Matt Pegis, viola

From a family of seven string players, he completed his formal training as a full scholarship student at the University of Hartford, and at The Juilliard School.  His primary teachers were Roland Vamos, Larry Dutton, and Margaret Pardee.  He has appeared as guest artist in many festivals including Yellowbarn, the International Academy, Mostly Mozart, the Sarasota Festival, and the State Festival in Santa Maria(BR) which he is a founder.  An avid chamber musician, he has performed with the Emerson String Quartet, the Pegis String Quartet, the New Arts Piano Quartet, the Yellow Barn chamber players, the Cosmopolitan Chamber players,  and is currently the violist of the Sarasota Piano Quartet.  He has solo and chamber recordings with Elfin, Albany, and Chandos labels including world premieres of Charles Jones works for  viola.  He is currently the Assistant Principal Viola of the Sarasota Orchestra and when time allows, he can be found out in his boat in the Gulf of Mexico chasing after big fish.  He plays on a 1961 viola by William Carboni.