Donnie Deacon

Donnie Deacon has traversed the terrain of both performance as a violinist in national and international contexts, and the life of a conductor and director in recent years. Born in Glasgow, he began his violin studies there, studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. Mr Deacon continued his studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School in London under the tutelage of Natasha Boyarskaya and Lord Menuhin. He then attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he continued under Jaime Laredo and Ida Kavafian. Following his studies at Curtis, Deacon was appointed Principal Second Violin of the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO), the youngest person to have ever held this position (at the age of 21), and a chair he held from 2001-2016, when he retired due to a medical injury. Deacon has performed as soloist all over the world with orchestras such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, BT Scottish Ensemble, London Soloists, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, Pablo de Sarasate Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music. He has been guest Concertmaster of both the Vancouver Symphony and The National Arts Centre Orchestra, among other ensembles. As an advocate for Canadian music, Deacon has given the world premiere of Gary Kulesha's 2nd violin concerto and William Rowson's violin concerto.