Meet Mary Hallman, Alpine Orchestra’s Concertmaster: US

USA: The Nonprofit Organisation Alpine Orchestra, rehearsing and performing in the upper Arkansas River, introduced the most fabulous concertmaster, Marry Hallman. She will be featured in their upcoming concert series.

Mary Hallman moved to Buena Vista in 2012 and joined the Alpine Orchestra for their Spring concert in 2013 as a violist. She moved from the viola section, 2nd violin section and ultimately to the 1st violin section and the concertmaster position.

In a community orchestra, and particularly in the string sections, one must play “where needed”.

Mary grew up in the Wichita, KS area, which was noted for the vital string programs in the public school system. She studied piano and violin privately and participated in the 2 Wichita Youth orchestras throughout high school.

As per Alpine Orchestra, Mary holds a Bachelor of Music (Violin) degree from the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and a Master of Music (Violin and Viola) from Southern Illinois University. She also has an Artist’s Diploma (Violin) from the Mozarteum Akademie for Music and Art in Salzburg, Austria.

Mary’s professional experience includes teaching at the Mozarteum, Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and the University of Maine in Orono. For ten years, she also taught in her private Maine studio.

She has performed professionally and recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Phillips, and Austrian radio as a member of the Salzburg Camerata Academica Chamber Orchestra.

Her professional orchestral experiences include the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

Mary is a licensed pilot, holding an Air Transport Pilot License with over 10,000 hours of flight time. She flew as a Captain for Bar Harbor Airlines, which became part of Continental Express and holds type ratings in 7 aircraft, including the Boeing 737.

As one of the first women hired in 1978 by an airline, it was an exciting and challenging experience.

Mary, first and foremost, is the mother of James Hallman. He not only grew up surrounded by classical music, but logged over 300 hours of turboprop flight time while “in utero”.