ABOUT

Serving on the Executive Board of the American Viola Society, Goldstein is currently is currently professor of viola at University of Delaware and the Artistic director of the Goldstein Young Artist Program, which presents specialized courses at Universidad de Las Americas in Puebla, Mexico. Upcoming engagements include principal viola of the Delaware Symphony and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra.

He performs on a beautiful and rare Saint Cecille Vuillaume viola made in 1850.

Praised by the Chicago Tribune for his “incredible performance” violist Elias Goldstein has distinguished himself as one of the great instrumentalists of his generation. Prize winner in the leading viola competitions of the world, including the 2011 International Primrose Competition, the 2010 Lionel Tertis Competition, he is also the first American to be awarded a top prize in the Bashmet International Competition in Moscow. He has achieved recognition and critical acclaim as a champion of his instrument, being the first violist invited to Carnegie Hall to perform all 24 Caprices by Paganini, a program that later toured the United States and Europe.

 As a recitalist he has performed in many of the great halls of the world including Alice Tully, David Geffen, Seattle Symphony’s Benaroya Hall, the Kennedy Center, Salle Cortot, George Enescu Philharmonic, and Musikiitalo Helsinki. He frequently collaborates with the world’s foremost musicians including Julian Rachlin, Vadim Gluzman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Johannes Moser, Nobuko Imai, Eli Eban, Ilya Kaler, the Pro Arte, Shanghai, Latin American, Arianna, and Cavani Quartets. His solo and orchestral appearances have brought collaborations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic and festival appearances include the George Enescu International Festival, Valdres International Festival, Beijing International Music Festival, and Chautauqua Festival. He has been featured live on Medici TV, Classical King FM Seattle, WFMT Chicago, Romanian National Television, and Nacional Clásica Argentina.

Dedicated to the expand the repertoire for viola, he has commissioned and premiered works by Jennifer Higdon and William Bolcom. In 2019 he gave the world premiere of Grammy Award Winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Songs and in 2018 was personally invited by William Bolcom to perform for the composer’s 80th anniversary concert at Merkin Hall in New York.  In 2023 he was honored to received the invitation to perform at the Golden Jubilee of King Carl XVI Gustaf with the Västerås Sinfonietta in Sweden.

As a dedicated pedagogue and coach, his students have won positions in major orchestras including London, Dusseldorf, San Diego, North Carolina, Sarasota and Alabama symphonies. Under his mentorship, his students to have also received recognition as top prize winners in the ARD, Primrose, Tertis and Aronowitz International Viola competitions.