Diego Garcia (cello, Youth Chamber Soloists) Now in his fourth season as Music Director of the Eastman String Fellowship Orchestra, in Rochester New York, Diego Garcia has established the ensemble’s prestigious reputation for virtuostic string playing, artistic excellence, and consistently high caliber performances. Born in Cali Colombia, Mr. Garcia began his musical career at the age of five, studying piano, cello performance, and later conducting, at the Antonio Maria Valencia Conservatory, in Cali. By age fifteen, he had already won a cello position with the Orquestra Sinfonica del Valle, becoming the youngest member of one of Colombia’s premiere orchestras. At the same time, from age fourteen to eighteen, Mr. Garcia was already the conducting assistant to his teacher, Alexander Korjenko, and he routinely conducted the String Chamber Orchestra at the conservatory. In 1993 Mr.Garcia came to the United States to study cello performance with Alan Stepansky at the Manhattan School of Music. While pursuing his degree, he maintained an active professional life, touring Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and Central America as chamber musician, recording artist, orchestral player, and soloist. In 1996, Mr. Garcia traveled to his native country to win a prize in the Carolina Oramas Competition, and returned to New York City to give several solo and chamber music performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. In 1998, Mr. Garcia received his Bachelor’s Degree in performance from the Manhattan School of Music. In 2001 and 2003 he was invited by Phillipe Entremont to perform as Assistant Principal Cellist in the Santo Domingo Music Festival. He has continued to pursue his study of conducting with Bill Weinert, since 2003, at the Eastman School of Music. In 2005 and 2006, