Dorothy Kitchen: Durham Musician and Educator Extraordinaire

Dorothy Kitchen: Durham Musician and Educator Extraordinaire. . Born August 27, 1937, in Dayton, Ohio, Dorothy Kitchen moved to Durham in 1962 and lived five blocks away from this marker with her husband, Joe, and children, Nick and Julie. , With an extensive background in violin and chamber studies, Kitchen is passionate about her mission to spread music instruction and appreciation to children from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Her dedication to that mission has become legendary. , Kitchen co-founded the Duke University String School (DUSS) in 1967 and served for nearly five decades as director of DUSS and conductor of the DUSS Youth Symphony Orchestra. Today DUSS offers strings instruction, orchestras and a chamber music program to more than 250 students, ages five to 18, many on scholarship. , During her teaching career, Kitchen conducted master classes at area colleges and taught in Haiti and Lima, Peru. She was the Associate Concertmaster for the Greensboro Symphony. In Durham, she held leadership positions in the St. Stephen's Concert Series, the Durham Music Teachers Association and the Duke Symphony Orchestra. , Author of a book for beginning violinists as well as music articles for the Durham Herald-Sun and CVNC, Kitchen has been honored as Teacher of the Year, had a day named for her by the City of Durham and received the Ela Fountain Pratt Lifetime Award for Service to Music. In addition, Kitchen received the Durham Symphony's Award for Lifetime Service to Music and the N.C. Symphony's Maxine Swalin Outstanding Music Educator Award. , Of all her accomplishments, Kitchen is proudest of the String School she co-founded. Kitchen retired as the Director of DUSS on April 26, 2014. She continues to give private lessons out of her home to students ranging from five to 70 years old. , [Captions (top to bottom) , . Dorothy Kitchen, Duke Gardens, 2012 , . DUSS Youth Symphony Orchestra Performance, 2011 , . Performing at the White House, 1991