Don Krishnaswami, Viola

Biography

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, including as a founding member of the LiveARTS String Quartet, as guest artist with the Walden Chamber Players, with former BSO principal second vioinist Marylou Churchill, and with former BSO cellist Ronald Feldman.  He has been a core member of the Art of Music Chamber Players, and is a founding member of the South Coast Chamber Music Society of New Bedford, Mass., and of the Persichetti String Quartet.  Performances with the latter ensemble included the complete quartets of Vincent Persichetti at the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.) in the American Composers Series, and the complete quartets of Béla Bartók in the Summergarden series at New York's Museum of Modern Art.  Highlights among other chamber music engagements have included Lincoln Center's Focus! Festival, the Shanghai (China) International Arts Festival, and an invited guest artist appearance at the 27th International Viola Congress in Toronto, Canada.  Radio appearances have included Classical Performances with Richard Knisely on WGBH Radio, Boston; Paine Webber’s Traditions on WNCN Radio, New York; and Listening Room with Bob Sherman on WQXR Radio, New York.

As an orchestral player, Mr. Krishnaswami has performed with orchestras from Boston to New York City to Philadelphia, including, among others, 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.  In 1987 he toured China with The Juilliard Orchestra in the first visit to that country of an overseas conservatory orchestra since the Cultural Revolution.  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.

As a composer and arranger, Mr. Krishnaswami has written original music and arrangements that have appeared on two compact disc releases from The Christian Science Publishing Society.  One of the recordings, Jubal-ation, was winner of the 2003 DeRose-Hinkhouse Award of Excellence.  Among his compositional output are Dialogue for Violin and Cello, Duo for Two Violins, Four Sketches for Piano, Lyric for Two Clarinets, Psalm for Tenor and Organ, The Inward Morning for baritone, flute, clarinet, and cello, two string quartets, two string trios, a quintet for trumpet and strings, sacred music for voice and piano, and orchestral works.  The Inward Morning, commissioned by the Seattle-based group Simple Measures and made possible by a grant from the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Seattle, received its world premiere performances in April 2008.

Mr. Krishnaswami has served on the viola faculty at Williams College at the invitation of BSO cellist Ronald Feldman.  He is currently a Visiting Associate Professor 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.