About.
Phoebe Gelzer-Govatos, modern and historical violinist, holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance, plays with a number of regional orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout southeast Michigan, including the Ann Arbor, Lansing, and Kalamazoo Symphonies, and holds the principal second violin chair in the Adrian Symphony.
With a niche in historically-informed performance, Ms. Gelzer-Govatos is a founding member of period instrument groups Ensemble Affect and l’Invenzione, and has performed with a number of others, including the Indianapolis and Atlanta Baroque Orchestras, Louisville’s Bourbon Baroque, Kalamazoo-based Early Music Michigan, the Michigan Bach Collective, and Tonos, which specializes in baroque music of Latin America.
Recent season highlights include performances at the 2026 Bloomington (Indiana) and Berkeley (California) Early Music Festivals. Additionally, she served on the faculty for the 2026 Bloomington Early Music Immersion camp for middle and high school students, and was principal guest artist for the HSCA Summer Strings Festival in Hillsdale, Michigan.
In addition to her life as a performer, Phoebe is a frequent guest artist and clinician with early music ensembles at the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University, and has been invited to lead workshops and masterclasses in historical style and technique at various other institutions, including the Bowling Green State and Youngstown State universities.
Phoebe holds degrees from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, respectively. Her principal teachers include Igor Markstein, Alvaro Gomez, and Routa Kroumovitch.
At home in Ann Arbor, Phoebe maintains a private violin and viola studio, coaches orchestral sectionals and chamber music at area high schools, and likes to involve herself in creative endeavors of all kinds.
