Vera Parkin has enjoyed an active and varied career as a performer and pedagogue in the St. Louis area.  Educated at Northwestern University, Southern Illinois University, and Washington University, her teachers have included Marion Lampe, Gui Mombaerts, Barbara J. Wells, Ruth Slenczynska and Seth Carlin.  

She has performed as a keyboardist with the St. Louis Symphony since 1986, and is a frequent participant in the orchestra’s Community Partnerships outreach concerts.  She was formerly a member of the New Music Ensemble, Synchronia, and was a regular performer on the St. Louis Symphony’s Discovery Series. She toured through Europe in the summer of 2006, performing in Austria, Germany, Italy and The Czech Republic.

Ms. Parkin  was the founding director of the Preparatory Program for Gifted Students  at the Community Music School of Webster University, and continues as the program’s Artistic Director.  She is involved in Suzuki string education, having served as accompanist for John Kendall, the first American to bring the Suzuki method to America. Additionally, Vera serves as an adjunct faculty and staff accompanist at Webster University and the University of Missouri –St. Louis. During the summer months, she is the Director of Student Life and a teaching artist at the Innsbrook Institute and Festival.

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