New Associate Professor of Viola at Boston Conservatory at Berklee

A member of the Catalyst Quartet, violist Paul Laraia will assume the role

A member of the Catalyst Quartet and a decorated competition winner, violist Paul Laraia will share his expertise with students at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee as an Associate Professor. He joins Lila Brown and Rictor Noren on the viola faculty.

Originally from Philadelphia, violist Paul Laraia studied at the New England Conservatory with Kim Kashkashian. He won First Prize at the 13th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 14th National Sphinx Competition, as well as receiving High Distinction at the Manhattan International Music Competition.

An advocate for new music, Laraia frequently works with composers such as Catalyst Quartet colleague Jessie Montgomery, David Ludwig Serkin, Gabriella Lena Frank, Richard Danielpour, Jimmy Lopéz, Todd Machover, and the Taiwanese composer Shiuan Chang — with whom Laraia is presently working on a requiem.

Laraia also works to bring art music out of the concert hall and into the community, and in service of this aim, he has performed at inner-city schools, Native American reservations, hospitals, and nursing homes. He is the recipient of a 2019 MPower grant from the Sphinx Organization.