John Uth ( pronounced 'youth' ) was born September 15,1961 in Park Ridge, Illinois. His approach to music has been along a somewhat long and indirect path. At the age of eighteen, he began his studies in Electrical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology ( IIT ). That same year, Mr. Uth purchased his first violin and began taking private music lessons. By the time he had earned his Bachelor of Science degree, he was already playing violin in community orchestras.
Although he came to love classical music at an early age, Mr. Uth's appreciation grew even deeper through active participation with live ensembles and he was soon torn between his passions for music and science. He continued graduate work in Electrical Engineering at IIT completing his Masters Degree in spite of his habit of sneaking away from his research duties in order to take private lessons in violin, composition, theory and orchestration at a variety of local schools.
After leaving college, Mr. Uth switched careers from engineering to retail management and eventually found a position in music school administration. His most recent endeavor has been the co-founding of the Orchestra of St. Vincent's in Chicago and he devotes the remainder of his free time to playing violin and composing. He has written numerous works for orchestra and chamber ensemble some of which have received multiple performances. He currently resides in Des Plaines, Illinois with his lovely soul-mate Colleen and their musically tolerant cat 'Peaches'.
John Uth may be contacted at johnuth@lycos.com