Alan de Veritch (born July 18, 1947) is an American

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and viola teacher. He studied with

William Primrose William Primrose CBE (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed i ...

and performed in the Los Angeles Philharmonic for at least ten years. He has taught viola in various universities and was the president of the

American Viola Society The American Viola Society (AVS) is an organization headquartered in Dallas, Texas that encourages excellence in performance, pedagogy, research, composition, and lutherie by fostering communication and friendship among violists of all skill levels, ...

from 1990 to 1994.He played Jago peternella modern italian Viola

Early life and solo career

De Veritch's talent caught the attention of William Primrose when he was twelve after solo appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Primrose accepted him as a student. While studying with Primrose, his career quickly took flight. At the age of 16, De Veritch tied for first place in the National String Competition in Washington, D.C., the youngest and first violist to receive that honor. In the spring of 1965, De Veritch was one of three student musicians invited to perform with

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. Later that year, De Veritch enrolled at the

Indiana University School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

and was featured as a soloist with the University Concert Orchestra in October. He soloed with the Pasadena Symphony in the Spring of 1966, and at the

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

June Music Festival. In 1969, De Veritch was named a winner at the Emma Feldman National String Competition—again the first violist to receive such an honor. De Veritch was a featured soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic 1972 1975, and 1976. De Veritch worked closely with the

for many years and was a guest performer at the 1989 XVII International Viola Congress.

Chamber & orchestra involvement

While maintaining a solo career, De Veritch was also a member of different orchestras throughout his life. He joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1970 as assistant principal violist, and went on to serve ten years as principal violist under

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

and Carlo Maria Giulini. De Veritch has participated extensively in chamber music performances with "greats" including Josef Gingold and

Ralph Berkowitz Ralph Berkowitz (September 5, 1910 – August 2, 2011) was an American composer, classical musician, and painter. Biography Berkowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Romanian Jewish couple, Matilda and William Berkowitz who had emigrated ...

. He served as the principal violist in the United States Marine Orchestra, and in 1975 was a member of the Miraflores Trio. de Veritch has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, Sunset Chamber Consort,

An die Musik Franz Schubert composed his lied "An die Musik" (German for "To Music") in March 1817 for solo voice and piano, with text from a poem by his friend Franz von Schober. In the Deutsch catalog of Schubert's works it is number D547. The original key i ...

, and the Aldanya String Quartet. He was the founder and member of the White House String Quartet.

Teaching & recording career

De Veritch has taught many of the world's leading violists including

Paul Neubauer Paul Neubauer (born in Encino, California, in 1962) is an American violist. Neubauer was a student of Paul Doktor, Alan de Veritch and William Primrose. In August 1980, aged 17, he won the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and Worksh ...

, James Dunham, and

Nokuthula Ngwenyama Nokuthula Ngwenyama (born June 16, 1976) is an American solo violist and composer of Ndebele and Japanese descent. She is a recording artist under EDI Records, and has taught at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Background Si ...

. He was a member of the string faculty at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

for several years, and acted as the head of the viola department of the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, and taught at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

's Jacobs School of Music until the spring of 2012. He served as the president of the

from 1990 to 1994. He has also recorded for hundreds of motion picture soundtracks, as well as producing his own recordings of standard viola repertoire. In addition, he authored a book entitled ''The Art of Sensuality and its Impact on Great String Playing''..

References

External links

Alan de Veritch's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Veritch, Alan 1947 births Living people American classical violists Jacobs School of Music faculty