faculty

Catherine Forbes is Viola Professor and Director of Chamber Music at The University of Texas at Arlington. She is Founding Director of the UTA Viola Recital Lecture Series, now in its 29th season.

Renowned as a gifted teacher, her students have been prizewinners in local and national competitions, perform regularly with symphony orchestras and continue to pursue education at major conservatories in the United States and abroad.

Previous Artist Faculty appointments include the Heifetz International Music Institute, the Phillips Academy in Andover MA, and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico. As a recent guest of Vietnam Connection Music Festival, she presented chamber concerts and master classes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and performed as guest Principal Viola of the Hanoi Symphony.

Catherine was Assistant Principal violist of the Boston Philharmonic and the Santa Fe Chamber Orchestra. She has performed as artist in residence for the Andover Chamber Players in Massachusetts for four seasons. She toured New England with Musica Nova, premiering newly commissioned chamber music pieces to the acclaim of the Boston Globe. She was a featured performing artist at the XXVII International Viola Congress in Canada.

She held office as National Secretary of the American Viola Society for a four-year tenure, and was awarded the National Founder’s Award for excellence in performance, teaching and service. She is recipient of the University of Texas at Arlington College of Liberal Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. Most recently she was awarded the Phyllis Young Outstanding Studio Teacher Award for 2019 presented by the Texas American String Teachers Association.

Catherine completed her graduate studies at the New England Conservatory where she served as teaching assistant to Heidi Castleman.

She performs on a viola made by Vincenzo Panormo, c. 1790 and a bow made by Guillaume Maline in 1850.