Jodi Levitz, Professor of Viola at the Frost School of Music and Artistic Coordinator of Stamps Ensembles at the University of Miami, boasts an international reputation as a consummate artist and a passionate advocate of exploring new musical possibilities for the viola. She brings that energy and experience to the classroom, having spent twelve years as principal viola and soloist with the critically acclaimed Italian chamber group I Solisti Veneti, a position she attained while still a student at The Juilliard School of Music.

Professor Levitz's career has been built on stellar accomplishments. She has performed as soloist throughout Europe, South America, North America and Asia, and has recorded her music for such distinguished record labels as Concerto, Dynamic, Naxos and Erato. A highly regarded educator and pedagogue, she was on the faculties of the Ars Musica Academy at Imola and Progetto Orchestra, and she presently serves as co-artistic director of the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Courmayeur, Italy. As Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she served as both Chair of Strings and Chair of Chamber Music. An avid chamber musician and violist of the Ives Quartet from 2007-2015, she has collaborated with Menahem Pressler, Peter Frankl, Gil Kalish, Robert Mann, Norman Fisher, Joel Krosnick, Geoff Nuttall, amongst many others.

A 2011 recipient of the Sarlo Family Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, Professor Levitz has helped her students achieve a number of notable accomplishments. As a result of her guidance and encouragement, her students have claimed first prize awards from the Walter W. Naumburg and Fischoff chamber music competitions, while others have been recruited for positions in major orchestras and teaching institutions both here and abroad. In addition, her influence has motivated many of her students to become music activists throughout the world.

Professor Levitz herself was awarded first prize in the D'Angelo and Hudson Valley competitions, among many others. She entered The Juilliard School Pre-College Division at age 12, and holds a BM. and MM. from Juilliard. In addition to her principal teachers, Margaret Pardee, Paul Doctor, William Lincer and Dorothy DeLay, she studied chamber music with members of the Juilliard Quartet, Felix Galimir, and Josef Gingold.

Personal Website: www.jodilevitz.com