About
Douglas Temples is a chamber, orchestral and new music performer fluent on both the viola and violin. As a Chamber Musician and advocate for new music, he has performed across the United States including concerts at the Spoleto Music Festival, The American Viola Society Festival, the Southeastern Composers Symposium, and as guest violist with the Durward Contemporary Music Ensemble. Temples is the co-founder and director of the “...and friends” chamber ensemble currently on its fourth season in Bloomington-Normal, Il.
As an orchestral musician, Temples has performed extensively throughout the United States. He has played with The Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Peoria Symphony, the Greenville Symphony, the Augusta Symphony (GA) as well as Sinfonia da Camera where he held a section viola position for five seasons. He has also served as principal viola of the NorCal Music Festival Orchestra, Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Midwest Institute of Opera Orchestra. in 2023, he was appointed to the viola section of the South Carolina Philharmonic after a successful audition where he previously served as a substitute for three seasons.
A dedicated educator, Douglas currently maintains a private studio in Columbia, SC. Before relocating to Columbia, he held artist faculty positions at the Augusta University Conservatory Program and Carolina Academy of Music. Previously he was on faculty at the Conservatory of Central Illinois. He is also the co-director of the Carolina Academy of Music Winter and Summer Chamber Music Workshops. Outside of teaching private lessons, Temples was the director of the 2020 Itsy Arts Program, a program connecting music and emotions sponsored by the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. He has been a guest clinician at for the Oldham County Arts Center (KY), Vivace Orchestra Camp (GA), Youth Music Illinois, SC Philharmonic Youth Orchestras, USC String Project, and the SC Governor’s School for the Arts. Temples presented at the American Viola Society Festival in Los Angeles “Three Violists and a Skillet: the alternative to a summer music festival” alongside two colleagues outlining their summer plans to hold themselves accountable outside of a structured environment. Douglas is a Suzuki trained instructor and draws inspiration from pedagogues such as Mimi Zweig, Paul Rolland, and Karen Tuttle.
Temples earned his Bachelor of Music as an honors student from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, studying under Hillary Herndon. He received his Masters of Music from Illinois State University where he was a graduate assistant studying with professor Dr. Katherine Lewis. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of South Carolina as teaching assistant to Dr. Daniel Sweaney. Other mentors include Dr. Glenn Block (Conducting), Katie Dey, and Dr. Laura Tomlin.
When not teaching or performing, Douglas enjoys cooking for friends, reading a book, writing his blog on kitchen adventures, or exploring different parts of the word with his favorite beagle good boy, Tucker.