BIOGRAPHY

Canadian violist Karen Forster, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, is Principal Viola of the Zürich Opera Orchestra.

She completed her Master’s degree at the Juilliard School, making her solo debut at Lincoln Center in a performance of Viola Concerto by William Walton. She subsequently earned a Solo Diploma from the University of Music in Hannover, Germany. Immediately upon completing her studies, she won the audition for Principal Viola of the Basel Symphony Orchestra.

A founding member of Orchestra La Scintilla, the renowned baroque ensemble of the Zurich Opera, Ms. Forster performs as soloist, chamber musician, and principal violist. Her work in historically informed performance has brought collaborations with distinguished artists including Riccardo Minasi, Mahan Esfahani, and Enrico Onofri.

Throughout her career, she has worked closely with some of the most eminent conductors of our time, among them Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Franz Welser-Möst, Riccardo Chailly, and Zubin Mehta.

Ms. Forster appears regularly at the Paax Music Festival in Mexico and at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, where she serves as principal violist. She is also frequently invited to lead the viola sections of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, the Bavarian State Orchestra, and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Deeply committed to pedagogy, Karen Forster taught for ten years at the Musikhochschule Luzern. She continues to teach with great dedication, considering the passing on of knowledge and experience to the next generation an essential and inspiring part of her artistic life.