Pearl de la Motte

Pearl de la Motte is a violist studying at the Juilliard School with Hsin-Yun Huang and a member of the Cabaletta Quartet. She won first place at the 2024 Klein International String Competition and the 2021 American Viola Society National Competition, and placed third at the 2024 Stulberg International String Competition, marking her as one of the more decorated young violists on the American competition circuit.

Walton's Viola Concerto is one of the instrument's defining showcases, written to give the viola the kind of virtuosic, melancholy spotlight usually reserved for violin or cello, and it takes a player with real technical assurance to carry an entire concert on it. De la Motte's competition record, including a Klein International String Competition win judged specifically on viola playing, suggests she has that assurance already. She began on violin at age two before switching to viola at ten, drawn to its darker, more expressive voice, and her competition repertoire choices point to a player equally comfortable with lyrical and dramatic playing.

De la Motte is the second of eleven children in a musical family and began playing violin at age two, switching to viola at ten. She now studies at the Juilliard School with Hsin-Yun Huang as a recipient of the Kovner Fellowship, and is a member of the Cabaletta Quartet. Her competition record includes first place at the 2024 Klein International String Competition, first place at the 2021 American Viola Society National Competition, and third place at the 2024 Stulberg International String Competition.