Matthew Adams

Matthew Adams is a Fellow at the New World Symphony. Prior to NWS, Matthew performed with the Ann Arbor Symphony in Michigan as a tenured section violinist.

Matthew received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in Viola Performance from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theater and Dance, styduying under the tutelage of Aaron Berofsky. While earning his master's degree, Matthew was a recipient of the Sphinx Scholarship, which provided full tuition coverage for both years of the degree.

Born and raised in Cincinnati OH, Matthew studied with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Principal Second Violinist Gabriel Pegis, after initial studies with Jacquie Fennell. He was a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, where he was associate concertmaster. He also performed with the Nouveau Chamber players, a group made up of students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Matthew has been a prize winner in numerous competitions, including the First Prize at the 2017 Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony concerto competition and Second Prize at the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. He was a semifinalist in the Sphinx competition in 2016. In 2016, Matthew performed as a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on their Young People's Concerts series.

Matthew has attended summer festivals at Aspen, Chautauqua, Bowdoin, and Lyricafest. He has performed in masterclasses with Augustin Hadelich, Kurt Sassmanshaus, Tai Murray, the Ariel Quartet, Robert Chen, Bing Wang, Grigory Kalinovsky, Almita Vamos, Ilya Kaler, and Janet Sung.

In his spare time, Matthew enjoys reading, finding new music to listen to, and making paper collages.

Matthew’s violin is on generous loan from the Virtu Foundation.

Matthew was a Grant Park Music Festival String Fellow in 2023.