VIOLIST

Viola Bios

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50 words

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​A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  She studies viola and composition with Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  She has served three times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra, and won SFCM’s 2024 Low Strings Concerto Competition. 

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100 words

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​A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  She studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served three times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra.  Deeply committed to new music, Zoe performed fifteen works by living composers in the 2023-24 season, plus four of her own.  She has received awards in SFCM’s Low Strings Concerto Competition, the Telegraph Players Chamber Competition, and the Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions.

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200 words

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A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  Her voice springs from the integration of performance, composition, and creative writing.  A social and environmental activist, she believes in the responsibility of artists to enrich and care for society, and frequently places her craft at the service of her community.

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Zoe studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served three times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra.  Her activities at SFCM include semesterly recitals, often featuring her own compositions.  Deeply committed to new music, Zoe performed fifteen works by living composers in the 2023-24 season, plus four of her own.

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Her past viola teachers include Kerri Ryan, Sheila Browne, Esme Allen-Creighton, and Kathleen Hastings.  In February 2024, she was the winner of SFCM’s Low Strings Concerto Competition, and previously received awards in the Telegraph Players Chamber Competition, the Caprio Young Artists Competition, and the Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions. 

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Zoe is a dedicated composer, and also a choral conductor, a published poet, and a novelist.  When not involved with the arts, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading.

 

300 words

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A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  Her voice springs from the integration of performance, composition, and creative writing.  A social and environmental activist, she believes in the power and responsibility of artists to enrich and care for society, and frequently places her craft at the service of her community.

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Zoe studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served three times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra.  Her activities at SFCM include semesterly recitals, often featuring her own compositions.  Deeply committed to new music, Zoe performed fifteen works by living composers in the 2023-24 season, in addition to four of her own.

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Her past viola teachers include Kerri Ryan, Sheila Browne, Esme Allen-Creighton, and Kathleen Hastings.  In February 2024, she was the winner of SFCM’s Low Strings Concerto Competition, and previously received awards in the Telegraph Players Chamber Competition, the Temple University Music Prep Concerto Competition, the Caprio Young Artists Competition, and the Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions.  She has performed chamber music alongside artists including Melissa White, the Telegraph String Quartet, and the Jasper String Quartet.  She attended Bowdoin International Music Festival 2018-23, served as principal violist of Temple University Music Prep’s Youth Chamber Orchestra 2017-22, and held a scholarship position in Settlement Music School’s Trowbridge Advanced Study String Quartet 2017-18 and 2020-22.

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Zoe is a dedicated composer, and her music has been premiered by artists including David Friend, members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Genevieve Hahn, Choral Chameleon Ensemble, and San Francisco Choral Artists.  She is also a choral conductor, a published poet, and a novelist.  When not involved with the arts, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading.

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500 words

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A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  Her voice springs from the integration of performance, composition, and creative writing, as well as painting and photography, and she finds inspiration everywhere from the Schoodic Peninsula to New York City.  A social and environmental activist, she believes in the power and responsibility of artists to enrich and care for society, and frequently places her craft at the service of her community.

 

Zoe studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served three times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra.  Her activities at SFCM include semesterly recitals, often featuring her own compositions, and she frequently participates in recording and sampling sessions led by SFCM majors in Technology and Applied Composition.  In 2023, she collaborated with Pierre and Miguel Mariaca on an electroacoustic production by Kinetech Arts. 

 

Her past viola teachers include Kerri Ryan, Sheila Browne, Esme Allen-Creighton, and Kathleen Hastings.  In February 2024, she was the winner of SFCM’s Low Strings Concerto Competition, and previously received awards in the Telegraph Players Chamber Competition, the Temple University Music Prep Concerto Competition, the Caprio Young Artists Competition, and the Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions.  She has performed chamber music alongside artists including Melissa White, the Telegraph String Quartet, and the Jasper String Quartet.  She attended Bowdoin International Music Festival 2018-23.  She served as principal violist of Temple University Music Prep’s Youth Chamber Orchestra 2017-22, and held a scholarship position in Settlement Music School’s Trowbridge Advanced Study String Quartet 2017-18 and 2020-22.

 

Zoe is deeply committed to new music, and performed fifteen works by living composers in the 2023-24 season, in addition to four of her own.  Her music has been premiered, often with her on viola, by artists including David Friend, members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Genevieve Hahn, Choral Chameleon Ensemble, and San Francisco Choral Artists. 

 

A conductor, Zoe directed the inaugural Lower Brandywine Choral Festival, a weeklong community program dedicated to building fellowship through music, in August 2024.  Zoe is also a published poet, and is writing a series of novels accompanied by original music.  When not involved with the arts, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading.