Welcome to www.geneandbeth.com! This is the personal family website of Eugene Buck and Elizabeth Oakes.
Eugene Buck and Elizabeth Oakes were married in June 1999 in Austin, Texas. Shortly after being married, the couple moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where Beth’s quartet (Maia Quartet) was offered a position at the University of Iowa as the quartet-in-residence at the School of Music. Eugene landed a job in college administration, working in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office. In this position, Eugene oversees facilities and space issues for the University’s largest college.
Beth and Eugene have two children. Emily was born in December 2000 and Ethan in February 2003. They currently attend Weber Elementary School in Iowa City. Emily has played violin since the age of four and learned how to play the double bass as part of the school music curriculum last year. She is planning on playing flute at school this year, in addition to continuing with the violin. Ethan has played piano since the age of five. Ethan has been involved in competitive gymnastics, competing at the 4 and 5 team levels of USA Gymnastics the last two years. He is planning on ending his gymnastics career this year to focus on other athletic endeavors, including baseball.
Beth is a professional violist and a founding member of the Maia Quartet. A native of Austin, Texas, she studied viola at the Oberlin Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Peabody Conservatory and the Juilliard School. As part of the Maia Quartet, she has lived in Ohio, New York, Baltimore, Lafayette (LA) and Iowa City.
Eugene is a native of Oakland, California. He studied music (trombone) and economics at Stanford University and earned an MBA (formerly a Master’s of Public and Private Management) at the Yale School of Management. He has worked primarily in the fields of nonprofit arts and higher education, having worked at the Aspen Music Festival, Southern Methodist University Conservatory, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Iowa.
The family currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa with a five-year old Beagle mix named Ginger, who was adopted from the Iowa City Animal Shelter in March 2011.