viola

Violist Kate Vincent is originally from Perth, Western Australia. Her solo playing was recently described as having “vivid color and palpable verve” (Fanfare Magazine). Currently a resident of Los Angeles, in 2010 Ms. Vincent moved to the West Coast from Boston where she continues to maintain a presence as Artistic Director /Violist of the Firebird Ensemble, in addition to performing with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Ms. Vincent has served as Principal Violist with numerous East Coast ensembles including Opera Boston (2003-2011) Emmanuel Music, Opera Aperta and Opera Unlimited. As a chamber musician Ms. Vincent has appeared with the Apple Hill Chamber Players, Alea 3, Chameleon Ensemble, Callithumpian Consort, Dinosaur Annex, the Fromm Foundation players at Harvard, Quartet X, Winsor Music, the Aurea Ensemble and on Emmanuel Music's Chamber Series. In Los Angeles she performs regularly with the Los Angeles Opera and has been a guest artist with the Eclipse Quartet, on the Dilijan Chamber Music Series, with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and on the Monday Evening Concert Series. Over the past two decades, Ms. Vincent has toured extensively throughout Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, Russia and the United States and between 1999-2003 was also violist of the Arden String Quartet. In the summers Ms. Vincent is a faculty member at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference and is a regular guest artist at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. She has premiered chamber and solo works by Luciano Berio, Lisa Bielawa, Donald Crockett, John Harbison, Lee Hyla, John McDonald, Joseph Maneri, Eric Moe, Eric Guinivan, Nicholas Vines and recorded for labels such as New World Records, BMOP sound, Tzadik, Oxingale and Steeplechase. Between 2006-2012, Ms. Vincent was a member of the faculty at Longy School of Music as co-director of the new music ensemble, Longitude. She holds two Masters Degrees from New England Conservatory of Music (Viola Performance and Music Education), where she studied with James Dunham of the Cleveland String Quartet.

Performances

Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory | February 15, 2013
Moonshine Room at Club Café | December 8, 2009
Distler Performance Hall at Tufts University | September 27, 2009
Moonshine Room at Club Café | May 19, 2009
Moonshine Room at Club Café | February 5, 2008
Moonshine Room at Club Café | November 16, 2004
Moonshine Room at Club Café | May 11, 2004
Moonshine Room at Club Café | February 10, 2004
Moonshine Room at Club Café | November 4, 2003

News and Press

[Concert Review] BMOP gives the viola its moment in the sun

And now, it might be asked, should we pity the viola? It is after all consigned to an unglamorous middle range, and is ever on the receiving end of all that merciless skewering (if you don’t know what I mean, type “viola jokes” into Google, or ask anyone who has played in an orchestra).

The Boston Globe Full review
[Concert Review] Roseate Ensemble: Violas Consort with BMOP

In another masterstroke of imaginative programming for which it is renowned, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, under Music Director Gil Rose, offered a day-late billet-doux to the sultriest member of the string family at Jordan Hall on February 15th. “Voilà! Viola!” consisted of five works featuring the viola, four of them as soloist and one for an ensemble of eight. (one will have to come up with a clever collective noun for this).

The Boston Musical Intelligencer Full review
[Concert Review] It’s “Voilà Viola!” night at Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Why did the contemporary-music orchestra give a concert of five works that all featured the viola?

a. because they wanted to make a pun in French
b. because it was St. Violantine’s Day
c. because there’s some good stuff for viola out there
d. the orchestra ordered up two brand-new viola pieces, never heard before

Boston Classical Review Full review