Patrick Connolly

Patrick Connolly began violin at age three with his mother, Denise Connolly, and by age four, he began lessons with Edward Kreitman at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. At age fourteen, he started studying with Thomas Wermuth.  Patrick then received his Bachelor of Music Degree with Brian Lewis at the University of Texas at Austin. He was awarded a Starling Distinguished Foundation Violinist scholarship, sponsored through the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation. With this scholarship, he was able to have lessons with a few outstanding violinists, such as Cho-Liang Lin, Katie Lansdale, Chaz Wetherbee, Giora Schmidt, Bill Preucil, and David Kim. At UT, he also had frequent coachings with world renowned collaborative pianist, Anne Epperson. For two years, Patrick was active in chamber music, where he was able to work with members of the Miró Quartet, as well as Anton Nel, Colette Valentine, and Greg Allen.  Patrick played with the Joffrey Ballet Company during his time in Austin, and also performed in the orchestra for the Menuhin Violin Competition soloists in 2014. Patrick’s orchestral opportunities have ranged from playing with the Temple Symphony, Rockford Symphony, and the Round Rock Symphony. In 2018, Patrick graduated with a Masters in Violin Performance studying with Almita Vamos.  During his Master’s Degree, he furthered his orchestral studies with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Assistant Concert Master, David Taylor.  He also attended Aria Music Festival in the summer of 2015, where he focused on solo performances and virtuosic playing.  

Patrick has been teaching violin since high school and has consistently held a studio of over 20 students. He currently is the Assistant Artist Teacher and the Administrative Director for the Western Springs School of Talent Education and Naperville Suzuki School. He works with the advanced students at Western Springs and Naperville. One of his other hats is being the assistant director for the Chicago Consort, where he works along side his former teacher, Thomas Wermuth. He has lead Chicago Consort on tours in Iceland and Sweden. He loves working and helping the school that started his career, and thoroughly enjoys teaching teenagers. 

Patrick has traveled all over the world with his violin to perform and continue his studies to places like Peru, Spain, Puerto Rico, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New York, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana. During his time in high school, he was also first violin in the Maud Powell String Quartet. With the Maud Powell Quartet, he had the opportunity to work with Rachel Barton-Pine, Brant Taylor, members of the Pacifica Quartet, Roland Vamos, Isabella Lippi, and Matthew Agnew. During his summers, he would attend the Preludio program, ran by Thomas and Allegra Wermuth at the Ithaca Suzuki Institute, and was awarded the Lawrence Wermuth Scholarship to help him attend for one year.

In his free time, Patrick loves spending time with his family, friends, dog, and his wife, Emily Connolly. He also loves anything that involves sports.  He loves to play basketball, hockey, and soccer, and he is a loyal supporter for his favorite Chicago teams!