Rita Porfiris, Viola

Rita Porfiris has performed in major concert halls across the globe as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, and soloist. Co-Principal Viola of the Iceland Symphony, she has also been a member of the Houston Symphony, and played with the Chicago Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony and others, working with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Sergiu Celibidache, Kurt Masur, Michael Tilson Thomas, Claudio Abbado, and Christoph Eschenbach. Ms. Porfiris is a member of the Miller-Porfiris Duo and Quartet ES. She received Austria’s Prix Mercure, was a prize winner in prizes in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the Primrose International Viola Competition, and a laureate of the Paolo Borciani International Quartet Competition. Formerly Professor of Viola, Chair of Strings and Chair of Chamber Music at The Hartt School, she has also been on faculty at New York University, University of Houston Moores’ School of Music, Florida International University, and the Harlem School for the Arts in New York. She has given master classes, lectures and clinics worldwide. Ms. Porfiris received her BM and MM in Viola Performance from The Juilliard School, studying with William Lincer. Other teachers and mentors included Paul Doktor, Norbert Brainin, and Harvey Shapiro. www.ritaporfiris.com

Upcoming Concerts: Mendelssohn Octet June 5, 2024
String Quartet June 6, 2024