Geist, Judy L.

She is a violist born in Long Island, New York who started to play the violin when she was 7 years old and from 1969 studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, graduating in 1974. During her time at the Institute she toured Europe as a member of the Long Island Youth Orchestra and during the tour performed Sinfonia Concertante by Mozart.

In 1975, after joining the Audubon Quartet, she worked at SUNY Binghamton in the string quartet program, where she gained her Masters degree.

After her education she worked as a freelance musician touring with Bert Bacharach and also performed in productions of How To Marry a Millionaire and A Little Night Music before it was performed on Broadway.

She joined the National Ballet of Canada as Principal Viola and toured North America with them, including several weeks at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. From then she settled in New York City and gave performances with several ballet orchestras. She also performed with the Opera Orchestra of New York, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, performed on Broadway and premiered and recorded new music.

As the Principal Viola of Soviet Emigre Orchestra she toured Japan, South America and nationally. She held the same position with the Philharmonia Virtuosi.

An active chamber musician she has been a member of the Society Hill String Quintet and a guest artist with the American Chamber Ensemble, the Lenox Quartet, the Music Project and the Thouvenel Quartet and has participated in several music festivals. She founded and became the artistic director of EnSemBle M. which has played at several venues on Whidbey Island and gave its East Coast premiere in 2012.

She became a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1983 and was the first woman to be the chair of the viola section, gaining the position of 4th chair. Under the directorship of Christoph Eschenbach she performed as Acting Assistant Principal.

From 2001 until 2013 she worked in Washington State as the presenter of events and concerts and in the field of musical education was a residential artist at Seattle’s Cornish College. She has also given presentations in Philadelphia

She commissioned When the Peace Comes which is a work for solo viola by the composer Hannibal Okumbe which she has performed at several venues. Another commission was written by Sylvia Glickman.

Working as a visual artist, she has presented her work, which consists of chamber music and paintings, at several local venues.

Recordings she has performed on include Carol by The American Boychoir, Don’t Let Go by George Duke, Get It Right by Aretha Franklin, Love Songs by Michael Franks, Philip Glass: The Photographer by Philip Glass, Cool and Bossa by Helen Merrill, Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”/Dumka by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Sondheim by Stephen Sondheim and For Ever, For Always, For Love by Luther Vandross and the soundtracks of Fame and Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street along with many others.

Sources:

Geist, Judy L.

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