Belgian native Raphaëlle Siemers is a solo, chamber and orchestral violinist, and a dedicated teacher to violinists both individually and in the classroom.

Raphaëlle recently earned her Master of Music in Music Education from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University (SMU) under the tutelage of Diane Kitzman. She received her Master of Music in Violin Performance from SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts studying with Emanuel Borok and received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, studying with Linda Wang and Mark Rush. Raphaëlle graduated from the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in 2013, where she studied for three years with Paul Sonner. 

Raphaëlle’s involvement with chamber music has grown to be of her biggest passions and was sparked early-on, through her participation in the Lugovier Quartet when she was 11 years of age. Raphaëlle has participated in master classes with Jeff Thayer, Jennifer Ross, the Escher String Quartet, David Perry, Claude Richard, and the Aspen Trio. Recently she performed the Schubert Cello Quintet with members of the Escher String Quartet at the Meadows School of the Arts. Her repertoire broadened through playing with many groups at Interlochen Arts Academy, as well as various summer festivals, such as: National Orchestral Institute, Texas Music Festival, and Harpa International Music Festival. 

Raphaëlle’s orchestral experience started with the Académie Internationale de Musique de Gérardmer symphonic orchestra under the direction of Barbara Odasso. Her orchestral playing grew with the Interlochen Orchestra under Dr. Duilio Dobrin, Dr. Octavio Más-Arocas, and David Holland. During her time at the Lamont School of Music, she played in the Lamont Symphony Orchestra under Dr. Lawrence Golan. Currently, Raphaëlle plays in the Meadows Symphony Orchestra under Dr. Paul Philips and is a substitute with many orchestras in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and Texas, including but not limited to: Dallas Chamber Symphony, San Angelo Symphony, and Plano Symphony Orchestra. 

Raphaelle’s passion for teaching has grown tremendously with studios in the Plano ISD, Richardson ISD and Denton ISD. She enjoys working as a clinician at schools in preparation for UIL and region auditions. Recently, Raphaelle started as a Teaching Artist for the Dallas Symphony’s Young Musicians Program, an El Sistema-inspired program. This program is new to the community and serves the south Dallas communities. As the Dallas Symphony says: “All Young Musicians students participate in classes on their chosen instrument, as well as ensembles, drum circle and choir, with a progressive curriculum that includes social and emotional learning.” (https://www.mydso.com/educate/young-musicians)

​Raphaëlle is currently an Associate Orchestra Director at Richardson High School, inspiring and building up our next generation. She was previously the Assistant Orchestra Director at Myers Middle School in Denton ISD.