About Us

Engaging audiences from the concert hall to the public library, Houston-based Duo Impetuoso is a rising ensemble committed to mastering and re-defining the canon. Violist Molly Wise and pianist James Palmer first began playing together in 2021 while in the doctoral program in the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. After several years of performing together, they decided to make it official and form “Duo Impetuoso” — a reference to the brazen performance indication atop Rebecca Clarke’s seminal Viola Sonata.

Duo Impetuoso’s commitment to expanding the viola-piano repertoire, especially promoting and commissioning the work of underrepresented composers, is at the heart of their mission. In addition to commissions and world premieres, their thematic programs frequently feature arrangements and transcriptions of works originally written for other instruments/ensembles. In their first season as an official duo, the pair performed at Houston’s Steinway Selection Center, the Archway Gallery, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and the American Viola Society Festival in Los Angeles. This program, entirely comprising works composed by women, was entitled “Impetuoso” and included a newly commissioned work by Houston-based composer Tian Qin (b. 2000).

Duo Impetuoso is midway through an exciting second full season, featuring performances at the Archway Gallery, Rice University, Lone Star College Montgomery, and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). Their fall 2024 program, “Houston Homage,” featured works related to Houston in various ways, including a newly-commissioned piece by the young composers of the AFA Texas Summer Composition Intensive (2024), entitled “713 Variations” in reference to the Houston area-code. More videos from this program can be found here.

Both Molly and James are active performers in the Houston music scene, performing with classical and contemporary organizations such as Musiqa, Kinetic Ensemble, and Da Camera Houston. As dedicated educators, both maintain private studios and coach budding chamber musicians at the American Festival for the Arts (AFA Texas). Molly and James are doctoral students at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Engagement with their community is a vital facet of their diverse performance portfolio.