Katja Yeager

Katja Yeager is an active orchestral violist, chamber musician, studio musician, and dedicated teacher. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Ms. Yeager earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Viola Performance as a student of Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey. Initially trained as a Suzuki Method violinist in Greater Washington where she grew up, she credits the foundations of her musical appreciation and technique to her very first teachers, David Strom (Northern Virginia Suzuki Music School) and Tsuna Sakamoto (National Symphony Orchestra).

Ms. Yeager’s orchestral experience as a leader and section player includes performances with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Verbier Festival Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Ann Arbor Symphony. She has performed under distinguished conductors such as Manfred Honeck, Valery Gergiev, Lahav Shani, Matthias Pintscher, Theodore Kuchar, and Fabio Luisi; and with internationally recognized soloists such as Kristof Barati, Joshua Bell, Renaud Capucon, Jinjoo Cho, Joelle Harvey, and Golda Schultz. In addition to her Proms debut at Royal Albert Hall in 2013 as a member of the inaugural National Youth Orchestra of the United States, she toured Southeast Asia with the Lincoln Center Stage Piano Quintet aboard the MS Westerdam in 2019.

Previous years have seen Ms. Yeager performing chamber music at private events, community concerts, and at American music festivals including the Castleman Quartet Program, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival as a fellowship recipient. She is also a performing member of the Nashville Chamber Music Society. As a studio musician, she has recorded for orchestral projects of renowned film composers including Aaron Zigman, Bear McCreary, and Trevor Morris, and for companies such as Sony, Apple Studios, and Netflix.

Ms. Yeager currently lives in West Nashville where she holds a small private viola studio. Additionally, she holds an adjunct professorship at both Tennessee State University and Nashville State Community College.

Ms. Yeager also offers Practice Partner sessions. If you are interested in this service as a supplement to your or your child’s private lessons, please contact (preferably, have your private teacher contact) her for more information. For reference, you may contact David Strom via the SAA Member Directory.