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Simon is available for violin and viola lessons in Chapel Hill, he is an experienced teacher having had a private studio for over 20 years. He has also taught both violin and viola at summer festivals including Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and the UNCG Summer Music Camp.

 

Simon Ertz is principal viola of the Winston Salem Symphony and the North Carolina Opera. As principal of Winston Salem Symphony he regularly performs solos, including in November 2016 performing the Britten Double Concerto. He plays as a regular substitute in both the Charlotte Symphony and North Carolina and teaches viola at UNC Chapel Hill.

Simon was the violist with the Degas Quartet from 2002 until 2012; before that he was pursuing a masters degree in viola performance at Michigan State University where he was also a teaching assistant. Simon received his Doctoral of Musical Arts degree from UNCG in 2016.

Simon grew up in the north west of Scotland and moved to Manchester to study at Chethams and to have regular lessons at the age of seventeen. After two years there he studied viola at the Royal Northern College of Music with Roger Raphael and Simon Rowland-Jones. Simon was a member of several chamber music groups, which won prizes including the Terrence Weil and Leonard Hirsch competitions. He was also awarded the Thomas Barret memorial prize for viola. By the time Simon graduated from the RNCM he was working with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Northern Chamber, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

After two years working in the UK, Simon moved to Michigan to continue his education. As well as completing his Master's degree at Michigan State University, he served as assistant principal viola of the Greater Lansing Symphony and played in the orchestra's string quartet. During his time in Syracuse, Simon was a member of the Syracuse Symphony and played at Carnegie Hall with them in April 2003. He has also made chamber music appearances with members of the orchestra including concerts for the 2003 Geneva festival.

As a member of the Degas Quartet Simon has performed in venues across the country including appearing as guest artists at the Aspen Music festival, the Chicago Chamber Music Society and at the Library of Congress where he performed on the Tuscan Medici Stradivarius.

Simon Ertz plays a viola made by his brother, Neil Ertz