About Us: Meet the Musicians

David Marschall has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony since 1987 and was  appointed Associate Principal Viola in 2007. Since 1990, he has spent his summers playing in the orchestra of the Santa Fe Opera. David is a member of the chamber ensemble Quercus, and he is a member of New Music Raleigh, an ensemble dedicated to the music of living composers. He performs regularly in the Peace College Chamber Music Series and with the Mallarme Chamber Players.

David has also served as Principal Viola for the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and the Columbus Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra. He was a member of the New Orleans Symphony, the Innsbruck (Austria) Symphony, the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Colorado Philharmonic.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, David studied first at Ohio State, and he received his Master's degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Karen Tuttle. His viola was made in 2009 by Grubaugh and Seifert of California. David's wife, Amy, teaches German and English at Raleigh Charter High School, and they have two sons, Philip and Owen.

How did you choose your instrument?
A young contrarian, I thought “everyone plays the violin,” so I checked the box next to “viola” on the index card in my 4th grade class. Forty-three years later…

What are three of your favorite movies?
Godfather 1 & 2
Toy Story 1 & 3
Rocky 1,2,3,4, & 5

What’s your favorite spot for a post-concert drink or bite to eat?
Char-Grill (Steakburger Jr. with chili and slaw).

What do you think is the greatest misconception about music?
That it is relaxing. We hope you find the music we play, and the performances of it, exhilarating, enchanting, spine-tingling, rapturous, terrifying, breath-taking and fun. Relaxing, not so much.

What is in your mp3 player right now?
Well, I usually just put my iTunes on shuffle, so I never know which of the 12056 items will come up next, but these days I am listening to all the great Christmas compilations my friend Bruce Ridge has given me over the years.

What famous figure, living or dead, would you most like to invite for dinner, and why?
Kim Kashkashian, the best violist in the world, with four of my friends, so we could play Brahms sextets after dinner.

What is your fantasy career?
Artistic Director of a limitlessly funded summer baroque/21st –century chamber music festival in the Jemez mountains of New Mexico…and/or Associate Principal Viola in the North Carolina Symphony.

What would you consider to be the perfect classical concert program?
• Bach’s Art of the Fugue, in my arrangement that would include all of my best friends
• Mozart’s D-mior String Quartet, with me sitting in with the St. Lawrence String Quartet • Mahler’s 5th Symphony, with me sitting in with the Berlin Phil
• Encore: Ian Bostridge singing Schubert’s Winterreise, with me in the audience (Yes, I realize this would make a very long evening.)

Other than concerts with the North Carolina Symphony, where can you we catch you performing around town?
I sometimes turn up on programs at our Peace College Chamber Series, with Mallarme Chamber Players, with Karen Galvin’s New Music Raleigh, and with my own group, a piano quartet called Quercus, with my friends Carol Chung, Bonnie Thron and Frank Pittman. And for 20 summers, I’ve been playing in the orchestra at the Santa Fe Opera—a place you definitely want to visit. Stick your head into the pit and say hi!

What is your favorite North Carolina Symphony moment?
Kiri Te Kanawa singing Strauss’s Four Last Songs, in the late 80s.

What is your favorite stress reliever?
Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday mornings with Peng Li (NCS cellist) and friends.

What is always in your kitchen?
White sugar, brown sugar, honey, cookies, cakes, candies and chocolate syrup.

Do you have any performance rituals or superstitions?
For solo recitals, I put a Little Debbie snack cake in my tux pocket so I don’t take myself too seriously.

What was the first piece of music you fell in love with?
Mozart’s String Quartet in G Major, K. 389, from a DG recording of the Amadeus Quartet that my parents gave me in junior high. I would put on the big bulky stereo headphones, lie on the living room and blow my mind.

Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Ice Road Truckers.

What work have you always wanted the opportunity to perform?
The first movement of Mahler’s 10th Symphony, which we finally did this year! (Weren’t the violas great?)

Do you like sharing a stand with Anton?
YES!