Zachary Carrettin, concertmaster/violin
Zachary Carrettin has performed as violin soloist and conductor in twenty five countries on four continents, and has established a reputation for presenting dynamic and diverse programs which feature repertory from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. In the realm of baroque, classic and romantic period instruments, he has served as concertmaster and concerto soloist with acclaimed chamber orchestras such as the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, Musica Angelica in Los Angeles, Camerata Pacifica in Santa Barbara, Houston’s Ars Lyrica and the Holy Trinity Bach Vespers Orchestra in New York. He has toured and recorded with New World baroque music group, El Mundo, and toured the California mission churches with the world-renowned choir Chanticleer.
Known for his expressive approach to the baroque violin, the New York Times wrote, “Carrettin played freely, as though improvised.” He served as Concertmaster for the U.S. premiere of Vivaldi’s recently rediscovered opera, Motezuma, in collaboration with Long Beach Opera, California. He has performed manuscript research in Italian archives on numerous occasions in collaboration with violinist Kenneth Goldsmith, focusing on the chamber music of Venetian composer, Antonio Capuzzi (1755-1818). In addition to a vast experience with Italian baroque music, Mr. Carrettin has performed in one hundred cities with world music icon, Yanni, and on four continents with aerial dance troupe, Project Bandaloop. His own compositions have been heard at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the historic Shubert Theatre in Boston, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, and in Sao Paulo, Brazil, presented by the Bachiana Chamber Orchestra. In collaboration with Project Bandaloop, Carrettin performed his solo violin works in a private concert for the Sultan and Royal Family of Oman, in Muscat. Mr. Carrettin holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from Rice University Shepherd School of Music, where he was a student of Kenneth Goldsmith and Sergiu Luca. He holds a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Performance Diploma in conducting from the National University of Music, Bucharest, Romania. He teaches violin at the University of St. Thomas Music Preparatory School in Houston, Texas, where he is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rice University Shepherd School of Music.
