Rosemary Nelis

Rosemary Nelis, viola (Brooklyn, NY) has performed as chamber musician and soloist throughout the United States and Europe. She has presented a wide array of genres and styles ranging from historical performance to contemporary music to genres outside of classical music. In January of 2022, Nelis became the newest member of the New York-based Cassatt String Quartet, with whom upcoming projects include recordings and major performances of works by Victoria Bond, Adolphus Hailstork, Tania León, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Florence Beatrice Price. In May of 2023 Nelis had her Carnegie Hall solo debut performing György Kurtág's "...concertante..." for violin, viola and orchestra with The Orchestra Now. Nelis received both B.M. and B.A. degrees from Bard College and Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Steven Tenenbom and majored in Chinese Language and Literature. Nelis was the proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship during her Masters studies at The Juilliard School, where she worked with Roger Tapping and Misha Amory. Nelis has spent summers performing chamber music at Yellow Barn, Bard Music Festival, and Kneisel Hall and in 2022 Nelis served as faculty at the Kinhaven Music School. Nelis is currently a Professor of Viola at Montclair State University and plays on a 1991 viola made by the maker Samuel Zygmuntowicz. Previous Yellow Barn musician (2019, 2021)