Philip Marten

Philip Marten previously served as first assistant concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, acting associate concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony, and a section member of the Kansas City Symphony. He has also appeared as guest concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony and the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and has been on faculty at Brevard Music Center since 2025. 

An active chamber musician, Marten is a founding member of the Red Door Quartet, which works to bring classical music and creative programming to various communities and schools in the Cincinnati area. He also firmly believes in the importance of community engagement. During his time in Cincinnati, he has been active with local organizations such as concertnova, The Response Project, Ascent Music, and is the founder and curator for Red Door Chamber Music. He has participated in many other collaborative projects alongside David Chan, Cho-Liang Lin, Anthony McGill, Desmond Hoebig, Benny Kim, Scott Lee, Masumi Rostad, and Jon Kimura Parker. As a soloist, he has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and the San Diego Youth Symphony. 

Earlier in his career, Marten was concertmaster of the American Youth Symphony, USC Thornton Symphony, and Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra. He was a founding member of several notable chamber ensembles, including the Rodin Trio, which earned a fellowship residency at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, and the Fairway Quartet, which won fellowships to the Juilliard String Quartet Program, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and McGill International String Quartet Academy. Other festivals attended include Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall, Aspen Music Festival and School, Meadowmount School of Music, and Brevard Music Festival. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Cho-Liang Lin and spent a year at the University of Southern California studying with Glenn Dicterow. 

In his spare time, Marten enjoys a keen interest in the sociology of music, composing, occasionally playing video games, and family life with his wife and two children.