Donald McInnes (violist)

Donald McLeod McInnes (March 7, 1939 – October 23, 2024) was an American violist. He studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) and the University of Southern California (USC). His teachers William Primrose and Jascha Heifetz were influential on his later career as a soloist, orchestra member, and viola teacher. He was principal violist of various orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony. In 1974, McInnes premièred "Concerto on Old English Rounds for Viola," a work he commissioned from William Schuman through a grant from the Ford Foundation. He also premiered Vincent Persichetti's "Parable XVI" in 1975. He recorded Harold en Italie with Leonard Bernstein and the Orchestre National de France.

McInnes taught at the Music Academy of the West, Idyllwild Arts Academy, the University of Michigan, the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of Washington before teaching at USC for over 30 years.