Mara Gearman
During her formative years in Seattle, Mara Gearman’s dedication to the viola earned her awards in various competitions. She also participated in the prestigious RoundTop Music Festival and the Strings Seminar in New York City, performed with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of three different performing and competing string quartets.
After graduating from Garfield High School in 1997, Mara’s musical journey continued at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1997 to 2002, where she studied with Karen Tuttle and Roberto Diaz. Expanding her music education horizons, Mara attended the Verbier Masterclasses, the Netherlands’ Masterclass course led by Nobuko Imai, the Sarasota Music Festival, Domaine Forget Chamber Music and Solo Courses, Banff Masterclasses, and the NAC Young Artists Program under the guidance of Pinchas Zukerman.
While Philadelphia had become a new home, Mara won a position to join the Oregon Symphony in 2002. She formed a quartet, the Four Violas, with colleagues from that symphony, and they were invited to perform at the 2004 International Viola Congress in Minnesota.
Since joining the Seattle Symphony, Mara has won Assistant Principal Chair and was invited to play as Principal Viola with the Los Angeles Opera and Kansas City Symphony.
Mara is an enthusiastic educator who has taught at music institutions such as Central Washington University and Cornish College of the Arts. Her commitment to nurturing young talents extends beyond the classroom, as she has organized and led intensive chamber music courses at both high school and college levels, fostering the next generation of musicians. She performs regularly at the Methow Chamber Music Festival and teaches at the Marrowstone Music Festival.
In addition to her orchestral and solo endeavors, Mara has performed with chamber groups such as the Barston String Quartet and Trio Tara. The 2023/2024 season included numerous performances of the Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio with cellist Sarah Rommel and University of Washington faculty violinist Rachel Lee-Priday.
As acting Principal Viola of the Seattle Symphony during the 2023/2024 season, Mara performed alongside esteemed collaborators, transitioning between solo performances and ensemble settings. Notable highlights include a duo performance of Morton Feldman’s The Viola in My Life alongside esteemed pianist Conrad Tao, a solo role in Joe Hisaishi’s string quartet, and a string orchestra performance of Samuel Adams’ Movements (for us and them). Mara also collaborated with pianist Paige Malloy in successful concerts of Paul Chihara’s neo-Romantic Viola and Piano Sonata.
During the 2024/2025 season, Mara has been a guest violist with the Oregon-based Delgani String Quartet, established the newly formed Papilio String Trio in Seattle, and commissioned and performed a new Viola, Double Bass, and Flute Trio by Seattle’s August Baik alongside Schulhoff’s virtuoso Concertino.