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Lorenzo Raval, violin/viola
Praised for his "beautiful tone" and "exceptional quality of nobility in his playing," Filipino violinist and violist Lorenzo Raval is acclaimed for his versatility and dedication to the numerous aspects of his instruments - as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher. Lorenzo's playing can be heard on the 2018 GRAMMY Winning recording of Lansing McCloskey's Zealot Canticles with Donald Nally and The Crossing, and in the 2018 Netflix movie Candy Jar. Lorenzo was violinist for the Philadelphia and Baltimore shows of Stevie Wonder's 2024 US Tour. Lorenzo is a violinist in Gestalt Quartet, and is an active performer in the Philadelphia region, regularly playing both violin and viola with the Bay Atlantic Symphony, Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, and Bucks County Symphony Orchestra. Lorenzo is also a violinist for musical productions with the Arden Theatre Company.
Lorenzo received his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University. His teachers include violinists Alfonso Bolipata, Helen Kwalwasser and Odin Rathnam, and violist Che-Hung Chen. His chamber music coaches include Charles Abramovic, Alfonso Bolipata, Rhonda Rider, Jeffrey Solow, Valissa Willwerth and Lambert Orkis, and he has performed in masterclasses for Pamela Frank, Oscar Yatco, Alexandru Tomescu, Thanos Adamopoulos and Takako Nishizaki, Kim Kashkashian, and the Emerson, Alexander, St. Lawrence and Ying Quartets.
Born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines, Lorenzo was a scholar at the Philippine High School for the Arts, and attended the University of the Philippines. He is two-time prizewinner at the Philippines' National Music Competition for Young Artists in 1999 and 2002, and has appeared as soloist and chamber musicians at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Santiago Hall and Corpus Hall, as well as performance spaces in Zambales, Boracay and Davao.
A dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, Lorenzo was Resident Artist at Casa San Miguel in Zambales, Philippines from 2000 to 2006, where he taught violin and viola, and coached and conducted the Pundaquit Virtuosi, an ensemble composed of the best young string players from the Zambales community. Lorenzo was a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Temple University's Community Music Scholars Program, and was a faculty member at the Leopold Mozart Academy in Elkins Park and Community Music School in Trappe, Pennsylvania.
Lorenzo plays on a fine contemporary violin modeled after the 1740 Ysaÿe Guarneri del Gesu, made for him in 2020 by R. Alex Wilson of Salt Lake City. He lives in South Philadelphia where he maintains a small studio of dedicated students and, along with his wife, takes care of their adorable border terrier Zoey.