Guest Artists

Grammy-nominated violinist, Robert McDuffie, enjoys a dynamic and multifaceted career. While appearing as soloist with the world’s foremost orchestras, he has also shared the stage with Chuck Leavell and the late Gregg Allman in Midnight Rider and with actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Philip Glass dedicated his Second Violin Concerto, The American Four Seasons, to Mr. McDuffie. Mike Mills of the iconic band R.E.M. has composed a Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra for him. Robert McDuffie is the founder of both the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in his native city of Macon, Georgia. Mr. McDuffie holds the Robert McDuffie Violin Faculty Chair at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Robert McDuffie has appeared as soloist with most of the major orchestras of the world. He gave the world premiere of Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 2, The American Four Seasons with the Toronto Symphony and completed a thirty-city U.S. tour with the Venice Baroque Orchestra, pairing the Glass Four Seasons with the Vivaldi Four Seasons. The Mills Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra was also premiered with the Toronto Symphony, followed by performances at the Rome Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and a three-week tour of the U.S.

Robert McDuffie recorded The American Four Seasons with the London Philharmonic and Marin Alsop on Philip Glass’ Orange Mountain Music label. The Mike Mills Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra is also on the Orange Mountain Music label. His acclaimed Telarc and EMI recordings include the violin concertos of Mendelssohn, Bruch, Adams, Glass, Barber, Rózsa, Bernstein, William Schuman, and Viennese violin favorites. He has been profiled on NBC’s Today, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS’s Charlie Rose, A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts, and in the Wall Street Journal.

In 2017, he toured the U.S. with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, alternating the Barber Violin Concerto with the Glass Violin Concerto No.1. He returned to the Aspen Music Festival. Recent performances include first appearances in Auckland, New Zealand; the Orchestre National de Lille; the Bernstein Serenade with the Atlanta, Hawaii, and Virginia Symphonies; the Mills Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra with the Naples and Buffalo Symphonies; and the Glass Four Seasons along with the Mills Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony.

As founder of the Rome Chamber Music Festival, Robert McDuffie has been awarded the prestigious Premio Simpatia by the Mayor of Rome in recognition of his contribution to the city’s cultural life. He is also the founder of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in his hometown of Macon, Georgia, where he holds the Genelle and Mansfield Jennings Distinguished University Professor Chair. He plays a 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin, known as the “Ladenburg.” The instrument is owned by a limited partnership formed by Mr. McDuffie. He lives in New York City.

Margary McDuffie Whatley performs from coast to coast as a piano soloist and chamber musician. A native of Macon, Georgia, she has performed at the United States Supreme Court at the request of former Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun; at the World Congress Center in Atlanta for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony; and at the Georgia Governor’s Mansion with her brother, internationally acclaimed violinist Robert McDuffie. Concerto appearances include the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Macon Symphony Orchestra, Bremerton Symphony Orchestra, Chicago’s Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta’s DeKalb Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Butte Symphony. She has performed in Rome, Italy at the Rome Chamber Music Festival. With a strong interest in making classical music accessible to people of all ages and listening experiences, Margery Whatley has presented a series of outreach programs throughout cities in Georgia, California, Iowa and Illinois.

Margery Whatley received her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in piano performance at the University of Southern California where she studied with John Perry and was named the most outstanding piano doctoral graduate. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music where she studied with Frank Weinstock. She has also studied with George Lucktenberg, formerly of Converse College.

Margery, her husband Terry, and their twin daughters, Kendall and Lindsay, relocated to Birmingham, Alabama in July 2012, from Missoula, Montana. While in Missoula, Margery was featured on Montana Public Radio, served as a visiting professor/sabbatical replacement at the University of Montana and taught regularly at the University of Montana Summer Piano Camp. She also served as president of the String Orchestra of the Rockies Board of Directors and president of the Missoula Music Teachers Association. Prior to her five years in Montana, she was a tenured Associate Professor of Music at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where she also served as Chair of the Department of Music and where she received the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award. She has served on the boards of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Youth Orchestra, and she has also served as secretary of the Arts Council and vice president of the Huntsville Chamber Music Guild. She was also an active member of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild. From 2012-2013, she was a Visiting Associate Professor of Music at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She joined the music faculty at Birmingham-Southern College and Birmingham-Southern College Conservatory of Fine and Performing Arts in the fall of 2014. Active in several organizations, she was former president and vicepresident of the Birmingham Metro Music Forum and served on the executive board of the Alabama Music Teachers Association. She received the Steinway & Sons 2016 Top Teacher Award. In August of 2021, she has moved back to Missoula, where she has joined the music faculty at the University of Montana.

Margery Whatley’s four CDs, Piano Reflections – Encore Favorites; Margery McDuffie Whatley plays Bach, Haydn, Brahms and Ravel; From Mozart to Gershwin; and Piano Gems have received rave reviews from Fanfare Magazine and American Record Guide. These recordings are available at ArkivMusic, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, and other fine retailers and download services.

Margery McDuffie Whatley is a Steinway Artist. To visit the Steinway & Sons Artist roster go to: www.steinway.com/artists/margery-mcduffie-whatley. Her website can be viewed at www.margerymcduffiewhatley.com.