Kurt Rohde, Viola
I have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1992, after having been raised in NY and going to school on the East Coast. Once I left school, I knew immediately I wanted to leave NY and head for somewhere altogether unfamiliar; SF was where I ended up. Since my arrival, I have played in a variety of local orchestras (California and Berkeley Symphony Orchestras), but have mostly focused on performing new music by living composers. I helped start a new music ensemble with a number of my friends, and since 1992, The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble has become an important part of our area's musical community. Throughout all my years of playing, I have also been composing, and still manage to fit it into my increasingly busy life.
Composing is one of my secret pleasures, and despite the range of torment or joy it can bring me, it is a part of my life I cannot imagine living without. As of last year, I began to teach music composition at UC Davis, and have discovered that teaching is another thing that I enjoy tremendously. Through it all, I love playing with NCCO: they are my large ensemble musical family, and I am so comfortable and honored to be making music with them.