GEORGE THOMSON (viola) studied at Berkeley with Detlev Olshausen and in London with Simon Kühn. He is a member of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and is Principal Violist of the Carmel Bach Festival. Mr. Thomson is assistant conductor of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Coordinator of its "Under Construction" new-music-reading program; he was formerly Music Director of the San Francisco-based New Music ensemble EARPLAY, and has appeared as a guest conductor with the Marin Symphony, the Orchestra of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and the New Century Chamber Orchestra. He is currently Director of the Music Conservatory at San Domenico School in San Anselmo, where he directs the Virtuoso Program, an opportunity for talented high-school-aged students to combine a rigorous academic curriculum with intensive orchestral and chamber music training. In January he was appointed Director of Youth Programs for the Marin Symphony and Music Director of the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra.