Olga Goija: Violist

I was fascinated by the viola after I watched Ms. Ruth Killus perform with the MPO last yr. I searched for her online but came across Olga Goija, another violist. I was especially enthralled by her rendition of Sergei Prokofiev's 4 Suites for Viola & Piano; the song was wonderful & her skills were amazing. Taken from her site here:

Olga Goija was born in Daugavpils and grew up Riga, Latvia, where she began studying violin at the age of eight. She received her pre-conservatory training at the E. Darzins music school in Riga, where she became passionate about the viola. After graduating from E. Darzins in 2000, Ms. Goija moved to Los Angeles, where she studied with Evan Wilson (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Robert Becker (Pacific Symphony Orchestra), and Donald McInnes (Primrose Chair at the USC Thornton School of Music). She has also played in master classes with Roland Vamos, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, the Ysaye String Quartet, and the Takacs String Quartet, as well as in the Corwin master classes with Evan Wilson. During that time, Ms. Goija was awarded scholarships by Chapman University and the USC Thorton School of Music, as well as for the Chautauqua Summer Festival (New York) and the Crested Butte Summer Viola Workshops (Colorado). Ms. Goija has participated in the W. Primrose International Viola Competition (2005) and the L. Tertis International Viola Competition (2006).

Ms. Goija plays regularly throughout California with such groups as Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Redlands Symphony Orchestra, New West Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Riverside Philharmonic, Santa Maria Philharmonic, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, Mozart Classical Orchestra, San Bernardino Symphony, and Dakah Hip-Hop Orchestra. She is a passionate and versatile performer, and has recently graced such varied stages as Los Angeles' Disney Hall, the 2004 North Beach Jazz Festival (San Francisco, California), the 2005 South by Southwest Music Festival (Austin, Texas), the 2005 Playboy Jazz Festival and the 2005 New Orleans Jazz Festival. She has also performed in broadcasts for PBS and KCRW. 

I've tried the viola before; it's bigger & slightly more difficult to handle compared to a violin, but Ms. Olga certainly has no problem with that. She plays with such spirit & determination, it's hard not to enjoy & adore the deep mellow voice of the viola. I certainly hope to catch her live in concert, she's truly a talented violist ;)