Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University Appoints New Assistant Viola Professor

Violist David Samuel has joined Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music in the new role

Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music has welcomed David Samuel as its new assistant professor of viola.

Samuel’s international career began as the founding violist of the Afiara Quartet. Over the eight years of tenure with the group, he performed in more than 400 concerts all over the world featuring a wide range of string quartet repertoire. 

Among the accolades of the Afiara Quartet included the inaugural Young Canadian Musicians Award, and top prizes at the ARD International Music Competition, and the Banff International String Quartet and the Concert Artists Guild Competitions.

In 2021, he joined the Alexander String Quartet (ASQ) and later relocated to New Zealand, where he served as the associate principal viola of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. 

Previously, he was a member of Denmark’s Ensemble MidtVest, and collaborated with artists including Sergio Azzolini, James Campbell, Colin Carr, Robert Mann, Michael Tree, Jörg Widmann, Pinchas Zukerman, and members of the Emerson and Juilliard string quartets. Samuel’s discography can be found on the CPO, Delos, Dacapo, Etcetera, Foghorn Classics, and Naxos record labels.

As an educator, he has held positions at the San Francisco State University, the University of Auckland, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College. Currently, he is working on the newly-founded educational nonprofit, the ASQ Chamber Music Projects for schools and communities. 

Samuel is a graduate of The Juilliard School and also holds an artist certificate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers have included Paul Hersh, Henry Janzen, Michael Tree, and Karen Tuttle.

“I am beyond excited to have the privilege to work with the world-class community of faculty and students at Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music,” Samuel said in the press release. “It’s a dream to be able to teach at such an incredible institution.”