Peter Kenote was born in Seattle, Washington. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and his master and doctorate degrees in music performance from The Juilliard School. Since 1983, he has been a member of the New York Philharmonic viola section. In February 2008, he performed Berio’s Sequenza VI for solo viola at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Day of Berio. In the 2009–10 season, he played the premieres of a new viola concerto with the South Dakota Symphony written for him by composer Neal Harnly, and “Moto Perpetuo,” a new work for viola and percussion ensemble by Braxton Blake. In 2018, he was invited to play Hindemith’s “Trauermusik” and Berlioz’s “Harold in Italy” for the Michael Tree memorial concert by the Society of Musical Arts Orchestra. Peter especially enjoys performing in concert with his wife, cellist Sara Male, and daughters, soprano Rebekah AuYeung and mezzo-soprano Ruth Kenote. He plays on a viola made for him in 1977 by David Wiebe.

Education:

DMA, The Juilliard School, New York City, NY
MM, The Juilliard School, New York City, NY
BM, University of Washington, Seattle, WA