Meet the Musicians: Noah Geller

By Leilani Polk

Noah Geller is a towering presence, and not only because he’s often the tallest man on the concert hall stage. As the Seattle Symphony’s David & Amy Fulton Concertmaster, he is the orchestra’s most prominent player and leader of the First Violin section

His parents compelled him to play music at age 5. He chose violin, but admits, “I was very obstinate as a child and didn’t want to practice.” While he tried to quit for many years, his parents persuaded him to continue, telling him he was too good to make that decision, or too young. “‘Just wait until you’re a little older. When you turn 13, you can quit,’” he recounts.

It was a savvy delaying tactic — by then, he’d decided he wanted to keep at it. And the effort paid off; the Chicago-born violinist was eventually accepted at The Juilliard School, where he earned both his undergraduate and master’s degrees. He won his first professional gig as a First Violin for the Philadelphia Orchestra after one audition, later rising to Acting Assistant Concertmaster before he moved on to a Concertmaster role with Kansas City Symphony, ultimately joining the Seattle Symphony in its 2018/2019 season.

“Seattle is, by far, the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived,” he says. He soaks up the area’s pristine natural scenery during long walks at Discovery Park with his wife and “western Missouri brown dog” Monkey (a boxer mix) or hiking the trails of Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. He also enjoys spending quality time with friends, trying out new restaurants (or returning to old favorites like Ethan Stowell’s How to Cook a Wolf in Queen Anne), running, playing sports. In fact, he’s pretty much down for any recreational pursuits — bar games like pool and darts, outdoor activities like corn hole and shuffleboard. “Anything I can get competitive with, I’m having a good time.”

Geller is anticipating an exciting 2022/2023 season, particularly playing Bartók’s Second Concerto with one of his favorite conductors, David Robertson. “This is one of the pinnacles of the repertoire and I couldn’t be happier with this collaboration.” He’s also looking forward to Seong Jin Cho performing Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel (“a desert island piece for me”), and Britten’s Violin Concerto with Grammy-winning soloist Augustin Hadelich. “This should be an absolute must for lovers of the violin.”

2022/2023 Masterworks Series Sponsor: Delta Air Lines
Noah Geller’s position is generously underwritten as the David & Amy Fulton Concertmaster