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Hello! I am the violist of the Alexander String Quartet and have nearly 20 years of experience teaching and performing worldwide.
Hello! I am the violist of the Alexander String Quartet and have nearly 20 years of experience teaching and performing worldwide. I absolutely love teaching and look forward to meeting you. I’m here to help whether you’re looking to build a more solid technical foundation on the instrument, exploring new repertoire, or are just interested in some different ideas about music and the viola. In addition to string quartets and solo work, I was formerly the Associate Principal Viola in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and so I also have a great deal of experience with orchestral repertoire and auditions. I aim to make lessons collaborative and interactive and I encourage my students think and work in different ways. Hope to see you soon!
Experience & Education
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The Juilliard School 1998 – 2004
Bachelor of Music, Master of Music -
San Francisco Conservatory of Music 2004 – 2006
Artist Certificate in Chamber Music -
The Juilliard School 2009 – 2011
Artist DiplomaGraduate String Quartet Residency -
Afiara String Quartet 2006 – 2013
Founding ViolistAwarded top prizes at Munich ARD International Music Competition 2008, Concert Artists Guild Competition 2008, and Banff International String Quartet Competition 2010. Toured and recorded internationally. -
Ensemble MidtVest 2013 – 2015
ViolistToured and recorded extensively. -
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra 2015 – 2021
Associate Principal Viola -
University of Auckland, School of Music 2017 – 2021
Convenor of Classical Performance -
Alexander String Quartet 2021 – Present
Violist -
San Francisco State University 2021 – Present
Lecturer in Viola
Reviews
Anna Tarnowska
October
I studied viola with David Samuel for one year in the Stavanger University. He is a prominent violist and excellent teacher. He has also extraordinary approach to indentifying problems and gives amazing tips, both musically and technically, to eliminate them. He is very inspirational, patient and full of amazing ideas, so you will never leave a lesson without a big enthusiasm or with a sense of not knowing what you need to do. Moreover, he has a true passion and deep knowledge about music, which he would love to share with everyone. The atmosphere during lessons is very friendly and simply great. He is very open-minded and he knows very well, how to motivate students. It was a huge honour, amazing experience and very productive time to studying under David Samuel. He has taught and inspired me a lot and after his tutoring I passed the audition for European Union Youth Orchestra and reached many others achievements. I would highly recommend David Samuel.
Midori Witkoski
September
I studied with David for two years in high school, during which he prepared me for my college conservatory auditions. He gave me all the support and encouragement that I needed, and would often demonstrate things with incredible technical facility and musical complexity which opened me up to a higher level of playing. I consider myself very lucky to have worked with him, and would highly recommend him to anyone looking to further their musical abilities.
Free introduction lesson
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