Music has been an important part of Carol Davidson’s life since childhood. She
joined the viola section of the WSO in 1975 and has served as principal viola for
many years.  She began her studies on violin with Paul Paradise and Elizabeth
Titus in the Needham String Program, followed by the Longy School of Music,
NEC Prep and lessons with her favorite teacher, Leo Panasevich, a long-time
member of the BSO.  Carol taught violin and viola in the Natick Public Schools
and at her private studio before joining the The Rivers School Conservatory in
1993. Carol also studied viola with Michelle LaCourse at Boston University and
currently studies with Lisa Whitfield.

Carol attended the University of Uppsala (Sweden), Barnard College (BA in
music), and Boston University (MM in music education). She was an
administrator at the Rivers School in Weston, as well as a teacher of performing
music, music history and 20 th century European history, specifically the
Holocaust, until her retirement in 2019.

Playing chamber music is one of her greatest joys. Using bound sets of string
quartets and trios owned by her grandfather, Carol carries on the tradition of
music making, especially Hausmusik, from her mother’s family in Frankfurt am
Main, Germany.

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Playing in the WSO has been a passion for the past 45 years.  The joy of making music with such a wonderful group and performing for the enjoyment of others inspired Carol to join the board of directors in 2011 (having served on the board for several years during the 1980s, when the WSO moved to our current home at MassBay).  So far, during her tenure on the board,  Carol has spearheaded an outreach program, organizing small chamber  groups to perform at local libraries, senior-living residences, and other venues.  Carol looks forward to continuing the WSO’s collaboration with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and hopes to increase our connections with other non-profit organizations in the community.

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