Violinist Paul Primus grew up in the Chicago and Cleveland areas, before attending Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in music from UWM. Paul joined the Denver Symphony in 1984, and was Principal Second Violinist from 1985 till 2024. He is now playing section violin, rotating between first and second violin. He coordinated the chamber music program at Denver School of the Arts from 2013-2018. Paul is a founding member of the Colorado Chamber Players, which he and his wife Barbara Hamilton began in 1993. He performs approximately 30 concerts a year with the CCP, and can be heard frequently on Colorado Public Radio. Mr. Primus has performed numerous unaccompanied violin recitals over the years, most memorably one of the complete Paganini Caprices in 1986. Paul is an active teacher in the Denver area and has also taught and performed at Eastern Music Festival, Rocky Ridge, and the Lamont Pre-College Academy at DU. He is a frequent coach for the DYAO.
As a harpsichordist, Paul has attended the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Oberlin Baroque Institute, and has studied with Charlotte Neidiger, Frank Nowell, Joe Gascho, and currently studies with Robert Hill at CU/Boulder School of Music. He performs on a double manual French model.