Venezuelan-American violist, Luis Eduardo Bellorín, has been praised for his warmth of sound and for having an “impossibly sweet tone” by The San Francisco Classical Voice. As a founding member of the Thalea String Quartet (2014-2021), Luis has performed across North America, Europe, and China in halls such as the Kennedy Center, the Britten Studio at Snape Maltings (UK), Studio 1 at Flagey (Belgium), and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. He has performed with some of the most inspirational leaders of the chamber music world such as the Borromeo and Pacifica Quartets along with members of the Emerson, St. Lawrence, Alban Berg, and Miró Quartets. Other performance collaborators include Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, violist Lawrence Power, acclaimed Canadian band BADBADNOTGOOD, and members of Eighth Blackbird. Being able to present and connect works from far in the past to the present day is a personal favorite for Luis. His excitement to create new works has led to partnerships and performances with composers including Paola Prestini, Anthony R. Green, Graham Reynolds, and Mason Bates.
Luis has a passion for music education and has presented workshops and masterclasses at institutions across the USA including the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, San Francisco State University, Macalester College, Berklee College of Music, and at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He has also presented lectures and led discussions at institutions including the University of Maryland, University of Northern Colorado, and Wayne State Medical School in Detroit. At Wayne State, he presented a workshop on non-verbal communication to first year medical students alongside the Emerson String Quartet. In 2021, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association honored Thalea with the Ann Divine Educator Award, which recognizes the educational outreach work of Fischoff Competition alumni who demonstrate outstanding and imaginative programming for children and youth in the United States.
Luis’ educational experiences are varied as he holds degrees in viola and chamber music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the University of Texas at Austin. He was an Associated Artist at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, Belgium, the 2019-20 Ernst Stiefel Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and was a top prize winner at both the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition.
Since August 2021, Luis has called North Austin home where he lives with his wife Abigail and their two cats. He performs regularly with the Austin Symphony, is a performer and faculty member with the Austin Chamber Music Center, and is a teaching artist with Austin Soundwaves. His newest musical project is co-founding an unconducted chamber orchestra. Austin Unconducted is unconfined by tradition, unafraid to feature unheard voices unapologetically Austin. Away from his viola, he enjoys camping, cheering loudly at baseball games, and jumping into any body of water.