Mr. Gabriel A. Knights-Herrera

Gabriel Knights-Herrera is currently an undergraduate student at California State University, San Bernardino, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree with a concentration in Viola Performance under Dr. Lucy Lewis, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in Music Composition under Dr. Kevin Zhang.

Gabriel holds membership in several of the ensembles at CSUSB. Currently, Gabriel is Principal Violist for the CSUSB Symphony Orchestra where he has previously held the Principal 2nd Violinist position for two consecutive years. Gabriel has also performed as a violist with other symphony orchestras such as the Coachella Valley Symphony under John Mario di Constanzo and the Southland Symphony Orchestra under Dr. Sylvia Mann. Gabriel is also a very active chamber musician, consistently participating in a wide variety of chamber ensembles within the university’s chamber music program where he has received coachings from Dr. Lucy Lewis, professor of violin/viola, and Dr. Wen-Ting Huang, professor of keyboard studies, in traditional performance practice, and then from Dr. Jessica Getman and Dr. Esther Back, in baroque performance practices. Gabriel has also shown interest in styles outside of traditional classical music, having played violin with the university’s mariachi ensemble, Mariachi Los Coyotes, directed by Dr. Angela Romero, and as part of the New Music Ensemble directed by Dr. Kevin Zhang.

While Gabriel currently operates and manages a private studio, he also teaches students with Through the Staff, a non-profit volunteer-based organization dedicated to making private instruction more accessible by providing free lessons. He also currently holds a teaching position at Ontario High School, where he gives bi-weekly group lessons to the violin and viola students.

In the future, Gabriel plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in Viola Performance, continuing to pursue high levels of performance training alongside the expansion of his pedagogical and compositional skills. Gabriel’s career plans include performing with symphony orchestras and chartering professional chamber ensemble performances as both a violinist and violist. He will also continue to dedicate himself to growing a private studio that provides high quality musical education to violists and violinists.