Martha Strongin Katz
New England Conservatory, Boston, MA (Emeritus)
Violist Martha Strongin Katz was a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Cleveland Quartet, playing in it from its inception in 1969 until 1980. During those years she performed over 1,000 concerts, including appearances at the White House, the Grammy Awards, on NBC’s “Today” show, and in the major concert halls of Europe, North and South America, Israel, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Strongin Katz’s solo appearances include a Carnegie Hall performance of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, the Bartók Concerto with L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, recital and concerto performances at the 1989 International Viola Congress, and countless recital and concerto appearances in cities such as Boston, Buffalo, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Rochester, San Francisco, and St. Louis. She has served on numerous international juries, including the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Naumberg Viola Competition.
Ms. Strongin Katz has recently retired from her professorship at the New England Conservatory after a long and fruitful pedagogical career there. She has also taught at Rice University, the Eastman School of Music, and Interlochen Arts Academy.
Strongin Katz plays a viola made by Lorenzo Storioni of Cremona in 1800.
