Madalyn Parnas
Second Violin
Principal, Elizabeth and John Stahr Chair
Born in 1991, American violinist Madalyn Parnas Möller secures her place on today’s concert stage by bringing inimitable style and artistic vision to every performance.
Since her solo debut at the age of twelve performing the Kabalevsky Violin Concerto, Parnas Möller’s concert record throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia has affirmed her dedication to performance and new repertoire. As a guest soloist, she has toured France with L’Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and performed concertos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and the New York String Alumni Orchestra conducted by Jaime Laredo, among many others.
She has presented multiple world premieres, including Sven-David Sandström’s violin concerto, Force and Beauty, as well as composer Don Byrd’s Violin Concerto. In recent seasons, she has performed recitals at the Kennedy Center, New York’s Subculture, San Francisco Performances, the Minneapolis Museum of Russian Art, Shriver Hall Concert Series, and the San Francisco Academy of Achievement International Summit as a guest delegate. Her solo recording project with Aqua, an Argentinian/Latin American label, was distributed by Naxos in 2021.
A passionate chamber musician, Parnas Möller’s collaborations have included projects alongside acclaimed artists such as Peter Serkin, Jaime Laredo, Zuill Bailey, and her most long-standing partnership, Duo Parnas with her sister, cellist Cicely Parnas. Winning 1st Prize at Carnegie Hall’s International Chamber Music Competition in 2007, Duo Parnas has since appeared at countless festivals throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Israel, including Tanglewood, Banff, Maverick Concerts, Music Mountain, the American Composers Festival, Lachine Music Festival, Sitka Festival Winter Classics, Northwest Bach Festival, El Paso Pro Musica, and the ProQuartet Festival. Frequently engaged as artists-in-residence, Duo Parnas has toured Asia in the International Musical Arts Festivals of Shanghai and Macao, and served residencies with the El Paso and Sitka Music Festivals. As recording artists for the Sheffield Lab recording label, Duo Parnas has released three albums that feature both pre-existing works and commissions by award-winning composers of the 21st century, including Bill Bolcom, Charles Wuorinen, Paul Moravec, and Lera Auerbach.
Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2016, Parnas Möller has established a diverse career as a performer, recitalist, freelancer, and educator throughout the Southern California region. She received 1st Prize at the 2017 Beverly Hills Chamber Music Auditions and appears regularly as guest artist for venues including Boston Court Pasadena Chamber Music Series, Le Salon de Musiques, and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. As an orchestral artist, Parnas Möller has been engaged as guest concertmaster for numerous ensembles, including the Long Beach Opera and Pacific Opera Project. In Spring 2024, Parnas Möller won the position of Principal Second Violinist for Pacific Symphony. She currently serves on the faculty for California State University.
Parnas Möller holds a Doctorate of Music from UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music; a Master of Music and Artist Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; a Master of Arts from the London Royal Academy of Music; and a Bachelor of Science from The College of Saint Rose where she graduated summa cum laude with a double major in Music Industry and French. Parnas Möller’s academic honors include selection as a 2012 Marshall Scholar, as well as earning the Josef Gingold Award and twice the Artistic Excellence Award at Indiana University. Her principal teachers include her grandfather and legendary cellist Leslie Parnas, Movses Pogossian, Varty Manouelian, Mark Kaplan, György Pauk, Jaime Laredo, James Buswell, and Betty-Jean Hagen. Parnas Möller performs on a 2016 Andrew Ryan violin.