Gabriel Napoli

Gabriel Napoli joined The Cleveland Orchestra in 2026. He previously served as associate principal viola of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his time in Cincinnati, he performed for three seasons as a fellow with the New World Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. 

A native Clevelander, Napoli began violin lessons at age 4 and credits much of his ambition to pursue a music career to his time in The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. He earned his Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Northwestern University and his Master of Music in viola performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His principal teachers include Almita Vamos, Robert Hanford, Robert Vernon, Mark Jackobs, and Stephen Sims. While at the New World Symphony, he received additional coaching from Michael Klotz of the Amernet String Quartet. 

During his graduate studies at CIM, he performed with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and appeared in chamber music collaborations with faculty artists, including Ilya Kaler and members of The Cleveland Orchestra.

An active chamber musician, Napoli studied with the Dover Quartet, Cavani String Quartet, Peter Salaff, and members of the Vermeer Quartet. While at Northwestern, his quartet won First Prize at the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition at Davidson College and First Prize at Northwestern’s Dover String Quartet Competition. 

In Cincinnati, Napoli enjoyed performing string quartets with his friends and colleagues from the orchestra extensively throughout the community, including outreach appearances at local schools. In addition to performing, he also had the opportunity to coach for the Ascent Chamber Music Festival the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra.