Maxwell Alemán is a Spanish-American violist based in Leipzig, Germany. Since moving to Germany about a year ago, he has performed with camerata lipsiensis and the GewandhausChor in Leipzig and Switzerland, the Pauliner Barockensemble, and the lautten compagney BERLIN, and is a guest violist with the Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen. Prior to living in Germany, he collaborated in a copious array of artistic projects while based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, including those as principal violist of the Ciconia Consort and Libero Strijkorkest. Alemán performed on many of Holland's most respected stages, including the Royal Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ Amsterdam, TivoliVredenburg Utrecht, and De Doelen Rotterdam. Further international projects of note include concertizing in Belgium with the Intercontinental Ensemble, France with Génération Baroque, and Sweden with the Royal Swedish Opera under the direction of Andrew Litton.

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Originally a student of the Galamian Method with Debra Moree at Ithaca College, Alemán continued his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with respected soloists and chamber musicians, Sven Arne Tepl and Richard Wolfe, and with numerous masterclass technicians, including Jürgen Kussmaul and Nobuko Imai. A venture back to the US after these studies took Alemán through years of extensive training in Karen Tuttle’s “Coordination Method” – a revolutionary school of viola playing known internationally for producing some of the world’s best performers. Alemán studied this method under Michelle LaCourse, Tuttle’s longest and most devout teaching assistant. He has also studied the Coordination Method in masterclasses with Susan Dubois, Edward Gazouleas, Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, and Karen Ritscher.

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Ever curious and in seeking a broader range of colors on the instrument, Alemán later studied historically-informed performance (HIP) practice with mentor, Jane Rogers of the Academy of Ancient Music and Royal College of Music in London. This undertaking of HIP, as it relates to both the modern and period viola, allows him to more holistically and deliberately place the mind, body, and viola on one axis. More recent mentorship in Germany has included Nadja Zwiener of The English Concert, Robert Lis of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Tahlia Petrosian of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Lisa Klotz of the Staatstheater Nürnberg, and Bennet Morrice Ortmann of the Philharmonische Orchester der Hansestadt Lübeck.

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These past years have also taken him to projects in Italy, France, and the UK led by experts in the field of HIP, including Rinaldo Alessandrini, Boris Begelman, Marco Frezzato, Martin Gester, Claire Holden, George Kennaway, and Rachel Podger. He has also been invited to participate in the masterclasses and coachings of Daniel Bard, Marjolein Dispa, Daniel Gaisford, Naum Grubert, Maria Milstein, Robert Nairn, Kurt Nikkanen, Margaret Urquhart, Francien Schatborn, Donald Weilerstein, Teunis van der Zwart, and the New Zealand String Quartet. Directors of note from his performance history include Menno van Delft, Ed Spanjaard, Brian DeMaris, and Jeffery Meyer in concert at Alice Tully Hall (New York). Further tutors of note include Danielle Farina, Maureen Gallagher, and Elizabeth Simkin.

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