Biography
Full Biography:
Violist and composer Noah Morsi is dedicated to creating immersive experiences that bring people together through music. Rooted in his identity as a Muslim and Egyptian-American artist, his work is guided by a belief in authenticity, individuality, and the power of music to build bridges across cultural and artistic boundaries. As a performer, composer, and arranger, he embraces a wide range of musical traditions and styles, seeking meaningful collaboration and storytelling through music.
Morsi began his musical training as a violinist at the age of nine before transitioning to viola at sixteen, drawn to the instrument’s low C string and deeper tonal palette. In his teenage years, he cultivated a broad musical foundation through experience on piano, guitar, trumpet, and voice, which shaped his exploratory approach to viola performance and composition.
Deemed a “viola rockstar” by Grammy Award–winning cellist Dave Eggar, Morsi performs across a range of musical settings, including classical, pop, and rock. He recently performed at Toby Gad’s Universal CityWalk Hollywood Christmas Concert in November 2025 in Los Angeles, sharing the stage with artists including Dave Eggar, Toby Gad, Drake Bell, Sheléa, Shuba, and David Archuleta. He also performed with the 1980s rock band Foreigner throughout Northern California during their Orchestral Hits tour, appearing at venues including the San Jose Civic, the Uptown Theatre in Napa, and the Redding Civic Auditorium. He has also performed frequently as a substitute violist with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic.
As a strong advocate for new music, Morsi has performed works by composers Jake Heggie, Inbal Segev, and many emerging composers from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He recently premiered Luca Robedey’s Dunes, a work for string quintet that blends elements of classical, pop, and electronic dance music. He also appeared as a soloist with the NOTUS Contemporary Vocal Ensemble at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in September 2022, where he performed Tides by American composer Reginal Wright. Morsi is also a co-founder of Behind the Canon, an emerging organization dedicated to commissioning, performing, and championing underrepresented contemporary music.
Morsi has participated in numerous masterclasses with distinguished artists including Yuval Gotlibovich, Caroline Gilbert, and members of the Pacifica Quartet. He has attended renowned classical music festivals including Bowdoin International Music Festival, Mostly Modern Festival, and IES Abroad Vienna.
As a composer, Morsi embraces his Egyptian heritage and Islamic faith as central influences in his artistic voice with occasional inspiration drawn from natural landscapes. Together, these influences shape his narrative and cinematic approach to composition. His recent works include Rainforest Suite, a harp quintet which most recently premiered in April 2026, as well as Ajras Misriyya, a solo harp work inspired by Ancient Egyptian lyre music, which was premiered by Katherine Siochi, Principal Harpist of the San Francisco Symphony in January 2026. The two movements of his String Quartet No. 1 in D major, “Seashore” were premiered in Bloomington, Indiana in December 2024 and April 2025. Fatimah’s Elegy, an art song for mezzo-soprano and piano was recently recorded as well, which sets a text attributed to Fatimah bint Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with her).
Originally from Bowling Green, Kentucky, Morsi is currently based in San Francisco, California, where he is pursuing graduate studies in viola and composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Dimitri Murrath and David Garner. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and a minor in Music Composition from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied under Stephen Wyrczynski and Wesley Thompson. Additional private studies have included work with composer David Conte and violists Matthias Maurer, Phillip Ying, Lesley Robertson, and J.J. Johnson.
Short Biography:
Noah Morsi is an Egyptian-American violist and composer based in San Francisco, California, who aims to bridge cultural and artistic boundaries through viola performance and composition. His work is shaped by his heritage and commitment to storytelling, and explores a wide range of musical contexts from contemporary classical performance to cross-genre collaboration. Morsi has performed across classical, pop, and rock settings. He most recently made an appearance with the 1980s rock band Foreigner in March 2026. He also performed at Toby Gad’s Universal CityWalk Hollywood Christmas Concert in Los Angeles in November 2025, where he performed alongside artists including Dave Eggar, Toby Gad, and Drake Bell. As a composer, Morsi has had works recently premiered in San Francisco including Rainforest Suite and Ajras Misriyya, and is a co-founder of Behind the Canon, an emerging organization dedicated to commissioning, championing, and performing underrepresented contemporary music. Morsi holds a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and a minor in Music Composition from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and is currently pursuing graduate studies in viola and composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.