Described by Strad Magazine as “Particularly impressive for her surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” violinist Deborah Buck has built a strong musical career as chamber musician, concertmaster, soloist, professor, and artistic leader.

Ms. Buck is Concertmaster of Orchestra Lumos. She has held concertmaster positions with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra (L.A.) and the Los Angeles Opera Guild as well as many other noteworthy ensembles in the New York City area. As recitalist, Ms. Buck has performed at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., over the airways for the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago/WFMT, “Sunday’s Live” in Los Angeles for KKGO, and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. She has been featured as soloist with Lincoln Center’s Little Orchestra Society, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and most recently, Orchestra Lumos. In 2019, Ms. Buck received two commissions: one for solo violin by John Harbison called DeBut, and another for violin and piano called Fantasia on Beethoven’s Spring Sonata by Bruce Adolphe. In October (2021) Ms. Buck recorded the Suite for Solo Violin by John Harbison with Grammy winning producer, Silas Brown.

As a chamber musician, Ms. Buck enjoyed seventeen years of extensive concertizing, commissioning, and recording as a member of the Lark Quartet. The Lark actively pushed the boundaries of what a traditional string quartet could do by being one of the first quartets to commission new works that feature added percussion, clarinet, voice, and piano. The Lark has an extensive discography that include many of America’s most celebrated and prize-winning composers works.

A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Buck recorded for the motion picture and television industry. Her violin solos for television helped breathe life back into the re-mastered American Silent Film classic, “The Scarlet Letter” (Turner Classic Movies). Her National television debut came by way of a feature guest spot on the Family Channel’s, “It Takes Two” hosted by Dick Clark.

For twenty summers, Ms. Buck has taught at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont where she and her husband have had the honor of serving as the Co-Executive Directors for the past eleven years. Since 2015, Ms. Buck has served as Assistant Professor of Violin and Head of Chamber Music at SUNY Purchase. Ms. Buck was a Starling Scholarship recipient at the Juilliard School as a student of Dorothy DeLay. She earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Southern California where she studied with Robert Lipsett, and was awarded the Jascha Heifetz Violin Scholarship.

Photo by Aestheticize Media

A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, the pianist Orli Shaham is hailed by critics on four continents. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist,” The Chicago Tribune referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean,” and London’s Guardian said Ms. Shaham’s playing at the Proms was “perfection.”

Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series Café Ludwig in California since 2007 and was Artist in Residence at Vancouver Symphony (USA) in 2022-2024.

Highlights of Ms. Shaham’s 2025-2026 concert season include Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto at the Classical Tahoe Festival, performances of Light Forming by David Robertson with St. Louis and Nashville symphonies, and the premiere of a concerto for violin and piano by Reena Esmail she commissioned with her brother, the violinist Gil Shaham, with the National and Virginia symphonies.

In 2026, Orli Shaham releases an album of American chamber music with members of the Pacific Symphony, including works by Margaret Brouwer, Avner Dorman, Reena Esmail and Viet Cuong. Her 2024 box set of the complete sonatas by Mozart received accolades worldwide. Ms. Shaham’s discography also includes her acclaimed solo album, Brahms Inspired; John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music with the pianist Marc-André Hamelin and the San Francisco Symphony, with the composer conducting; and American Grace, featuring Steven Mackey’s Stumble to Grace, written for her, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Orli Shaham is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kaufman Music Center. She is a major presence on public radio as Co-Host and Creative for NPR’s From the Top and was host of Dial-a-Musician, a radio feature series she created. She is regularly featured on the popular music education platform Tonebase, including masterclasses on Mozart’s piano sonatas and a lecture-performance about Clara Schumann.

Orli Shaham is a Steinway Artist.

photo Christian Steiner