Bethany Washington

Bethany plays violin, Denzel writes melodies. Together, they create beautiful music that touches the soul.

Bethany Washington holds Suzuki teacher training and taught as a Graduate Assistant while completing her Masters in Violin Performance at University of Northern Iowa. She received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, where she also earned a composition certificate. Her past teachers include Ross Winter, Amy Schwartz-Moretti, Robert McDuffie, David Kim, David Halen, Samantha George, and Benjamin Sung. Bethany performs with the Des Moines Symphony and Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony. She also recorded on the album Mike Mills: Concerto for Violin, Rock Band & Orchestra with the McDuffie Center for Strings Ensemble, released in 2016.

Composer Denzel Washington earned his M.M. in Music Composition from University of Northern Iowa and B.A. in Music from Mercer University and holds memberships in ASCAP and SCI. He studied under Dr. Jonathan Schwabe (UNI) and Dr. Christopher Schmitz (Mercer). He has participated in masterclasses with Drs. Zae Munn, Paul Salerni, and P. Q. Phan. His musical influences include Charles Ives, Edward Elgar, and Igor Stravinsky. In 2019, Washington placed first in the inaugural UNI Composition Contest and had his piece, American Pastorale, premiered by the Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra. His Utopy premiered at the North American Saxophone Alliance 2018 Biennial Conference.