Catharine Carroll, viola, maintains an active career as a recitalist, chamber musician, teacher/pedagogue, and will host the 2010 International Viola Congress with Masao Kawasaki in Cincinnati. Recently, Dr. Carroll was featured as soloist performing Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher with the Cincinnati Chamber Players. As a chamber musician and recitalist she has performed on three continents. Dr. Carroll has also collaborated in chamber music with the world’s most prominent artists including Gil Shaham, Jaime Laredo, Sarah Chang, Nadja-Solerno Sonnenberg, and members of the Cleveland Quartet, American Quartet, LaSalle Quartet, Amernet Quartet, and Beaux Arts Trio. She has recently re-founded and is the coordinator of the Cincinnati Chamber Circle and is founder and director of the CCM Viola Ensemble. Dr. Carroll has recorded on the Hyperion label and has been featured in radio broadcasts on NHK, WFMT, WGUC and WOSU.

As an orchestral musician, Dr. Carroll is principal viola of the Aspen Chamber Symphony and has been guest principal of the Aspen Festival, Cincinnati Chamber, and Cincinnati Ballet Orchestras. She has also performed extensively with the Cincinnati and Columbus Symphonies.

Dr. Carroll’s passion for teaching and the advancement of pedagogy lead to her collaboration with Masao Kawasaki and Dorothy DeLay that resulted in Essentials for Viola, a book on basic technique. This book is widely used by their students who have gone on to win top prizes in international competitions (such as Tertis, Sphinx, Markneukirchen) and hold positions in major orchestras and universities throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Other publications include A Comprehensive Overview of Left Hand Technique for Violin and Viola. Forthcoming is Volume II entitled A Comprehensive Overview of Right Hand Technique for Violin and Viola, and Orchestral Excerpts for Viola Volume I. Dr. Carroll’s extensive research in performance enhancement and managing stage anxiety has culminated in a relaxation tape that is ready for release. Currently, Dr. Carroll is collaborating with Masao Kawasaki and Albert Laszlo, in creating a mentoring program in orchestral studies for viola and bass at CCM.

At age seventeen Dr. Carroll abandoned her athletic goals to begin learning a stringed instrument. After six months of private viola lessons she was accepted to study viola at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music with Masao Kawasaki. She continued her studies with Mr. Kawasaki by attending multiple consecutive summers at the Aspen Music Festival. She began teaching as his assistant in 1988 until becoming a faculty member. Earning her Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral Degrees under his tutelage, Dr. Carroll was appointed to the faculty of both the University of Cincinnati in 1993 and the Aspen Music Festival in 1994. She is also a member of the faculties of the Starling String Project, the University of Cincinnati Preparatory Department, and the Ohio State University. Additionally, she is frequently invited to give master classes and to serve as a juror for national competitions.

In her spare time, Dr. Carroll enjoys working out and is a fitness model for The FIRM®.