Aloysia Friedmann continues to reinvent the role of a modern performer in the music world. Chamber Music America recognized Aloysia’s artistic leadership with its 2008 CMAcclaim Award, and in 2016 CMA invited Ms. Friedmann to their national Board. In December of 2018, she was given the special honor of being named a Musical America Top Professional of the Year. Aloysia is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival in Washington State, now in its 26th Season.

While living in New York City, Aloysia performed with New York’s most prestigious musical ensembles, including the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and American Symphony Orchestra, and was concertmaster of The Fairfield Orchestra. She gave her Carnegie Recital Hall debut and was praised for her “fiery spirit.” Her many Broadway credits include a special onstage role alongside Dustin Hoffman in the Merchant of Venice, as well as hundreds of performances of Crazy for You, Candide, A Christmas Carol and many other shows including playing for Metallica at Madison Square Garden. A versatile artist, Aloysia also appeared on several Live from Lincoln Center Productions, including a memorable one with Jessye Norman, and on a Saturday Night Live episode with Luciano Pavarotti.

In Houston, Aloysia Friedmann is Associate Concertmaster of ROCO and is a frequent guest artist on both violin and viola on concert series at Da Camera and Rice University. She also served on the Advisory Council for Chamber Music Houston. Highlights of concerts in Houston include her solo viola performance of Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel in the chapel itself. Aloysia taught as an Affiliate Artist of Viola and Violin at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and has coached at Rice University. She’s also played with the Houston Grand Opera. This past season Ms. Friedmann was a guest artist at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas in Austin, giving masterclasses and performing with the Miró Quartet. She was invited to play with the Houston Symphony on viola and the San Diego Symphony on violin for several of their main concert series programs.  

Recently, Aloysia played on the Eagles Hotel California 2023 Tour in San Diego, where she is also a founding member of the Mainly Mozart Festival. In 2022, she played for The Who Hits Back tour in Houston and performed with the Olmos Ensemble in San Antonio. Pre-covid, she toured the Pacific Northwest, Vietnam, and France with pianist Jon Kimura Parker. They also appeared on KING-FM Rhine and Danube River Cruises. She has performed at the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and festivals in Hong Kong, Santa Fe, Highlands-Cashiers, Portland, Reno, Napa Valley, Maui, Ottawa, and San Antonio. She was a guest violist/teaching artist at the Sarasota Music Festival and has appeared with the Montrose Trio, and the New Orford String Quartet. Her chamber music colleagues have included Gervase de Peyer, Peter Schickele, Gary Hoffman, Jeffrey Kahane, the Miró Quartet, Cho-Liang Lin, Chee-Yun, Alisa Weilerstein, Gabriel Kahane, and Lynn Harrell. Versatile offstage as well, Aloysia has produced recordings for artists including Viktor Valkov, Lachezar Kostov, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and Jon Kimura Parker. 

Ms. Friedmann was the guest soloist in a Benaroya Hall performance of the Handel-Casadesus Viola Concerto and she also appeared with Frederica von Stade in the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Noe Valley Chamber Music Series, giving the world premiere of Meditation by Jake Heggie.

Aloysia Friedmann studied with Emanuel Zetlin at the University of Washington and Margaret Pardee, and Ivan Galamian at The Juilliard School. She plays on a Grancino violin and the ex-Rebecca Clarke Grancino viola, both made in Milan in the late 1600’s. 

Aloysia is married to concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker, and their daughter, Sophie, graduated from Rice University in 2021. She enjoys eating great meals with her family, especially sushi, walking their dog Ricky, and brushing Oscar cat! 

For additional information, please visit www.aloysiafriedmann.com.