Joshua Newburger, viola
Josh Newburger is the principal violist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and assistant professor of orchestral repertoire at the Eastman School of Music. Originally from Austin, TX, Josh was encouraged early in his musical studies to explore a multitude of genres and styles. At one time equally at home playing jazz manouche, indie pop, or the music of the Romani people in the bars and clubs of downtown Austin, he was a member of the locally-adored indie pop orchestra Mother Falcon and a frequent guest of iconic Austin performer Oliver Rajamani.
In more recent years he has served as the assistant principal violist of the Pacific Symphony and performed as a guest principal for the Santa Barbara Symphony and the Fresno Philharmonic. He has also had the privilege of subbing with the sections of the Cleveland Orchestra, LA Phil, San Diego Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic, and has been a featured soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic twice in Bach’s Sixth Brandenburg Concerto and the Schulhoff Concerto for String Quartet and Winds. In September of 2025 he will be in the foreground again as the viola soloist in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante.
During his time in the Los Angeles area Josh recorded for numerous feature films and television productions, working with a star-studded slate of contemporary composers including John Williams, James Newton Howard, Brian Tyler, and Ludwig Göransson. Among other credits, he can be heard on the soundtracks for movies from the Star Wars, Lego Movie, Creed, Charlie’s Angels, and IT franchises, and TV series including The Mandalorian, The Orville, and American Dad.
Josh has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as a member of the Verbier Festival Chamber orchestra, and a guest musician with Ivan Fischer’s Budapest Festival Orchestra. He was twice selected as the assistant principal violist of the New York String Orchestra and studied as a fellow at the Music Academy of the West and the Verbier Festival.
During graduate school, Josh had the privilege of picking up a baroque viola with Yale’s Schola Cantorum, and has continued to perform music of the baroque era on both modern and baroque instruments with the Colorado Bach Ensemble and Rochester’s Publick Musick.
He has also frequently been heard locally on the Chamber Music Rochester series and in various Eastman series, and was a guest artist at the Geneva (NY) Music Festival in 2024.
Josh received his Bachelor’s degree in violin from the New England Conservatory as a student of Nicholas Kitchen. Under the guidance of Rochester native Michael Klotz, Josh found his voice with the viola and ultimately obtained his Master’s degree in viola from Yale, where he studied with Ettore Causa.
