Zachary Carrettin has performed as violinist/leader/conductor in more than twenty-five countries on four continents and has established a reputation for presenting thoughtful, dynamic and diverse programs which feature repertory from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries—on period, modern, and electric instruments.

Carrettin’s discography on the Sono Luminus label includes: 

Boundless—Schubert sonatinas on original instruments with pianist Mina Gajić; 

Metamorphosis —Bach Cello Suites #'s 1, 2, and 3 on baroque viola; 

Confluence —Balkan dances and tango nuevo with Gajić; 

Boulder Bach Festival—concertos and vocal works with BBF's CORE ensemble;

Bach UnCaged—solo work of Bach on electric violin coupled with Cage's prepared piano works.

Aequora—new music from Iceland, with pianist Mina Gajić (to be released in February, 2025).

Gramophone Magazine wrote of Carrettin's 2020 solo Bach recording Metamorphosis: "everything is infused with poetry.”

Early Music America wrote of the same recording, “This performance counsels that we can see the world anew.”

At the start of his diverse performing career, Carrettin performed new music at the opening ceremonies of the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, the Dayton Center for the Performing Arts, the Museo del’ Arte Rovereto-Trentino (Italy), and was featured at the Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts Face of America Series, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, the Stavanger Festival (Norway), and in a private concert for the Sultan and Royal Family of Oman, in collaboration with Project Bandaloop. In the field of historically-inspired period instrument performance, Carrettin appeared several times as concerto soloist with the American Bach Soloists and as guest concertmaster and soloist with numerous baroque period instrument ensembles including the GRAMMY-nominated recording of Hasse’s Marc’ Antonio e Cleopatra with Ars Lyrica Houston, the U.S. premiere of Vivaldi’s rediscovered opera Motezuma with Musica Angelica and Long Beach Opera, critically-acclaimed recording of baroque chamber music from the New World Villancicos y Cantidas with El Mundo, and several productions of opera, oratorio, and instrumental music with American Bach Soloists. He toured internationally performing Mexican baroque instrumental and vocal chamber music with the ensemble El Mundo, and toured the California mission churches performing baroque music of the New World with Chanticleer. In chamber music Carrettin collaborated with the Tokyo Quartet, the Assad Brothers, Vadim Gluzman, Joyce Yang, Richie Hawley, Kenneth Goldsmith, Cho-Liang Lin, Ian Hobson, Martin Beaver, and in Baroque/Classical/Romantic period instrument ensemble performances with Giovanni Antonini, Richard Egarr, Monica Huggett, Mahan Esfahani, Manfredo Kramer, Reinhard Goebel, Sherezade Panthaki, and Nicholas McGegan. An advocate of diversity in music, Carrettin toured one-hundred cities with Yanni and shared the stage with Ray Charles, the Black Crowes, Cake, Joan Jett and many others at festivals internationally, as soloist with Project Bandaloop. His original music and recordings have been heard on Late Night with David Letterman, at the Kennedy Center, on CBS Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes, PBS, and on NPR's Sunday Baroque. He has since conducted and led orchestras from the violin across the United States, Europe, and South America, including new music premieres alongside resurrected works from the past.

Carrettin holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from Rice University Shepherd School of Music, a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Professional Studies Certificate in conducting from the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania. He pursued doctoral studies in viola at Rice University, leaving to serve on the faculty at Sam Houston State University as Director of Orchestral Studies, and later at University of Colorado Boulder as interim Director of Early Music Ensembles as well as guest Music Director of Eklund Opera’s production of Händel’s Ariodante.

Carrettin is currently in his twelfth year as Music Director of Boulder Bach Festival, and in that capacity is founder of the BBF’s ensemble-in-residence, COmpass REsonance (CORE).

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