Stephen Goist

Acting Assistant Principal Viola

Violist Stephen Goist joined the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in 2024. Stephen enjoys a varied career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, and historical performance specialist. In addition to his role with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, he is Principal Viola with the Handel and Haydn Society, the Cincinnatti Chamber Orchestra, and the Teatro Nuovo. He has been a member of the ProMusic Chamber Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Stephen also performed regularly with Charleston Symphony and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.

An active member of the early music community, Stephen specializes in Baroque viola and violin, viola d'amore and viola da gamba. He has performed across the United States, Canada, Europe, India, and New Zealand with ensembles such as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, the English Consort, Les Arts Florissants, Apollo's Fire, New York Baroque Incorporated, Opera Lafayette, Seraphic Fire, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Upper Valley Baroque, and Juilliard415.

A native of Cincinnatti, Ohio, Stephen holds degrees from the University of Cincinnatti College-Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School. His principal teachers were Catherine Carroll Lees, Masao Kawasaki, Cynthia Roberts, and Elizabeth Blumenstock. He loves playing tennis, cooking, baking (and eating), reading crime fiction novels, and exploring the Bay Area.