Kris Rahamad
Violin/Viola
Kris Rahamad is a Pasadena based composer, violinist, violist, and educator. He began his musical journey at the age of 5 with his first violin lessons and has been playing ever since. In 2017 and 2023 respectively, Kris received his BFA in Violin Performance from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and his MM in Composition from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University Long Beach. During his collegiate career, he studied with Dr. Mark Menzies and Andrew McIntosh at CalArts, then later with Dr. Martin Herman and Dr. Adriana Verdié at CSULB. Extracurricular activities at these institutions include performing New/Experimental Classical music under the tutelage of Nicholas Deyoe (CalArts) and Ulrich Krieger (CalArts), and Baroque Music with Allan Vogel (CalArts/LA Chamber Orch.) and Dr. David Garrett (CSULB/LA Philharmonic). In his professional career, Kris made his international debut as a performer-composer at the largest international arts festival in Scotland, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014 with the play, Pomegranate Jam and Shaun Buswell’s, Fringe Orchestra Challenge, then returned in 2017 with the play, Gunshot Medley. Currently he performs the music of local experimental classical composers and with his newly founded heavy metal band, MUTIARA.
With over 7 years of experience teaching young aspiring musicians, Kris teaches private lessons from his home studio in Pasadena and currently teaches as a Violin/Viola coach for PYSO’s All City Orchestra, Prelude Strings, and the newly conceived Overture Strings. Previous teaching/coaching experience includes coaching prominent youth orchestras such as the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra and Santa Clarita Valley Youth Orchestra’s Chamber Music program.
In Summer 2023, Kris was invited to teach Violin and Viola at the High School Summer intensive, at the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA), held annually at CalArts. With youth orchestra students, Kris’ lessons emphasize the importance of communal learning and teamwork. As a teacher he recognizes and believes that all the students that enter the classroom are intelligent and have information to contribute to their peers. When delivering new concepts and working on music with students, Kris strives to introduce larger topics and guide students towards understanding these topics by working together as a team, not only to find solutions, but to also understand the solutions they arrive at. This builds trust amongst students and helps establish a positive dynamic in the classroom where students feel safe and excited to learn from each other. It also is the best catalyst for boundless creativity and experimentation.