Adam Smyla
Viola
San Francisco Symphony
Adam Smyla first received recognition when, at the age of seventeen, he won the first prize at the National Viola Competition, in his native Poland. Within six months, he became the youngest member of the Polish National Radio and Television Orchestra and was invited to join the Penderecki String Quartet.
As a member of the Penderecki Quartet, Mr. Smyla toured throughout the world for nearly a decade, averaging from fifty to eighty concerts a year, with major performances in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and New York, among other cities. Participation in the Oregon Bach Festival, the San Antonio Festival in Texas, the Peninsula Music festival in Wisconsin, the Rome Festival in Italy and the Midem Classique Festival in France gained him international recognition. He has also made numerous recordings for radio and television broadcasts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and South America.
In the spring of 1997, Mr. Smyla toured throughout China with performances in Beijing and Shanghai. Two years later, he completed a tour in Portugal as a soloist with the Orchestra Metropolitana de Lisboa. From 1995 to 2000, Mr. Smyla resided in Chicago, where he held the position of assistant principal violist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He was also the principal violist of the Concertainti di Chicago and the Peninsula Music Festival in Wisconsin.
Since the year 2000, Adam Smyla has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony and has held the position of associate principal violist for the past three seasons. He is the viola coach of the San Francisco Youth Symphony as well as a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Mr. Smyla frequently appears in chamber music concerts throughout the bay area, often in collaboration with his wife/pianist Edna Koren. As the principal violist of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, he is feature regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. In the upcoming 2009 season, Mr. Smyla will perform Carl Eberl's Viola Concerto on opening night in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony.
In his free time, he enjoys composing, playing the guitar and keeping up with his two you boys, Amitai and Elan.
