BMus, The Juilliard School
MMus, The Juilliard School
Praised by the Boston Globe as "noteworthy among the solo voices" and as giving his instrument "a soulful workout," violist and violinist Don Krishnaswami is active in the Boston area as a performing musician and teacher. He has collaborated in chamber music with current and former members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He is a founding member of the LiveARTS String Quartet. As an orchestral player, Mr. Krishnaswami has performed with orchestras from Boston to New York City to Philadelphia, including the Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra, Boston Ballet Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. He has toured domestically from coast to coast with the Boston Pops including appearances at major music festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, Wolf Trap, and Interlochen. Internationally Mr. Krishnaswami's career has taken him to Japan, China, Hong Kong, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, and Brazil. He has performed as back-up musician with such jazz and pop giants as Mel Torme, Cleo Lane, Natalie Cole, Sarah Brightman, The Moody Blues, Aerosmith, Yes, Barry Manilow, Joni Mitchell, The Irish Tenors, Donny Osmond, Smokey Robinson, Linda Ronstadt, K.D. Lang, Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Peter Cetera (Chicago), Anne Murray, Diana Krall, Earth Wind and Fire, and Sarah McLachlan.
Mr. Krishnaswami has served on the viola faculty at Willams College at the invitation of BSO cellist Ronald Feldman. He is currently a part-time faculty member at Bridgewater State University. Mr. Krishnaswami holds a Master of Music degree in viola and a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the Juilliard School. He has studied with a remarkable array of renowned teachers, including Lillian Fuchs, William Lincer, Samuel Rhodes, and Christine Dethier in viola and violin; Roger Sessions and Leon Kirchner in composition; and Joel Krosnick, Robert Mann, and Samuel Sanders in chamber music. He plays a modern Italian viola made in Naples in 1916 by Armando Altavilla.