numerous summer music programs including two formative summers at Kinhaven Music School in Weston, Vermont.
When compared to other youth music programs, Basil says a unique feature of Kinhaven was the variety of activities: “You had orchestra, chamber music, choir, kitchen duty, and pottery, yet all of those choices funneled into our growth as musicians and human beings.” Another distinguishing feature was the noncompetitive environment, “which was helpful for those who had not made the commitment to a life as a musician and to others like me who were deciding. The positive atmosphere, the magical location, and the imaginative, creative, and inspiring faculty and students helped me make up my mind.”
One of Basil’s fondest memories was singing in the chamber choir under the “demanding but kind” direction of Jerry Bidlack. He attributes the intensity of that work – learning to focus, to blend his voice with those of others, and to develop a sense of internal pitch and rhythm – as contributing to his success as a professional musician.
“I wouldn’t trade those summers for anything in the world – they shaped me as a person and a player.”
When it came time to attend college, he earned a scholarship to attend the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York, where he studied with Heidi Castleman and Francis Tursi. These formative years as a student and pupil had a lasting impact on him, setting the foundation for a career as a professional musician and a future music educator himself.
“I feel very blessed that I had teachers who cared about me, who were interested in my success, and who I wanted to put in the work for in those formative early years.”
Professional success was soon to follow for Vendryes. At 18 he began to play regularly with the Rochester Philharmonic under David Zinman and in his senior year at Eastman he won a B contract with the orchestra.He joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1982 at the age of 21 and two years later returned to New York City as a member of the New York Philharmonic. Playing with his hometown orchestra satisfied the dreams and hopes of family and friends who would always say, ‘maybe one day we’ll see you playing in the Philharmonic’, but his heart remained in the Bay Area, and so he returned to San Francisco after a year, spending the next eight as part of the SFSO.
“I feel very blessed that I had teachers who cared about me, who were interested in my success, and who I wanted to put in the work for in those formative early years.”
Basil Vendryes, Principal Viola
It was in San Francisco that he met and married his wife Jennifer and started a family. However, the cost of raising a family in the Bay Area led Vendryes to explore opportunities elsewhere. As luck would have it, the principal viola position with the Colorado Symphony came open in 1993 and after winning the audition, Basil and his family moved to Denver. It was an exciting period for the orchestra which had appointed Marin Alsop as music director the same day he won his audition in March 1993.
“Marin brought stability and savvy to the orchestra. She always created adventurous programs — we won a few ASCAP/BMI awards during her tenure — and engaged our audiences. We owe a lot to her for making a very good orchestra great and for creating a welcoming and worthwhile experience for both our players, patrons and community.”
A distinguished four-decade career has taken him around the world. As a member of the Aurora String Quartet (1986-95) Basil performed recitals in New York, London and Tokyo as well as west coast premieres of works by John Harbison, George Perle, Richard Danielpour, Benjamin Lees and many others. He has served as guest principal violist for the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and appeared in many prestigious music festivals, including Spoleto, Buzzards Bay, Sunflower, Midsummer Mozart, Interharmony, Green Mountain, Taconic, and the Grand Tetons.
Despite a rigorous performance schedule, the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his mentors and instruct the next generation of musicians was one he couldn’t pass up. Since 1995, he has served on the faculty of the Lamont School of Music of the University of Denver as an adjunct professor of viola.
“I received a call from the chairman of the String Department at Lamont asking if I might have an interest in teaching at the School of Music so I had a brief audition and gave a master class and have been teaching there ever since.”
Basil’s demanding yet warm persona has endeared him to generations of future violists who flock to the University of Denver to learn from one of the elite violists in the country.
“My students often describe me as tough, but a teddy bear, and I suppose that’s accurate,” he laughs. “I expect my students to work for me but I understand that each student is different and how they learn is different so I do my very best to work with each student in a unique way that will help them become better instrumentalists and musicians during their time at Lamont.”
While imparting the tools and techniques to help students achieve their dreams, Vendryes also helps guide students through the difficulties of live performance.
“I think one of the most important things that any aspiring musician can do is to spend a lot of time on stage, finding out what works and doesn’t work, to get nervous and make mistakes because we all do. Mistakes are a very common part of live music even though we wish they weren’t. Having an opportunity to learn from mistakes in a performance environment is such an important aspect of what we teach.”
