Cynthia Burton

On Stage

A native of Banner Elk, North Carolina, violinist Cynthia Burton joined the First Violin Section of the Charlotte Symphony in September 2023. She was previously a member of the Louisville Orchestra (2020-23), and of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (2018-21). In recent years, Cynthia has spent her summers performing with the Lakes Area Music Festival, Britt Festival Orchestra, and Charlottesville Opera. Additionally, she has performed in the United States and Europe with ensembles including the North Carolina Symphony, Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and the Britten Pears Orchestra. 

Cynthia is an alumna of New World Symphony, a prestigious orchestral fellowship program under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. During her fellowship, she appeared in a wide variety of principal and small ensemble roles, and also participated as a coach in NWS’s exchange program at the Academia Filarmonica de Medellin in Colombia. 

Prior to her appointment as a New World Symphony fellow, she earned a Master of Music degree from San Francisco Conservatory and freelanced in the Bay Area, performing with the California Symphony, Marin Symphony, and One Found Sound, a conductorless, musician-run chamber orchestra. She also taught in the Community Programs Division of the Crowden School in Berkeley. Cynthia received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as part of the inaugural class of Kenan Music Scholars, where she developed an interest in historically informed performance practice studying with Richard Luby. Other significant mentors include Dan Carlson, Wei He, Mark Sokol, and David Updegraff. In her free time, Cynthia enjoys hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains or wherever her travels take her.