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 Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and Teatro Nuovo. He is a former member of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed regularly with the 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 Concert, 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 Cincinnati, Ohio, Stephen holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati 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.