RJ McDowell

Adjunct Instructor of Music in String Methods & Music Literature

American violist RJ McDowell has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals in Europe, Asia and North America. As a chamber musician, McDowell has performed in music festivals such as LyricaFest, The Endless Summer Concert Series, Festival Connect, Techne and the Second Annual Tianjin Chamber Music Festival. At these festivals, McDowell had the opportunity to perform with Lee Allen, Wei He, Laura Bossert and members of the Shanghai String Quartet.

McDowell is passionate about performing new music and historical performance. He has performed Asian premieres of works by Gerald Cohen and Zhou Tian, and recently gave the world premiere of the viola version Han Ki Kim's Viola Sonata No. 3. He also has given the American premiere of Baroque composer Antoine Mahaut's Sinfonia VI with the UNT Baroque Orchestra. In the summer of 2023, he was invited by Paul Leenhouts to tour with Fantasmi as both a soloist and an ensemble member in the Czech Republic. As an artist, he wants to bring classical music to audiences that do not have easy access. He recently started an outreach program between the University of North Texas and public schools in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex.