Andrew Duckles

Andrew Duckles was born in Vancouver, Canada, and began his viola studies at the age of six. At sixteen, he made his solo debut with the Oregon Symphony. Andrew holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and New England Conservatory where he studied viola with James Dunham, violist of the Cleveland Quartet.

In 1996, Andrew was the top prizewinner in the Petri Competition, and has since been performing extensively throughout North America and Europe. While in Boston, he worked closely with composer John Harbison on his viola concerto and gave a critically acclaimed performance of this new work in 1998. In February of 1998, Andrew was featured as soloist on a recording of Richard Strauss' Don Quixote with the NEC Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 1998, he was selected to perform in a master class for Mstislav Rostropovich at the Tanglewood Music Center. In addition to this honor, Andrew was chosen by Maestro Seiji Ozawa as the recipient of the Cabot Outstanding Achievement Award and was featured in the New York Times and the Berkshire Eagle.

Andrew's diverse musical life has led to recordings on the Telarc label with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and recordings for numerous television and motion picture studios. In March of 2002, Andrew was appointed Principal Viola of the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet. In addition to his duties in Houston, Andrew teaches viola and coaches chamber music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Andrew comes from a family of musicians and frequently performs chamber music concerts throughout the United States with his brother Jason, cellist of the celebrated Amelia Piano Trio.

While in Oregon Andrew studied with Pierre d'Archambeau. He played in the Corvallis and Salem Youth Symphonies, was principal viola of the All-State and All-Northwest Orchestras, and took first in the state solo contest on viola. In 1990 he won the Oregon Symphony's concerto competition (open to all instruments) and performed the Handel viola concerto with the Symphony.

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