The 67-year-old performed with the Houston Symphony for almost four decades and was a keen violin tutor
US violinist Marina Brubaker died on 3 March 2026 at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer. For more than 37 years she was a first violinist with the Houston Symphony, and also performed frequently with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Born in 1958, in Tucson, AZ, Brubaker initially studied violin and piano. She studied at Wichita State University and Yale University. She performed with the Fort Worth Symphony and Grand Rapids Symphony before joining the Houston Symphony in 1988. She also played at the Grand Teton Music Festival and was a keen violin tutor.
‘Marina’s musical and personal legacy of devotion, generosity, and passion lives on in her students, friends, colleagues, family, and in the hearts of countless audience members whose lives she touched with her music,’ the Houston Symphony said in a statement on social media. ‘During her long Houston Symphony career, she played under Music Directors Christoph Eschenbach, Hans Graf, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and Juraj Valčuha, and served during multiple periods as Acting Assistant Concertmaster in the orchestra.’
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