- Instrument First Violins
Brazilian born violinist Rômulo Sprung is an established teacher and performer in the Twin Cities area, where he moved in 2017 to pursue his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Minnesota, studying with famed violin pedagogue Sally O’Reilly.
Prior to winning his audition with the Des Moines Symphony, Rômulo has performed regularly with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. He was the concertmaster of the Journey North Opera Company for the production of “Lucretia,” by Benjamin Britten, which was named one of the Best 10 Classical Concerts in Minnesota in 2019, by the Star Tribune. He has also had the opportunity to work with renowned musicians and conductors, including Kurt Mazur, Manfred Honeck, Osmo Vänskä, Shlomo Mintz, Sarah Chang, Garrick Ohlsson, and has performed with non-classical musicians and groups such as Michael Bolton, and Celtic Woman.
Rômulo started violin lessons through the Suzuki Method at the age of nine. At thirteen, he won his first national competition in Brazil for young musicians, which sparked his desire to pursue a career as a professional violinist. After completing his undergraduate studies with violin pedagogue Dr. Fredi Gerling, Rômulo moved to the United States to pursue his Master’s Degree at Duquesne University as a student of Charles Stegeman, Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Opera. Rômulo also holds a Performance Diploma from Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he studied with Yuan-Qing Yu, Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has also been fortunate to perform in master classes for Shlomo Mintz, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Andres Cardenés, Miriam Fried, and Shmuel Ashkenazi.
When Rômulo is not busy teaching or performing, he enjoys cooking, brewing espressos, exploring local breweries, and spending time with his wife, Morgan, and their two cats, Louie and Hubert.
