About Samuel Rhodes

Samuel Rhodes is recognized as a consummate artist both as a solo violist and a distinguished chamber music player. He was the violist of the celebrated Juilliard String Quartet for 44 seasons from 1969-20013. He has been a member of the viola faculty of the Juilliard School for 53 years has been the chair of the department since 2002. He has been a participant in the Marlboro Festival since 1960 and is a faculty member of the Tanglewood Music Center. He was invited in 2014 to become a member of the viola and chamber music faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

His solo appearances have included several recitals at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and an unaccompanied recital at the Juilliard School. In 2008, he celebrated his 40th Anniversary in the quartet with recitals in Hamburg, Germany and at Juilliard. In June 2001, Mr. Rhodes was invited to play a recital in celebration of the 10th anniversary of “Viola Space” in Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Rhodes has the honor of having works composed for him by three distinguished US composers, “Play It Again, Sam” by Milton Babbitt, “Figment IV” by Elliott Carter and “Three Sad Songs” by Donald Martino. He has performed these works at the Juilliard School, The Library of Congress and at the Isle of Man, UK where he was invited to give a recital and be a member of the jury of the Tertis International Viola Competition. Mr. Rhodes gave the world premiere of Carter’s “Figment IV” as part of a special festival in January 2008 in Paris. In June 2014, he was chosen by the American Viola Society to receive its highest honor, the “Career Achievement Award”.

In 1998, Mr. Rhodes had the honor of being invited to join the late Isaac Stern as a coach at his Chamber Music Workshops in Jerusalem, Israel; Miyazaki, Japan and Carnegie Hall, New York.

Mr. Rhodes received his instrumental training from Sydney Beck and Walter Trampler. He has a B.A. from Queens College, New York and an M. F. A. from Princeton University where he studied composition with Roger Sessions and Earl Kim. As a composer, he wrote a String Quintet for two violins, two violas and cello, which has been performed by the Blair, Composer’s, Galimir, Pro Arte and Sequoia Quartets. The Pro Arte recorded the quintet with the composer as guest artist. In his final season as a member of the Juilliard String Quartet the group honored Mr. Rhodes by performing the Quintet at the Juilliard School, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and his final concert on July 11, 2013 at the Ravinia Festival. The Quintet has recently been published by Theodore Presser.

Mr. Rhodes has been artist-in-residence at Michigan State University and has been awarded honorary doctorates by Michigan State, the University of Jacksonville and the San Francisco Conservatory. He has appeared as a guest artist with many ensembles including the Beaux Arts Trio, Mannes Trio and the Trio Cavatina as well as with the Aeolus, American, Brentano, Cleveland, Daedalus, Enso, Galimir, Guarneri, Jasper, Mendelssohn, Momenta, Pro-Arte, Sequoia String Quartets, and with his former and still beloved Juilliard String Quartet.