Violist Leah Ferguson joined the New York Philharmonic in October 2018, having previously been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Leah’s career has taken her to some of the world’s most iconic venues including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. She has collaborated in live and recorded performances with renowned artists ranging from Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell and Miriam Fried to Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, and Jacob Collier.

Leah has performed at festivals including Music@Menlo, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, the Verbier Festival, and the Perlman Music Program. She has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as guest principal viola, with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal as associate principal viola, and with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra as assistant principal viola. Her performances have been broadcast by TED2025, WQXR The Greene Space, NPR’s From the Top, and HBO’s documentary series Masterclass.

Originally from Chicago, Leah began playing the violin at age five before switching to viola at age twelve, studying with Roland Vamos. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and went on to receive a graduate diploma from The Juilliard School as a recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. Her teachers have included Robert Vernon, Mark Jackobs, Heidi Castleman, and Cynthia Phelps.