About this Artist

A native of Almira, Washington, violist MINOR L. WETZEL studied at Indiana University and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan. His teachers have included Paul Coletti, Roland Vamos, Emmanuel Vardi, Donald McInnes, Camilla Wicks, Yizhak Schotten, and Tadeusz Wronski. Dr. Wetzel completed his doctoral degree in viola performance at UCLA in 2010.

His orchestral experience includes the Spokane Symphony, principal viola of the Ann Arbor Chamber and Sacramento Symphony Orchestras, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and – for the six years prior to joining the Philharmonic – the San Francisco Symphony.  He joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the start of the 1994/95 season.

He has performed as soloist with various local orchestras. His awards include the W. E. Hill & Sons Award at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition.

Wetzel has worked as a chamber music coach at the USC Thornton School of Music and taught viola performance on the faculty of UCLA. He currently teaches viola performance at The Colburn School. He is a regular performer on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Chamber Music series and has also performed with various ensembles at the Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella concerts.

He and his wife Stacy, a member of the first violin section of the Philharmonic, have three children and two grandchildren.