DJ Cheek

DJ Cheek joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as Principal Viola in August 2021 and made his solo debut with the orchestra in 2023, performing the Bartók Viola Concerto. In the 2024 – 2025 season, he will again appear as a soloist in works by Bruch and Mozart.

Prior to his current appointment, DJ played Principal Viola in the Jacksonville Symphony. In recent years, he appeared as guest Principal with the Indianapolis Symphony and IRIS Orchestra in Tennessee and as a substitute with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Dallas Symphony.

DJ spends his summers playing Principal Viola at the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder and teaching at the Texas Chamber Music Institute and the Interlochen Adult Chamber Music Camp. He has appeared at festivals such as Music@Menlo, the Perlman Music Program, Lucerne, Sarasota, Olympic, and Yellow Barn. DJ performed as a guest artist with Donald Weilerstein and Kim Kashkashian in support of Music for Food, and he continues to perform with the Music for Food chapter in Fort Worth.

DJ holds a master’s degree from New England Conservatory and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College-Conservatory, where he studied with Kim Kashkashian and Peter Slowik, respectively. He was further mentored by Beth Guterman Chu.