Basil’s passion for teaching continued to flourish and in 2000 he founded the Colorado Young Sinfonia (CYS), a youth ensemble comprised of some of the best young talent in the Denver area ages 14 to 22.
“It had been a dream of mine for some time to conduct and I was able to realize that dream by establishing this string ensemble for young people that I directed for eighteen years.”
For promising instrumentalists, there’s a gap between the early rigors of learning and the practical realities of becoming a professional musician, he points out. CYS helped talented young players who needed the discipline, practice, and experience of making music on a professional level.
“Having an opportunity to learn from mistakes in a performance environment is such an important aspect of what we teach.”
Basil Vendryes, Principal Viola
“We managed to survive, to keep the doors open, if you will,” says Vendryes. “We kept our costs to a minimum; the dues were small; the concerts were free, because it’s not about money; it’s about service. I wanted to give something back to my students. We filled a niche that typical youth orchestras didn’t, as a string or chamber orchestra. When you have an orchestra with wind and brass instruments, your programming will address that complement – you must find pieces that will utilize those players. But you miss a lot of important musical literature that way. So, players get experience with pieces they would play more rarely. Most important, it gave the players a chance to be heard. You’re among fourteen violins, not forty, and it created a positive pressure that promoted excellence. It gave me a chance to help them develop a rich, warm sound without having to break away and work with the winds. In return, it gave me a very close-knit, no-nonsense group of players. That seriousness of purpose is something I enjoyed very much.”
Near the end of the 2010’s, various commitments and projects were pulling Vendryes in a number of different directions. In addition to being a principal player for the Colorado Symphony, his work as an instructor in a large studio at the Lamont School of Music, private tutoring, leading Colorado Young Sinfonia, and performing as a chamber musician and solo artist, meant his time was at a premium. As a result, he made the difficult decision in 2018 to discontinue involvement with Colorado Young Sinfonia.
“It was very difficult for me, since it was my way of giving back to the community, as well as helping young talent learn to play and love music as much as I do. The time and effort it took to run the orchestra, on top of my other commitments, was wearing me down but I still miss so many aspects of the CYS, especially the smiles from the players and the audiences.”
Just two years later, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. The pandemic forced the cancellation of the Colorado Symphony’s indoor performances from March 2020 to September 2021 and curtailed most of Basil’s teaching schedules at the university and at home. Most performances were discontinued for the better part of almost two seasons, with virtual performances becoming the norm during that time. This unexpected hiatus left many musicians wondering what to do. For Vendryes, it was an unexpected opportunity to pursue another passion project.
“I had begun thinking of what I can leave behind in the way of a legacy – an aural memoir for those who might wish to hear a little bit of what I’ve done over the past four-plus decades of playing, teaching, and mentoring. This time became available, and the idea of using it well led to a rekindling of my dream to create a recording.”
“I began conversations with Martin Anderson (the mastermind behind Toccata Classics) about potential projects and we struck a deal on a disc of Russian viola sonatas for his Toccata Next label. I had been playing the Ivan Sokolov Sonata for a bit and the Glinka Sonata is an ‘old friend’ in the repertoire. I knew of the Bunin Sonata but had not played it, although I had taught the Concerto, and Shebalin was completely new to me, and so they seemed to make a good compilation.”
His solo recording of these Russian sonatas was released in 2021, while a second album of chamber music for viola by Russian composer Paul Juon was released in 2022, and a third chronicling a century of American writing for viola was released in 2024 with all receiving positive reviews from Fanfare and Strad magazines, as well as the Journal of the American Viola Society.
“I’m so proud of the work that went into these recordings. So often the ‘thought’ of pursuing the idea to record is often overshadowed by the ‘reality’ of what it takes to make it possible. Through generous community support, these projects were able to become a reality.”
Over 30 years with the Colorado Symphony, Vendryes has been a part of countless unforgettable performances and witnessed the evolution of the orchestra into a 21st century ensemble.
