A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Paolo Dara was appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2025 by Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä. His official start date is January 5. Prior to joining the CSO, he served as a violinist in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, principal viola of the Grand Rapids Symphony and principal second violin of the Akron Symphony.
Beyond his orchestral career, Dara is an avid chamber and solo musician, having been featured with orchestras such as the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Lansing Symphony. He began playing the viola at age 14 while attending the Meadowmount School of Music. Dara has gone on to appear at leading festivals including the Krzyzowa Music Festival, IMS Prussia Cove, the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, the Accademia Chigiana, the Montreal International String Quartet Academy and the Gstaad Menuhin Academy. His collaborators have included such distinguished artists as Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson and Roger Tapping. Dara is also co-director of the Plymouth Chamber Players in Grand Rapids, Michigan, alongside his wife, violinist Karisa Chiu, and musicologist Calvin Van Zytveld. Together, they bring chamber music to West Michigan and support the next generation of young musicians.
Paolo Dara completed his undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Jaime Laredo and Jan Sloman, where he received the Anna Y. Tringas Award. He later earned his master’s degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University under Kathleen Winkler. In 2022, Dara returned to the Cleveland Institute of Music to pursue a graduate diploma with Stephen Rose, graduating with the honor of the Sidney D. and Nina Josephs Chamber Music Prize. His other influential mentors include Gerhard Schulz, Joseph Silverstein, Donald Weilerstein and Gregory Maytan.
