Violinist Hilary Walther Cumming teaches at the University at Albany and performs as the violinist in the Capital Trio with pianist Duncan Cumming and cellist Şölen Dikener. Before moving to New York, she served as concertmaster of the Cape Cod Sinfonietta and the Andover Chamber Orchestra; she has been heard as soloist with these ensembles as well as with the Reading Symphony, Concord Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A versatile artist, she is comfortable in many styles including classical, baroque, and Irish traditional music.
Ms. Cumming graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, where she studied with Gerardo Ribeiro. In 1991, she moved to Bloomington, Indiana, and earned a Master of Violin Performance degree under the tutelage of Franco Gulli, modern violin, and Stanley Ritchie, baroque violin. Upon graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright grant, and she spent the next year in Copenhagen, Denmark, studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music with Peder Elbaek and Marta Libalova. During this time, she traveled bi-monthly to Paris for lessons with Sylvie Gazeau and Nell Gotkovsky.
Ms. Cumming has participated in concerts from South America to the former Soviet bloc and continues to be active in performances across the Northeast USA. She has recorded primarily with the ATHELAS Ensemble (Denmark), the Abbott Trio, and the Coleridge Ensemble, among others. Her most recent compact disc recording, made in August 2008 with the Musicians of the Old Post Road, is now available from Meridien Records.