William Polk

Violinist William Polk joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in October 2007. He previously served as associate principal second violin of the Minnesota Orchestra beginning in 2005. Prior to that he was guest principal second violin of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed as an orchestral musician with the San Francisco Symphony and the Saint Louis Symphony. 

Mr. Polk participated as a chamber musician in the Mainly Mozart Summer Festival in San Diego, California, in 2006, and the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society in Madison, Wisconsin. In January 2007 he and his wife, Kerri Ryan, now assistant principal viola of The Philadelphia Orchestra, performed as soloists in Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante with the Minnesota Orchestra. Together, they founded and performed with the Minneapolis Quartet from 2002 to 2007, and they won a McKnight Artist Fellowship in 2006.  

Mr. Polk attended Louisiana State University and the University of Minnesota, and his teachers have included Sally O’Reilly and Camilla Wicks.