Amanda Dykhouse · violin

Amanda Walvoord Dykhouse first studied the violin at age 5 with Ellen Rizner. She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and attended Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. In 1995 she graduated with highest honors from Rice University in Houston, Texas, with degrees in music and religious studies. She pursued further training at the Meadowmount School of Music and Music Academy of the West. Her primary teacher was Kathleen Winkler. She subsequently pursued a Master of Divinity at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, after which she served as a pastor in Holland for four years.

Amanda is currently the concertmaster of the Holland Symphony Orchestra and the principal second violin of the West Michigan Symphony in Muskegon. She performs frequently throughout the area, including several appearances as a soloist with the Holland Symphony Orchestra. She is a regular performer on Holland's Free@3 series (formerly the Herrick Library Chamber Music Series) and the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck. She maintains a violin studio in Holland, and her students have won numerous local awards, including the Holland Symphony Orchestra’s concerto competition. Amanda spends most of her time raising her three young children with her husband Greg.