Violalia Duo is a collaboration between violinist/violist Laura Thompson and violist/composer Hannah Selin. Founded in 2021, the duo embraces the limber, conversational nature of their instrumentation, bringing musicality, curiosity, and a sense of humor to audiences in often-intimate concert settings. The group’s name is a both mashup of violin and viola, and a play on the word glossolalia (speaking in tongues). Violalia Duo is dedicated to exploring the musical and sonic possibilities of their small but mighty instrumentation. Their repertoire focuses on 20th and 21st century music for violin and viola, and includes works by Augusta Read Thomas, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ennio Morricone, Ari Sussman, George Tsontakis, Sepehr Pirasteh and Selin herself. The duo also has an avid interest in creating new works, both internally and in conjunction with other living composers. Violalia’s 2022/23 season included concerts in New York and Philadelphia, as well as the premiere of newly commissioned Double Song II by Matthew Greenbaum.

Violalia’s 2023/24 season will include concerts in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and beyond. Stay tuned for details!

~ scroll down for videos from our past performances! ~