“It has been quite a journey here in Colorado with our orchestra. Working with four, and soon to be five music directors, lots of new faces both in the orchestra and in administration, committees, lean times, successes, we have seen it all. We have had frustrating moments and some very dark times, but we have weathered storms that many in the industry thought we would not be able to withstand. Most importantly, at this point we have many friends, patrons, and supporters that we can add to a fine assemblage of players and a dedicated, focused management team. Our future looks incredibly bright and I see our orchestra being an industry leader for many years to come.”
Balancing the demands of being a principal player while guiding and inspiring an entire section requires not only technical mastery but also a deep sense of collaboration and leadership.
“Being a principal player is a combination of many things. It is a relationship with the ‘circle’ of other principals within the string section and their partners on the first desks, making decisions about bowings, and character of the music we play. It is a line to the podium, trying to bring that person’s insights and wishes to my section. It is a responsibility to the other violists in my section to help shape our lines, lead entrances/exits and impart the character of the music. And of course, I am the one who plays the occasional solos written for a single viola. I am blessed with a super talented group of players that make up the viola section of the Colorado Symphony which makes my job pretty easy.”
“Our future looks incredibly bright and I see our orchestra being an industry leader for many years to come.”
Basil Vendryes, Principal Viola
Music has the power to bring people together in a way that’s both powerful and unique. Yet orchestras around the world continue to struggle with the lack of musicians of color who are auditioning for and winning positions, something that is evident when you see the orchestra on stage.
As one of the few Black musicians in major American orchestras over the years, Vendryes has often found himself reflecting on what it takes to create lasting change in the field. The problem, he believes, doesn’t lie in the fairness of blind auditions—a practice designed to eliminate bias—but in the pipeline leading up to them. “It’s not that people of color aren’t talented or capable,” he said. “It is in so many ways a numbers game: if only two or three players of color come to an audition of 100 players, regardless of their ability, the odds are not very good. The challenge is twofold: cultivation of talent for people of color in the schools and at home, followed by participation of more players of color at auditions.
This lack of representation on stage underscores a larger issue within classical music — a systemic gap that starts long before musicians reach the audition process and extends to the repertoire presented to audiences.
“We have consistently offered great music by great composers, both living and dead, of color, of various nationalities,” added Vendryes. “I think we’re moving in the right direction, we just have to do more of it. When audiences come into the hall, we hope that they leave having heard and enjoyed something different. And if they don’t like it or don’t understand it, come back the next day,” he added. “There is meaning behind every work we put before you, regardless of who it is by.”
Basil’s commitment to breaking barriers in classical music extends far beyond his role in the orchestra, reaching into communities and institutions striving for change. He has served on the jury for the Sphinx Competition — a national competition for string musicians that provides career advancement opportunities and addresses systemic obstacles within Black and Latino communities. He has also been an artist for the Colour of Music Festival which highlights the impact and historical significance of Black classical composers and performers on world culture. In 2023, he was recognized by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission as a recipient of their 2023 Humanitarian Award.
After decades of performing with some of the world’s top orchestras, Vendryes has found a true sense of belonging in Denver, a city that has become much more than just a stop along his musical journey.
“My family and I love the Denver area. I always describe it as an active but sane existence here, not the nonstop buzz of New York or the crowdedness of San Francisco. It has been a perfect place to raise our boys, enjoy our home, and make friends. It has fantastic culture, food, recreation, you name it, it’s here. And we have one of the great orchestras in the nation!”
Reflecting on his remarkable career, Vendryes is quick to express gratitude for the journey that has defined his life’s work.
“I have been fortunate to have a career in music – one that has allowed me to play fantastic repertoire with world-class performers and ensembles and has taken me to many cities and countries around the globe. I have participated in festivals with wonderful artist colleagues and friends and have shared my craft through teaching serious students of the viola and chamber music. All in all, a pretty satisfying 40-plus years in this business – one that is not for the faint of heart.”
For over three decades, Basil Vendryes has been an unwavering presence for the Colorado Symphony, leading the viola section with a skill and sensitivity that’s matched only by his passion for creating space in classical music for everyone. Vendryes carries a unique legacy — not only as a brilliant musician but as a trailblazer in a field that has often lacked diversity. From the stage of Boettcher Concert Hall to the countless lives he’s touched through teaching and mentorship, Vendryes has brought a singular voice to the world of music, reminding all who listen that every note has a story.
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