Faculty

Leslie Perna, viola, is a respected artist and teacher whose performances have been broadcast internationally on radio and television, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Brazil’s Radio and TV MEC and the ABC Nightly News.  She has recorded the music of some of today’s most important composers, including Samuel Adler, James Willey, and Andrew List for the Albany, Centaur, Capstone, New World and CRI labels.  Her performances have taken her to Europe, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Canada and many major American cities, where she is frequently invited to perform and teach viola and chamber music.  She has given presentations at numerous national conferences, and was awarded “Outstanding Collegiate String Educator” and “Artist Teacher of the Year” from Missouri ASTA.  She is currently Emeritus Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the University of Missouri, former violist of the Esterhazy Quartet and a founding member of the Concordia String Trio.