Tekla Cunningham

Adjunct Instructor

Violin

tcunningham@cornish.edu

Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin, viola and viola d’amore, received her musical training at Johns Hopkins University and Peabody Conservatory, Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria, and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she completed a Master’s degree with Ian Swenson. She has appeared as concertmaster or soloist with the American Bach Soloists, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, and Musica Angelica (Los Angeles).

An avid chamber musician, Cunningham enjoys exploring the string quartet repertoire of the 18th and early 19th century with the period-instrument Novello Quartet, with a special interest in the music of Haydn. She is also a member of La Monica, an ensemble dedicated to music of the 17th century, whose concerts have been reviewed as “sizzling”, and praised for their “irrepressible energy and pitch-perfect timing”. She can be heard on recordings with the American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, San Francisco Bach Choir, and various movie soundtracks including Disney’s Casanova, as well as on La Monica’s The Amorous Lyre, featuring the repertoire of Merula and his contemporaries. Other recent recordings include Wayne Horvitz’s new chamber opera Heartsong of Charging Elk.

Since moving back to Seattle in 2006, Cunningham founded the Whidbey Island Music Festival, a summer concert series presenting period-instrument performances. She also plays with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Pacific Operaworks, and the Northwest Sinfonietta.