James Cunningham

Bio

James is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, GA. Graduated of the University of Michigan School of Music where he studied Viola Performance with Yizhak Schotten. He was a member of the Bagatov, Ajax, and Brookside String Quartets; as well as the Fitumi Quartet and Baroque Chamber Orchestra, on baroque viola. James studied with Victoria Chiang and James Dunham as an Orchestral Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen, CO. While at Aspen, James was a section player in the Aspen Festival Orchestra and the Aspen Chamber Symphony; he also sat Principal Viola in Aspen Opera Theatre’s production of A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim. In 2017, James toured Spain as Principal Viola of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Summer 2016, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with conductor C. Eschenbach as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the USA. James plays on a 2014 William Bagnato viola made in Chicago, IL, USA.