From: Panama City, Panama

I started teaching music in… 1993

I started teaching at the Conservatory in… 2008

My inspiration: My teachers have been a source of inspiration. The way they transmitted their wisdom and the respect, commitment, and passion that they have/had towards the music, their instrument and their profession has been unmeasurable. Thank you Jorge Vergara, Carmen Cedeño, Cathy Robinson, the Miami String Quartet, Carolyn Huebl, Matthew Dane, Daniel Heiftetz, Atar Arad, Ilya Kaler, James Dunham, Allen Lieb, Craig Mumm, and Mary Ann Mumm.

Few people know that I… worked as a lead salsa singer

Education: New World School of the Arts – Bachelors in Music (Violin Performance)
Carnegie Mellon University – Masters in Music (Violin)
Carnegie Mellon University – Masters in Music (Viola)
Indiana University – Performance Diploma (Viola)
University of Oklahoma – Doctor in Musical Arts (Viola)

I play and teach: Violin, Viola, Chamber Music

My other artistic/musical endeavors: La Camerata Washington Heights; Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra; Música De Cámara Chamber Orchestra; Camerata Alfredo De Saint Malo; Isaac Casal’s Ensemblast Project

Personal Teaching Statement: My main goal is to teach my students how to practice, so that they can progress more efficiently at home.

Biography: The Panama News cites: “Panama does have a worthy classical scene, and right at the top of it we find Luis Enrique Casal.” A concert artist in both the violin and the viola, Luis was awarded “Remarkable Citizens of Panama 2015″ by Panama’s National Commission Pro Civic Values and Morals. Luis is vice president of the Sinfonía Concertante Foundation of Panama and adviser to the Alfredo De Saint Malo Music Festival. He has performed and/or given master classes in the Bahamas, England, France, Japan, Italy, Romania, Spain, the United States and Uruguay.

An experienced orchestra player, Luis has held the position of Principal Violist ad honorem of the National Symphony of Panama, Principal Violist of the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Butler Symphony Orchestra in Butler, Pennsylvania, and guest concertmaster of the Altoona Symphony Orchestra. He is co-founder and member of the Camerata Alfredo De Saint Malo, and currently performs as concertmaster of the ADCA Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster of the BCCO (Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra), principal violist of the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra and violinist of the quartet Ensemblast Project.

His performances have included chamber music and solo appearances in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Hall of the Americas at the Organization of American States, the Bruno Walter Auditorium, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Recent commitments have included performances and tour with his brother Isaac’s project, Ensemblast. Luis is also enthusiastic about collaborating with modern composers having premiered pieces by Carlos Bernales, Dinos Constantinides, Alexandra Dubois, Jorge Figueroa, Mikolja Gorecki, Howard Lew, Ricardo Risco, Bartosz Smoragiewicz and Norberto Ulloa.

He has recorded for the labels Earth Cd Partners and Multicultura Media’s Rootstock Recording.