Described as "assured, brilliant, and stylish" by the New York Times, violist Kyle Armbrust made his New York debut in Avery Fisher Hall in 2002, performing the Bartok Viola Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra under the direction of Kurt Masur. He was awarded first prize in the Chicago Viola Society, Midwest Young Artists, and Rembrandt Chamber Players Competitions, and the Faber Prize at the 2003 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition.
In May 2005, Mr. Armbrust was invited to perform with Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma at the Neue Gallery in New York City, and in December 2005 he performed the J.S. Bach Viola Concerto with The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in Bern, Switzerland. Since being accepted onto the A level of the orchestra's substitute viola list in January 2006, he has performed regularly in the viola section of the Philadelphia Orchestra, joining the orchestra for a U.S. tour in March 2007.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Armbrust is a founding member of the Phaedrus String Quartet, which performed recitals in the Aix en Provence (FRA), Schleswig Holstein (DEU), and Verbier (CHE) Festivals in July 2006. Formed in 1999, the Phaedrus Quartet has collaborated with Nicholas Angelich, Yuri Bashmet, Joshua Bell, Dimut Poppen, and Yevgeny Sudbin, and has performed extensively in Europe. Mr. Armbrust has participated in the Ravinia and Marlboro music festivals and recently went on tour with Musicians from Ravinia. Mr. Armbrust also plays with the Xtreme Trio, a string trio that specializes in performing new music; and with the Knights, a chamber orchestra based in Brooklyn, which recently performed the premiere of a work entitled Harmony, with the violinist and composer Mark O'Connor.
Mr. Armbrust received his Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Juilliard School where he studied with Misha Amory, Heidi Castleman, and Michael Tree. He is currently enrolled in the Artist Diploma Program, and will finish his studies at Juilliard in April 2008.