CHRISTIAN ATANASIU,

Violin and Viola

Originally a violinist, Christian Atanasiu began his studies on the viola at the age of 18, after being drawn to the richer sound and more masculine timber of the viola. He is currently a section violist of the Haddonfield Symphony/Symphony in C, under the direction of Rossen Milanov, Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has additionally worked with orchestras such as the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Garden State Philharmonic, the International Chamber Ensemble in Rome, Italy, and the Red Bull Artsehcro. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, "Der Haus von Mozart" in Salzburg, the National Arts Center in Ottawa, and other major halls throughout the world. He had his debut as a soloist in 2006, performing the Walton Concerto with the Rowan Symphony Orchestra, and has been featured as in the Mannes Contemporary Festival.

From 2002 to 2005, Christian has performed as principal violist at the Ovieto Festival of Strings in Italy. While there he has also performed and studied chamber music with Petru Ladislau Horvath, Grazia Seradimigni, Nicolae Sarpe, Constantin Negoita, and Petru Lefterescu. In 2006, Christian was awarded a Garth Newel Chamber Music Fellowship, and was invited to attend the eponymous music festival, where he took masterclasses and performed with the Borromeo String Quartet, the Ceruti String Quartet, and the Garth Newel Piano Quartet. Christian has attended the National Arts Center's Summer Music Institute and Young Artists Program in Ottawa, Canada. There, he studied solo and chamber playing with Pinchas Zukerman, Patinka Kopec, and Grigory Kalinovsky. He was also invited to attend the Vienna Philharmonic’s International Orchesterinstitut at Attergau, under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach.

Christian was a first prize winner at both the international 2000 ANEMOS competition in Rome and the 2005 Rowan Soloist Competition. He is currently completing his master degree at Mannes College with Paul Neubauer. Christian received a Bachelor's Degree from Swarthmore College in 2005 where he was the recipient of a Garrigues Instrumental Scholarship. He was also violist for the fully subsidized and sponsored Anne Pollard Fetter Quartet, with whom he toured Italy in the summer of 2002 as the quartet in residence at the Orvieto Festival of Strings. An avid chamber musician, he has also studied chamber music with Pamela Frank, William Stokking, Michael Ludwig, Steve Dann and Eugene Drucker, and has performed in public masterclasses for Pinchas Zukerman, Mischa Amory, and Jutta Puchhammer.

This summer, Christian will attend the Tibor Varga Academy in Sion, Switzerland, to study with Nuboko Imai, and he has also been invited to attend the Accademia of Chigiana in Siena, Italy, to study with Yuri Bashmet and Bruno Giurana. He currently performs on a Sergio Peresson viola made in Udine, Italy in 1975. The instrument is on loan to him in memory of its former owner, violist Anthony G. Simmons.

Christian has taught a wide range of students, from young beginners through conservatory students. A recent New Yorker, he has taught at Perelman Jewish Day Schools, the Kellman Academy, and the New Jersey School of Music in the Philadelphia area, as well as maintaining a successful private studio through the past 5 years. Christian’s approach to teaching is initially a technical one, seeking to resolve technical and physiological problems that detract from a student's playing. He also focuses on increasing the natural playing style of each individual, adapting their technique to their own individual physiques in order to create fluid movement and diminish the possibility of repetitive-stress injury. There is a great difference between teaching a student to play, and creating a musician. Because of this, there is also a large focus on general musical knowledge, in order to teach correct stylistic playing and allow a student, no matter how young, to find beauty at the very center of his musical ability.

Christian prefers to teach both violin and viola in the traditional method, and has experience teaching younger students the Suzuki method as an aid to their musical education.