Matthew Adams

Matthew Adams is a second-year Violin Fellow at the New World Symphony. Prior to NWS, he performed with the Ann Arbor Symphony in Michigan as a tenured section violinist. He was also a String Fellow with the Grant Park Symphony in 2023, performing several concerts with the orchestra and around the city of Chicago.

Over the six years he spent in Ann Arbor attending the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theater and Dance, Matthew earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He studied with Aaron Berofsky for both. While earning his master's degree, Matthew was a recipient of the Sphinx Scholarship, which provided full tuition coverage for both years of the degree.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Matthew studied with Cincinnati Symphony Principal Second Violin Gabriel Pegis, after initial studies with Jacquie Fennell. Matthew was a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO), where he was associate concertmaster during his senior year. He also performed with the Nouveau Chamber players, a group made up of students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Matthew has been a prizewinner in competitions, including the 2017 Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony concerto competition (first prize) and the CSYO concerto competition (second prize). He was a semifinalist in the Sphinx competition in 2016. In 2016 Matthew performed as a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during one of its Young People’s Concerts.

Matthew has attended summer festivals at Aspen, Chautauqua, Bowdoin and Lyricafest. He has performed in master classes with Augustin Hadelich, Kurt Sassmanshaus, Tai Murray, the Ariel Quartet, Robert Chen, Bing Wang, Grigory Kalinovsky, Almita Vamos, Ilya Kaler and Janet Sung.

In his spare time, Matthew enjoys reading, finding new music to listen to, and making paper collages.

Matthew’s violin is on generous loan from the Virtu Foundation.