JMU faculty members Diane Phoenix-Neal, Paulo Steinberg and Carl Donakowski will perform an eclectic program of works for viola with piano and viola with cello, with themes ranging from meditation to dance. The program features compositions by German composer Paul Hindemith, American composer Quinn Mason, and Latin American composers Edmundo Villani-Côrtes, Edino Krieger and José Elizondo.

Diane Phoenix-Neal performs nationally and internationally as a collaborative chamber musician and as a soloist. She also enjoys her roles as a clinician and educator nationwide. Originally from North Carolina, she is a longstanding performing faculty member of the Eastern Music Festival and holds the position of principal violist of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. In France, she served as both the principal solo violist of l’Orchestre de Picardie and as violist of Quatuor Joachim for nearly a decade. Her recent recitals and projects featuring contemporary music for viola have been presented at the Northwestern University New Music Conference, The 36th Annual JMU Contemporary Music Festival, and at the Academy of Music in Kraków, Poland. Phoenix-Neal received her training from The Juilliard School as a student of William Lincer, Paul Doktor and of the Juilliard Quartet, and earned her doctorate from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Full bio

Paulo Steinberg has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist across the U.S., Canada, South America and Europe. During his sabbatical leave in 2017, he undertook a European recital tour stretching from the U.K. to Latvia that included Ireland, Scotland, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany and Sweden. He holds piano performance degrees from Conservatório Carlos Gomes, Universidade de São Paulo, Arizona State University (M.M) and Indiana University (D.M.). Steinberg often serves as an adjudicator in competitions, and offers master classes, lectures, workshops and performances in the U.S. and abroad. His summers regularly include teaching at the Saarburg Chamber Music Festival in Germany and traveling around Europe, Brazil and Canada. His research interests focus on piano technique and Brazilian music. Four CD albums have been released recently: The Recital Clarinetist in collaboration with clarinetist Dr. Janice Minor; Duos in collaboration with clarinetist Dr. Sarunas Jankauskas; Time, Place, Spirit in collaboration with flutist Dr. Beth Chandler; and his solo CD album Alma Brasileira. Full bio

Carl Donakowski was a prizewinner in the 1989 Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin. His recital performances have aired on WQRS Detroit, WQXR New York and Sudwestfunk Radio Baden-Baden. As a chamber musician, he has been a member of the North Shore Pro Musica, the Fontana Chamber Music Society and the Orpheus Piano Trio. As a member of the West End Chamber Ensemble, he participated in the National Endowment for the Arts/Chamber Music America Rural Residency Chamber Music Initiative. During the summer, he teaches and performs at the Bay View Music Festival (Michigan) as a member of the Westbrook String Quartet. Donakowski holds a B.M. from Indiana University, a D.M.A. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and an Artist Diploma from the Musikhochschule Freiburg. His major teachers were Timothy Eddy, Janos Starker, Gary Hoffman and Christoph Henkel. Full bio