The Musicians
Susan Pardue (Viola)
Member of the JSO: Since 1991
Hometown: Winston-Salem, N.C.
Education: High school diploma and Bachelor of Music at North Carolina School of the Arts, Master of Music at The Juilliard School, post graduate study at La Scuola di Musica di Fiesole as a Fulbright Scholar
Why the viola? "I started the viola at age 15. My mother is a piano teacher and my father is a singer, so I played the piano and sang as soon as I was big enough to sit at the piano. I love the sound of the viola, so it eventually won out over other instruments."
Performance experience: "I was in the New World Symphony before coming to Jacksonville. I play in the Breckenridge Music Festival in Breckenridge, CO every summer. It is a great opportunity to play chamber music and make music in a different setting. The mountain biking is great too."
Favorite composer: "I enjoy many kinds of music, particularly opera."
Hobbies: "I enjoy running."