Diane Phoenix-Neal, viola and Paulo Steinberg, piano

Enjoy warm and lively works from  South America and the United States for viola and piano.

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

Dr. Paulo Steinberg has enjoyed an active career as a soloist and collaborative pianist across the United States, Canada, South America, and Europe. He has performed in prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Theatro Municipal de São Paulo. A frequent adjudicator, master class clinician, and guest lecturer, Dr. Steinberg is deeply engaged in artistic and educational projects around the world. His summer work includes teaching at the Saarburg Chamber Music Summer Festival and pursuing performance and research projects in Europe, Brazil, and Canada.

Dr. Steinberg holds degrees in Piano Performance from Conservatório "Carlos Gomes" and Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil, as well as graduate degrees from Arizona State University (M.M.) and Indiana University (D.M.). His principal teachers include Carlos Yansen, Paulo Gori, Gilberto Tinetti, and Evelyne Brancart.

He currently serves as President of the Harrisonburg Music Teachers Association and Chair of Music in Every Home, a program that provides scholarships for underrepresented piano and guitar students. He has also held past leadership positions, including President of the Virginia Music Teachers Association.

Dr. Steinberg’s discography includes The Recital Clarinetist (with Dr. Janice Minor), Duos (with Dr. Šarūnas Jankauskas), Time, Place, Spirit (with Dr. Beth Chandler Cahill), and Alma Brasileira, which was featured in the Brazilian film As Cadeiras. Full bio