Mary Papoulis
VIOLIN
Mary Papoulis moved from New York in 1990 to join the Great Falls community as violinist with the Cascade Quartet and
co-concertmaster of the Great Falls Symphony.
She continues to enjoy sharing her love of the violin literature with the Great Falls Symphony to this day. Her solo appearances include the Mendelssohn concerto, Lalo concerto, Bach double violin concerto and concerto for violin and oboe, Vivaldi concerto for violin and cello, Haydn symphony concertante for violin, cello, horn and oboe, Elgar Introduction and Allegro for string quartet and string orchestra, and the scherzo from Schubert’s cello quintet with Yo-Yo Ma.
Mary feels privileged to have had the opportunity to share so much of the great vast literature for string quartet with the Great Falls community, the state of Montana and beyond.
In over three decades, her appearances in rural school houses to major concert halls have touched thousands of hearts through music.
Mary also loves to work with the youth through private violin teaching, masterclasses, and chamber coaching. In addition to the Great Falls Youth Orchestra, she has adjudicated at state and district Montana festivals, taught at the Olympic Music Festival in Washington, the Summer Youth Orchestra Workshop in Bozeman, and a chamber music workshop with the Cascade and Ying Quartets in Great Falls.
Mary has a creative performance style that has taken her all over the world, and to all corners of Montana. She has toured with the String Orchestra of the Rockies and also performed with numerous festivals, including the Spoleto and Assisi Performing Arts Festival in Italy, Big Sky Classical Music Festival, Amadeus Festival, Big Sky Alive contemporary music festival, and appeared as soloist with Solero Flamenco in the Houston Spanish& Flamenco Festival.
She holds a DMA from SUNY Stony Brook, MM from Eastman, and BM from Indiana University. She studied baroque violin with Stanley Riche and jazz violin with the Turtle Island String Quartet.
Mary is a certified Kripalu yoga instructor, Tamalpa Life Arts Process practitioner and teacher of Nia Technique. She is the proud mother of two sons. She intertwines music into everything in her life, and plays often outside of the orchestra and Quartet. She enjoys performing as half of a duo with Richard Matoon playing a kaleidoscope of genres in the community, at fairs, and private parties.
Mary finds freedom in improvisation and the creative magic that happens when you let go of the structure of sheet music. Mary thrives on connecting with her community, valuing the transformative power of art and its ability to go beyond words.
