Alan de Veritch: The Musician
Alan de Veritch is one of the most respected violists in the world today. Often referred to as a true legend, he is generally considered to have been the very first “Young Virtuoso of the Viola.” Accepted as a student of the great William Primrose at the age of twelve, Alan made the first of many solo appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra years before it was fashionable for young musicians to play the viola. He was thirteen years old at the time! By the age of seventeen, he had already collaborated in chamber music performances with such artists as Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky, Ralph Berkowitz, Josef Gingold, Pinchas Zuckerman, and Itzhak Perlman to name but a few. By age thirty, Alan had performed in almost every major concert hall in the United States and Europe, and had appeared as soloist with many major orchestras including the Washington National Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In addition to his many solo and chamber music performances, Alan’s career has also included ten years as principal violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Maestros Mehta and Guilini, guest principal violist of the New York Philharmonic and membership in An die Musik, the Aldanya String Quartet, and the White House Quartet. He has performed on literally hundreds of motion picture soundtracks, and recorded for almost every major record label. Alan is in high demand as a teacher, coach, and lecturer and from 1994 until 2012 he served as Professor of Music at Indiana University (the professorship previously held by William Primrose). Additional faculty positions have included California Institute of the Arts, California State University, and the University of Southern California. His students hold many of today’s most prestigious viola positions and include such names as Paul Neubauer, James Dunham, and Nokuthula Ngwenyama.
Alan de Veritch has unquestionably played a dramatic role in the popularizing of the viola as a solo instrument. Himself the recipient of numerous awards and commendations from local, state and federal government, Alan de Veritch served from 1990 to 1994 as the National President of the American Viola Society. In June 1995, Alan organized and co-hosted, on the campus of Indiana University, the exciting XXIII International Viola Congress. At that time, he was presented the coveted American Viola Society Award for “OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT – Personal Contributions to the Legacy of the Viola.“