Alan de Veritch (born July 18, 1947) is an American violist and viola teacher. He studied with

William Primrose William Primrose (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 in v ...

and performed in the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

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

, 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-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. 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 ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

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

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 :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

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

Josef Gingold Josef Gingold (; January 11, 1995) was a Russian and American classical violinist and teacher who lived most of his life in the United States. At the time of his death he was considered one of the most influential violin masters in the United St ...

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, 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 1980, aged 17, he won the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and Workshop on the ...

, 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 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and has won the Primrose International Viola Competition and the Young Conc ...

. He was a member of the string faculty at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

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 university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

, and taught at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Jacobs 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 ...

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 20th-century American violists 21st-century American violists Jacobs School of Music faculty Players of the Los Angeles Philharmonic University of California faculty California Institute of the Arts faculty Jacobs School of Music alumni