About Me
Biography
Cristian Contreras is a young and accomplished violist from Glendora, CA. His main goal is to improve the lives of others through means of performing and teaching. Currently, Cristian performs with many prestigious orchestras including the Reno Philharmonic, New West Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, the Colburn Orchestra, and the San Gabriel Valley Symphony. Cristian also recently competed in an audition for the New Jersey Symphony and Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle resulting in runner-up for both auditions. Cristian has also advanced to the finals for orchestras such as the Virginia Symphony and the New Haven Symphony. He recently graduated with a Masters in Viola Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and also holds a Bachelors in Viola Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSU Long Beach. His studio professors include violists Choong-Jin Chang and Jason Bonham. While studying at Peabody, Cristian won a two year fellowship with the Fairfax Symphony, a professional orchestra in the Washington DC area. During his schooling, he also received positions and opportunities to perform with Symphony in C, National Orchestral Institute, Miami Music Festival, and the American Youth Symphony. Cristian was also one of the founding members of HEXTET, a premier chamber ensemble at the Peabody Institute dedicated to performing works for string sextet for communities in Baltimore.
Cristian holds over 9 years of private teaching experience and currently teaches at Moonlight Music Academy serving the community of Brea, CA. Cristian has also taught previously at Irvine Art and Music as well as Mike’s Music in Ellicott City, Maryland. Many of Cristian’s students have earned positions in their local youth orchestras and sit in principal chairs in their school orchestras. Cristian is a passionate teacher dedicated to helping his students deepen their curiosity for music and understand the consistency it takes to create art. Cristian is also available for in-house private instruction.