Philip Tietze, professor of viola and coordinator of string chamber music studies at Ball State University, has enjoyed a successful and varied career as a solo recitalist, chamber music performer, orchestral musician, and music educator. A native of Washington, D.C., Professor Tietze completed his undergraduate music education at Indiana University, where he studied with Georges Janzer, violist of the Grumiaux Trio, as well as with Jerry Horner and Mimi Zweig. He earned his master’s degree at the University of Southern California, where he studied with the renowned violist and pedagogue Donald McInnes. For eight years, Mr. Tietze was a member of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and served as associate principal violist with the American Sinfonietta. During the summers, he has participated in a number of prestigious music festivals as an orchestral player and chamber music performer, including the Grand Teton Festival, the Bellingham Festival of Music, and the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival.
Before coming to Ball State, Mr. Tietze was assistant professor of viola at West Virginia University, where he served as violist of the West Virginia Piano Quartet, and was artist-in-residence at Wichita State University. He has also served as director and a member of the string faculty at the Wintergreen Summer Performance Academy. He has given master classes in venues throughout the country, including Bowling Green State University, Miami University of Ohio, Northern Arizona University, the Music Institute of Chicago, the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, the University of Texas, and the 2006 American String Teachers National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Professor Tietze has performed numerous solo recitals around the country, including an appearance on the prestigious Phillips Collection Sunday afternoon concert series in Washington, D.C. He has appeared as a featured solo artist on National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., and on West Virginia Public Radio, and he has participated in numerous orchestral concerts that have been broadcast on the National Public Radio program Performance Today. As a member of the American Sinfonietta and the Denver Symphony, he has appeared on orchestral recordings on the Summit, Pro Arte, and TAS record labels. He has collaborated in chamber music performances with a number of distinguished artists and ensembles, including Andrzej Grabiec, Jose-Luis Garcia, Stefan Reuss, Rami Solomanov, Roger Frisch, Norman Krieger, Julie Albers, Paul Murphy, Hatto Beyerle, and the American Piano Trio.