Dr. Paul Vance

Paul Vance is a Professor of Music at Winona State University, where he teaches cello, double bass, and music history. He is also Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra, a university/community ensemble, and of the WSU String Ensemble. Dr. Vance joined the faculty of music at Winona State University in 1996. Prior to that he was Assistant Professor of Cello and Director of Orchestral Activities at Eastern Kentucky University and at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. He has taught cello adjunctively at the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Andrews University (Berrien Springs, MI), and at Moorhead (MN) State University.

Dr. Vance has devoted a great deal of time and energy to projects for the developing musician. He has conducted and helped organize orchestra concerts for young audiences in Minnesota and Kentucky. From 1994 through 1996 he was Orchestra Director and Cello Instructor for Eastern Kentucky University's Stephen Collins Foster Summer Music Camp, and from 1986 to 1988 he served as Cello Instructor and Director of String Chamber Music for the Minnesota Arts Experience, hosted by Moorhead State University. Vance was Cello Section Coach for the 1999 and 2000 Minnesota All-State Orchestras and was Selection and Seating Judge for the 1994 and 1995 Kentucky All-State Orchestras. From 1996 to 2000 he was Co-Artistic Director of Rochester's Southeastern Minnesota Youth Orchestras. He has taught cello at the preparatory level at Trollwood Performing Arts Camp in Fargo, ND, and at the Community School of the Arts in Benton Harbor, MI.

Vance has been an active member of several professional organizations. He is a charter member of the Wisconsin Cello Society and has served on the Society’s Board of Directors. In1996 Dr. Vance was elected President of the Kentucky chapter of the American String Teachers Association. He has adjudicated ASTA events in Kentucky, Minnesota, and Texas, and Music Educators National Conference events in Kentucky, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. He was a Judge for the Finals of the Music Teachers National Association String Competition in 2000.

An active soloist and chamber music player, Dr. Vance has performed in recital in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin. He has been cellist of the Stephen F. Austin Faculty Trio, the Eastern Kentucky University Faculty Trio and Faculty String Quartet, the Moorhead State University Faculty Baroque Ensemble, and has performed in violin/cello duo with his wife, violinist Natalie Filipovich. Vance also performed as cellist of Milwaukee's highly acclaimed Sinfonia Concertante ensemble.

Paul Vance is a seasoned orchestral cellist who has been Principal Cellist of the Rochester (MN) Orchestra since 1997. He has also served as Principal Cellist of the Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera Company Orchestra, and of Milwaukee’s “Music Under the Stars” Orchestra for the summer pops series at Washington Park. In addition, he has been a section cellist in the Lexington (KY) Philharmonic Orchestra, the Fort Wayne (IN) Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the professional core of the South Bend (IN) Symphony Orchestra. In recent months he has appeared as cellist in performances by the Minnetonka Choral Society, the Winona Oratorio Chorus, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Choral Union, and Rochester’s Choral Arts Society.

Vance holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Cello Performance from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Music and Stringed Instruments from Moorhead (MN) State College. His cello teachers have been Camilla Heller, Robert Jamieson, Jerome Jelinek, and Wolfgang Laufer. He has had master classes and additional coaching with Pierre Fournier, Lynn Harrell, Irene Sharp, and Janos Starker.