Principal Viola of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for the seasons of 2018-2025, Tatjana Mead Chamis joined the orchestra in 1993, under the direction of Lorin Maazel and in 2003, was appointed Associate Principal Viola, under Mariss Jansons.

In 2015, Tatjana founded the Clarion Quartet, with three other members of the Pittsburgh Symphony. The virtuoso ensemble is dedicated to bringing to light the works of composers silenced by oppression. Their debut album, Breaking the Silence, was released in 2018 on the TYE/Naxos label.

Nominated in 2017 for a Latin Grammy for her performance of the Sonata for Viola and Piano, dedicated to her by the Brazilian composer/pianist, André Mehmari, Tatjana released an album of Brazilian music, titled Viola Brasil, in 2023. Her extensive performances as a recitalist and chamber musician have been broadcast on NPR and WQED in Pittsburgh. Among many solo appearances with the PSO, in 2024, Tatjana appeared as soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony with Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, and with the PostClassical Ensemble in a program of Brasilian music at the Kennedy Center. She was also the featured recitalist at the first South American appearance of the International Viola Congress, in Brasil.

This season, Tatjana looks forward to performing the world premiere of Yvar Mikhashoff’s Concerto for Viola, with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, on April 4, 2026.

Tatjana has taught masterclasses around the world and enjoys teaching/lecturing at the graduate level at Carnegie Mellon University.

Tatjana is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Joseph dePasquale, and the student of Mikhail Boguslavsky, co-founder of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, with whom she began her viola studies, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When Tatjana takes time away from her main love of music making, she can be found cycling every road and mountain trail in the Pittsburgh vicinity. She is also the lucky mother of a daughter and twin sons.