Rebecca Swan
Violist Rebecca Swan received her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory. She is an avid Chicago freelancer and is Principal Violist of Chicago Sinfonietta, Illinois Philarmonic, and Rockford Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Elgin Symphony. Her vibrant freelance career includes playing with many orchestra groups in the Chicago area, including Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Philharmonic, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, and Camerata Chicago. In 2019, she performed Brandenburg Concerto no. 6 with Camerata Chicago. A lover of chamber music, Rebecca was thrilled to play with Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues on a live WFMT broadcast and is a founding member of the Ivy Lane String Quartet. Rebecca has played with the Charlotte Symphony, Iris Chamber Orchestra under Michael Stern, New World Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas, and The Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica. She was also the youngest member ever to be accepted into the Civic Orchestra of Chicago under Daniel Barenboim when she was 16. Rebecca loves the variety that a freelance career has brought her, and some of her favorite gigs have been playing Principal Viola in Charlotte’s Broadway series, as well as the stage orchestra for Josh Groban, Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli, and Game of Thrones concert tour. Festivals include Aspen Music Festival, the Perlman Program with Itzhak Perlman, Musicorda, the Quartet Program, Madeline Island, and Credo. Distinctions include first place in the ASTA Biennial Solo Competition and first place in the Stanger Young Artist Concerto Competition, where she had the opportunity to solo with the Elmhurst Symphony. She was also prizewinner in the Chicago Viola Society competition and Hudson Valley String Competition. When she’s not playing viola, Rebecca enjoys training for marathons (4 completed!), home improvement projects, and spending time with her family.