About Jonathan Moerschel:

Jonathan Moerschel was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother, a pianist, and his father, a cellist in the Boston Symphony, fostered his early studies both in piano and violin. At sixteen, he began studying the viola with John Ziarko in Boston and chamber music with the violist from the Kolisch Quartet, Eugene Lehner.

Moerschel made his Boston Symphony Hall solo debut with the Boston Pops Orchestra under Keith Lockhart in 1997 after taking first prize in the Boston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in viola performance from the University of Southern California, studying under Donald McInnes and Ralph Fielding; a Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School of Music; and an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School in String Quartet Studies.

He is the violist of the Calder Quartet, which holds the position of Quartet-In-Residence at the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles. The Calder Quartet enjoys a diverse international career, playing the traditional quartet literature as well as partnering with innovative modern composers and performing works by emerging young musicians. Moerschel plays on the “ex-Adam” Gasparo Da Salo made in the late 16th Century on generous loan from the Stradivari Society