Andrea Houde
Andrea Priester Houde is an American violist whose genuine love and dedication to her craft can be seen in performances around the world and in the unique environment of her teaching studio. Houde is Associate Professor of Viola and String Area Coordinator at West Virginia University. She serves on the artist faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp and was a board member of the American Viola Society from 2016-2022 before being re-elected in 2024.
Houde has performed as soloist, chamber musician, and in orchestras in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Her versatility has led to such opportunities as performing tango with Astor Piazzolla’s godson and playing in a rock band on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. She has recorded for the Delos, Parma, and Albany record labels. Her solo album, The American Viola, features early to contemporary American works for the viola, including the historic world premiere of the first American viola composition.
Her love of connecting with people in the process of music-making has led to collaborations with several living composers. Viola works have been written or transcribed for Houde by Andrew Martin Smith, Jamie Leigh Sampson, C.E. Jones, Andrew Kohn, Matthew Heap, Jennifer Merkowitz, and Jennifer Jolley.
Houde has a zeal for teaching and pedagogy that equals that of her performances. She has given masterclasses at many universities in the US and abroad and has taught on the faculties of the University of Delaware, Orfeo Music Festival (Italy), Endless Mountain Music Festival, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, WVU String Chamber Music Intensive, and the Master Players Festival. She has given performances, presentations, and masterclasses at the 44th, 47th, and 49th International Viola Congresses, American Viola Society Festivals at the Colburn School and Oberlin Conservatory, and American String Teachers Association National Conferences.
Houde combines performance and teaching in clinics and presentations, including hosting Viola Days and Viola Bootcamps that bring violists from across the country together. She has adjudicated both nationally and internationally, including regional and national MTNA competitions and served as a first-round judge for the 2021 International Primrose Viola Competition.
Studies were at the University of Memphis with Lenny Schranze and at the Peabody Conservatory with Victoria Chiang. Additional teachers were Heidi Castleman, Jeffrey Irvine, Mark Jackobs, and David Holland. Houde lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, with her horn-playing husband Albert and their four children.