VIOLIST

Viola Bios

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50 words

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​A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  She studies viola and composition with Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  She has served five times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra, and won SFCM’s 2024 Low Strings Concerto Competition.   

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100 words

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​A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  She studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served five times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra, and presents semesterly recitals which often include her compositions.  She has received awards in the SFCM Low Strings Concerto Competition, Telegraph Players Chamber Competition, and Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions.

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200 words

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A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  Her voice springs from the integration of performance, composition, and creative writing.  A social and environmental activist, she believes in the responsibility of artists to enrich and care for society, and frequently places her craft at the service of her community.

 

Yost studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served five times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra.  Her activities at SFCM include semesterly recitals, often featuring her own compositions.  

 

Her past viola teachers include Kerri Ryan, Sheila Browne, Esme Allen-Creighton, and Kathleen Hastings.  She has performed alongside artists including Stefan Jackiw, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and members of the Telegraph, Esmé, Harlem, and Jasper Quartets.  In February 2024, she was the winner of SFCM’s Low Strings Concerto Competition, and previously received awards in the Caprio Young Artists Competition and Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions. 

 

Yost is a dedicated composer, and also a choral conductor, poet, and novelist. 

 

300 words

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A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  Her voice springs from the integration of performance, composition, and creative writing.  A social and environmental activist, she believes in the power and responsibility of artists to enrich and care for society, and frequently places her craft at the service of her community.

 

Yost studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served five times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra.  Her activities at SFCM include semesterly recitals, often featuring her compositions. 

 

Her past viola teachers include Kerri Ryan, Sheila Browne, Esme Allen-Creighton, and Kathleen Hastings.  In February 2024, she was the winner of SFCM’s Low Strings Concerto Competition, and previously received awards in the Telegraph Players Chamber Competition, the Temple University Music Prep Concerto Competition, the Caprio Young Artists Competition, and the Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions.  She has performed alongside artists including Stefan Jackiw, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and members of the Telegraph, Esmé, Harlem, and Jasper Quartets.  She attended Bowdoin International Music Festival 2018-23, served as principal violist of Temple University Music Prep’s Youth Chamber Orchestra 2017-22, and held a scholarship position in Settlement Music School’s Trowbridge Advanced Study String Quartet 2017-18 and 2020-22.

 

Yost is a dedicated composer, and her music has been premiered by artists including David Friend, members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Genevieve Hahn, Choral Chameleon Ensemble, Eight Strings & a Whistle, and San Francisco Choral Artists.  She was San Francisco Choral Artists’ June 2025 Composer in Residence.  

 

Yost is also a poet, visual artist, and novelist, and is Artistic Director of the Lower Brandywine Choral Festival, founded in 2024.

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500 words

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A gritty, imaginative wayfinder, Zoe Yost centers her artistic life at the crossroads.  Her voice springs from the integration of performance, composition, and creative writing, as well as painting and photography, and she finds inspiration everywhere from the Schoodic Peninsula to New York City.  A social and environmental activist, she believes in the power and responsibility of artists to enrich and care for society, and frequently places her craft at the service of her community.

 

Yost studies viola and composition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her private teachers are Dimitri Murrath and Dr. David Conte.  Since arriving at SFCM in Fall 2022, she has served five times as principal violist of the SFCM Orchestra.  Her activities at SFCM include semesterly recitals, often featuring her own compositions, and she is deeply interested in the creative opportunities with which the new music scene is replete.  Since starting her undergraduate studies, she has played in 25 premiere performances and, in 2023, collaborated with Pierre and Miguel Mariaca on an electroacoustic production by Kinetech Arts. 

 

In February 2024, she was the winner of SFCM’s Low Strings Concerto Competition, and previously received awards in the Telegraph Players Chamber Competition, Temple University Music Prep Concerto Competition, Caprio Young Artists Competition, and Grand Prize Virtuoso Bonn and Salzburg Competitions.  She has performed alongside artists including Stefan Jackiw, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and members of the Telegraph, Esmé, Harlem, and Jasper Quartets.  She attended Bowdoin International Music Festival 2018-23, where she studied with Carol Rodland, Kirsten Docter, and Dimitri Murrath, and Valdres Sommersymfoni in 2019, where she studied with Carol Rodland.  She served as principal violist of Temple University Music Prep’s Youth Chamber Orchestra 2017-22, and held a scholarship position in Settlement Music School’s Trowbridge Advanced Study String Quartet 2017-18 and 2020-22.  Her past viola teachers include Kerri Ryan, Sheila Browne, Esme Allen-Creighton, and Kathleen Hastings.

 

A dedicated composer, Yost has written for every orchestral instrument, inside and outside the context of the orchestra, and for vocal ensembles.  Recent projects include Seal Lullaby, commissioned by San Francisco Choral Artists; Veils: A Symphonic Poem; Three Pictures from Kīlauea for brass quintet; Three Hymns for wind quintet; and a Nocturne for viola and harp.  Her music has been premiered by artists including David Friend, members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Genevieve Hahn, Choral Chameleon Ensemble, Eight Strings & a Whistle, and San Francisco Choral Artists.  Her flute, viola, and cello trio, A Midsummer’s Daydream, was the winner of Eight Strings & a Whistle’s 2024 Composer Competition, and was premiered by the trio in New York City in November 2024.  She was San Francisco Choral Artists’ June 2025 Composer in Residence.

 

Yost is also a conductor and, in 2024, founded the Lower Brandywine Choral Festival (LBCF), a weeklong summer program dedicated to building fellowship through music.  She is also a poet, novelist, and visual artist, and is writing a series of novels accompanied by original music and illustrations.