Michael Strauss

About

Michael Strauss’ love for connecting with audiences in live music settings has led to performances on concert series, live broadcasts, and festival appearances across the world. During his 20-year tenure as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s principal violist, Strauss was featured as soloist or collaborator in duo roles nearly every season. Known for his “rich tone and lyrical acumen” (Chicago Tribune), he currently performs as a member of The Indianapolis Quartet (TIQ), in the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio, and as the principal violist of the Akron and Youngstown Symphony Orchestras.

Strauss made his solo debut with the Minnesota Orchestra and has since appeared as featured solo or recording artist with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Orchestra 2001, the Charleston Symphony, the Harrisburg Symphony, the Youngstown Symphony, and Camerata Chicago, among many others.

Each season, he appears in numerous chamber music collaborations on stages across the country. Recent engagements include TIQ’s New York debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and residencies at Drake University’s Zenith Festival and Indiana State University’s Contemporary Music Festival, as well as chamber music performances with Vadim Gluzman on the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra series in Columbus, Ohio; with Yehuda Hanani, Liang Wang, and Itamar Zorman on Close Encounters with Music in Great Barrington, Massachusetts; Market Square Concerts in Harrisburg with Alex Kerr, Stuart Malina, Peter Sirotin, and Julian Schwartz; and the Pierce Hill Performing Arts Series in Viroqua, Wisconsin, with Desiree Ruhstrat, Julian Rhee, and Noah Geller.

A former member of the distinguished Fine Arts Quartet, Strauss performed across the U.S. and Europe and at festivals including Schleswig-Holstein, Bayreuth, and Montpellier. In North America, Strauss has collaborated at summer festivals including La Jolla, Caramoor, Banff, Sewanee, and the Eastern Music Festival. He has also performed string quintet works in concert with the Calder and Jupiter quartets.

Numerous recordings featuring Strauss in a broad range of solo and chamber music repertoire can be heard on the labels of I Virtuosi (premiere recording of Jennifer Higdon’s "Viola Sonata"); CRI (David Finko’s "Viola Concerto" and 20th century chamber music works with the Philadelphia-based Orchestra 2001); Lyrinx (Mozart’s complete viola quintets with the Fine Arts Quartet in SACD); Centaur (Stamitz's "Viola Concerto" with Camerata Chicago and reissue of the Finko's "Viola Concerto"); and on Oberlin Music/Naxos in Wordless Verses (featuring works inspired by poetry for oboe, viola, and piano) and the 2024 release String Theorywith Robert Walters, English horn. He is also the featured artist on the Suzuki® Viola School,Volumes 8 and 9. With The Indianapolis Quartet, Strauss can be heard on the 2020 recording of music by Frank Felice, Reflections and Whimsies: Chamber Music for Strings and Voice,and the 2022 release, The Indianapolis Quartet: Robert Paterson - String Quartets 1-3 (AMR).Forthcoming releases in 2025 include Mozart's "String Quintets" with the Castleton Ensemble and Bruch’s "Eight Pieces, Op. 83" with pianist James Howsmon and clarinetist Richard Hawkins.

A devoted teacher, Strauss is currently on the faculty of Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music. He previously held faculty positions at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, Roosevelt University, DePauw University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Butler University, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and Swarthmore College. He has also served as a performing and teaching artist at the Beijing International Music Festival & Academy, the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, the Brevard Music Festival, the Berkshire High Peaks Festival, and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival.

Strauss’s work has been honored with the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Cinnamon Award, First Prize of the WAMSO Competition of the Minnesota Orchestra, Ealing Prize at the Tertis International Viola Competition, Artist Fellowship Awards from South Carolina and Indiana, and a Creative Renewal Fellowship Award from the Arts Council of Indianapolis.

Strauss began his viola studies in Iowa City’s public schools. He continued under the guidance of William Preucil, Sr., Karen Tuttle, and John Graham. Strauss is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and received additional training at the Mannes School of Music and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He performs on a viola attributed to Matteo Albani of Bolzano, Italy, in 1704.