Biography

An active proponent of the solo viola, Patricia McCarty has performed to consistent critical acclaim throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Australia and Venezuela, appearing as soloist with orchestras such as the Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Boston Pops, Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn, l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Turiae Camerata of Valencia, and Kyoto and Shinsei Nihon Symphonies. Her recital appearances include New York, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Caracas, Valencia, Geneva, five International Viola Congresses, and a debut at London's Wigmore Hall hailed by the Times to be "an outstanding exhibition of string playing of the highest American class." Winner of the First Silver Medal and Radio Prize in the Geneva International Competition when she was eighteen, Ms. McCarty has also been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Grants and the John Knowles Paine Award for performance of new American music. Her recordings for Ashmont, Equilibrium, ECM, and Northeastern labels, featuring viola works by Rebecca Clarke, Bach, Telemann, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, George Balch Wilson and Keith Jarrett, have received international accolades, including Gramophone's "Critics Choice" and Strad "Selection CD".

As chamber musician Ms. McCarty has performed at festivals including Aspen, Marlboro, Tanglewood, Sarasota, Bowdoin, Bay Chamber Concerts, Aria (Canada), Hokkaido (Japan) and the Australian String Academy in Sydney. Former member of the Lenox Quartet, she has also toured with Music from Marlboro, Boston Chamber Music Society, and Boston Symphony Chamber Players, with whom she has recorded works by Brahms and Dvorak. Other collaborations include musicians as diverse as composer Lou Harrison and his gamelan ensemble, Joseph Silverstein, Maureen Forrester, and jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, whose work Bridge of Light for viola and orchestra Ms. McCarty commissioned, premiered and has recorded for ECM.

Soloist in the New York premiere of the orchestral version of Britten's Lachrymae, Ms. McCarty has performed numerous world premieres, including works by Daniel Pinkham, Tibor Serly, Jerome Rosen, Marjorie Merryman, Elizabeth Vercoe and Martin Amlin. Her research of viola repertoire has been published in Strad, Symphony Magazine, Strings, American Viola Society Journal and American String Teacher and she is a contributing author to the book Playing & Teaching Viola, published in 2005 by American String Teachers Association. She has given master classes throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, Venezuela, Australia and Spain, and her translated articles have appeared in Korean and Dutch string teaching publications. Former assistant principal violist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Ms. McCarty teaches viola and professional orchestral audition preparation online; her former students are employed in professional orchestras, chamber ensembles, university and pre-college faculties worldwide.

Crossings, a new recording of duos for viola and guitar from Baroque to 21st century, performed by Patricia McCarty and Bill Zito, will be released in January 2025 on the Ashmont label.