Stephen Schmidt

Dr. Stephen Schmidt has been a full-time violist with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra since 1996 and was also the principal violist of the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra from 2009-17. He is professor of viola at Virginia Commonwealth University and has been the Director of VCU’s Mary-Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts series since 2006. Stephen has been violist for the Richmond Chamber Players since 2003, adding the duties of Artistic Director from 2013-2023.

For the last few years, Stephen has performed for the Summer at Centerstage Recital series in Richmond. In 2023 he was a guest performer at Wintergreen Music Festival and in 2022 participated in the National Music Festival as a Faculty Mentor/Performer. From 2011-2019 he taught at the RSO/VCU “Orchestra Project” summer program in Richmond. Prior to 2011 he spent 15 summers teaching at the Performing Arts Institute (PAI) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Stephen has played the world premieres of solo viola and chamber works by Allan Blank, Randall Thompson, and Jonathan Leshnoff.

Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Stephen started commuting at the age of 14 to The Juilliard School to attend their Pre-College program. He went on to earn Pre-College, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, and subsequently earned a Doctorate from Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. His teachers have included Roberto Diaz, Paul Neubauer, Joseph DePasquale, Eugene Becker, Paul Doktor, and Janee Munroe. He also performed at many music festivals, including Tanglewood, Spoleto (Italy), National Repertory Orchestra, Bowdoin Chamber Music Festival, Estherwood and Kinhaven.
Stephen’s wife Holly is a fully-certified Suzuki violin and viola teacher with long-term apprenticeship training and certification. He is listed in the national Suzuki teachers directory and is an expert at starting new and young players.