Roland Jones spent 15 years as a violinist with the Denver — now Colorado — Symphony, but he was better known to hundreds of students as a teacher.
Jones, who had suffered from various illnesses, died Jan. 16 at St. Joseph Hospital. He was 78.
A service for him is planned at 3 p.m. Feb. 5 at Grace United Methodist Church, 4905 E. Yale Ave.
String quartets will play at the service.
“I spent 18 years in his house waiting while my daughters took lessons,” said Jeri Burnside of Littleton.
Her daughters, Kristin Reeves and Natalie Perkins, both of whom live in South Jordan, Utah, continued on with music well beyond those weekly lessons.
Amy Russell of Denver, who started the violin at age 4, said Jones “was wonderfully encouraging. He was patient and motivating, especially for recitals and auditions.”
Jones often organized small groups of string student players to perform at various events, said Russell, who studied violin in college and still plays for small groups.
He also composed cadenzas for Mozart’s violin concertos. The cadenzas, either written or improvised, are ornamental parts done by the soloist (vocal or instrumental) that show off the virtuosity of the performer.
Jones joined other string players in “freelance” playing for special events and filling in for players in other groups, such as the Denver Chamber Orchestra, his wife, Carol, said.
He continued teaching and playing almost constantly, usually having 35 students at a time.
“He had a fantastically positive spirit and so many interests,” said Bill Hill, chief tympanist with the symphony.
His and Jones’ paths didn’t cross in the symphony but in art projects.
Jones did abstract oils, often in bright colors, as well as “old buildings, flowers and instruments, such as the violin and cello,” his wife said.
Roland Jones was born in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Dec. 16, 1932, and started playing violin at the age of 9.
He had a bone problem that suppressed his growth to 4 feet 9 inches, and he didn’t have a collarbone, “which is not easy for a violinist,” his wife said.
Because of his physical problems, “doctors didn’t expect him to live a year, and then it was 12 years and then 30,” recalled his wife.
Jones studied music at the Juilliard School and Columbia University in New York and earned his degree at the University of Michigan.
He came to Denver in 1960 to play with the Denver Symphony, where he stayed until 1975.
He met Carol Day at a church singles’ group, and they married on Sept. 20, 1969. They had no children.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his sister, Hannah Chamberlin of Muscatine, Iowa.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
