David Yang, viola
Biography
David Yang is one of America’s most versatile musicians, a virtuoso violist also known for commissioning music, coaching chamber music at the University level, running his own chamber music festival, storytelling, and composition. As a high school student, David used to fall asleep with a string quartet score by his pillow and an lp spinning away on the turntable. Now, admired for his intensity, honesty of musical expression, and passionate communication, David has been heard throughout North America and Europe in collaboration with members of the Audubon, Avalon, Bernini, Borromeo, Brentano, Bronte, Cassatt, Corigliano, Daedulus, Flux, Lark, Miro, Muir, Pro Arte and Tokyo String Quartets and Apple Hill Chamber Players, Trio Pamela Frank, Eliot Fisk and Wendy Warner. He is also the recent recipient of an artist fellowship from the Independence Foundation in Philadelphia, PA awarded to a small number of “exceptional artists” in the region.Recent concert highlights include performances of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola and orchestra in Italy, Canada and Wales along with trio recitals in Italy, the UK and throughout the Northeast USA.
As an active advocate of new music he has premiered dozens of works in the last few years including the commissioning of new works, (many with the assistance of grants from the American Composers Forum) by composers Matthew Barnson, Robert Capanna, Daniel Colson, Daniel Dorff, Noah Farber, Peter Gilbert, Jeremy Gill, Anne Latham Kerzner, David Laganella, David Ludwig, Roberto Pace, Jonathan Robert Pieslak, Daniel Schlossberg, Eric Sessler, Kile Smith, Emiliano Pardo Tristan, Orianna Webb, Anna Weesner, Andrew Waggoner, Joshua Yang and Sharon Zhu.He is currently Artistic Director of the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival near Boston, MA .
In his role as leader of the Philadelphia-based storytelling music troupe Auricolae, he has developed a residency program to foster the creation of new compositions by public school students in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Auricolae is a rostered ensemblefor the non-profit presenting organization “Musicopia” in addition to the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts. David is also a member of Poor Richard’s String Quartet (currently in residence at Ben Franklin’s parish, historic Christ Church in Olde City, Philadelphia) and the Italian-based string trio Ensemble Epomeo, David also founded the Philadelphia Viola Society.Born and raised in New York City he studied with Martha Strongin Katz, Heidi Castleman, Karen Ritscher and Steve Wyrczynki and also has a Master’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He has studied with many of the finest string quartets today including the Amadeus, Colorado and Vermeer String Quartets and members of the American, Cleveland and Juilliard String Quartets with coaching by Josef Gingold, Karen Tuttle, Julius Levine, Robert Mann and Felix Galimir.Director of Chamber Music at the University of Pennsylvania and the Main Line Chamber Music Seminar, he also coaches at Swarthmore College and Settlement Music School in Philadelphia.
He now lives in South Philadelphia with his two daughters, Eliana Razzino and Alessandra Pierson Yang. When not practicing viola and spending time with his daughters, he enjoys following professional cycling, swimming, and cooking. David’s father is the eminent landscape photographer John Yang and his mother, Linda Gureasko Yang, was a reporter for the New York Times. His various other pursuits have led him over the years to work as a bicycle messenger in Manhattan, a fossil hunter in the Utah desert, a bartender in New York and a carpenter.He plays on a viola made by the viola da gamba maker Johannes Tielka in 1670 and originally owned by Brahms’ friend Joseph Joachim. He is a member of the Philadelphia Musical Trust Fund Society.
