Wes Dyring (Deer-ing) joined the Seattle Symphony viola section in 1986, after serving as principal violist and soloist with the Orquesta Filarmónica of Santiago, Chile. He has also been a member of the Columbus Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and Aspen Festival orchestras.
Wes composed his first piece when he was nine, and he has been creating scores ever since. His numerous transcriptions, arrangements and orchestrations encompass five hundred years of music and include a wide diversity of composers, styles and cultures. He has had a long-term interest in world music and holds a special love for the music of Latin America. His work has come to focus on intercultural collaborations.
Wes’ intense desire to be a musician was sparked at the age of seven when he attended a recital of violin virtuoso Michael Rabin. A few months after, he joyfully began his studies on piano, later adding violin. He has learned to play many other instruments as well, including recorder, harpsichord, viola da gamba, classical, acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, tiple colombiano, Mexican requinto and vihuela, and several Latin percussion instruments.
As a student of Francis Tursi, Wes earned a Master of Music and Performer’s Certificate in Viola from the Eastman School of Music. He did his undergraduate studies at Michigan State University, receiving a Bachelor of Music in Viola as a student of Lyman Bodman, and also studied viola with Karen Tuttle at the Aspen Music School. His violin teachers have included Lyman Bodman, Walter Verdehr and Alfio Pignotti.
Wes received training in violin pedagogy from Lyman Bodman, in large part based upon principles of violin playing and teaching espoused by the great Ivan Galamian. During his decades of teaching violin and viola, Wes has developed this solid foundation into something very much his own. He is delighted to be able to share his knowledge, skills and perspectives with students who come to him for instruction.
Wes and Alex in Valencia, Spain
Wes is a strong proponent of intercultural appreciation and belongs to a very diverse family. His mother grew up in South Africa and Tanzania, and his father lived in Finland, Malaysia and New Zealand. Wes is fluent in Spanish, having spoken it for nearly forty years, and speaks it at home with his Colombian wife Luz Marina, an industrial engineer who did her graduate studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. Their son Alex Dyring is a professional upright and electric bassist and guitarist, and Berklee College of Music graduate.
Wes received his nickname “Wesito” from his Colombian brother-in-law Fernando—loving the Spanish play on words and good-natured jibe. Wes is an active member of the Bahá’í Faith and serves on the governing council of the Bahá’ís of Lynnwood, WA. He is also Assistant Director of Uniting Hearts Networking Institute and the Unity Museum in addition to serving on their Board of Directors. His sport and fitness activities include Olympic archery, cycling, walking, stair climbing, and weight and resistance training. He has also pursued swimming, cross-country skiing, canoeing, frisbee, ping-pong, and horseback riding.
“The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.” –‘Abdu’l-Bahá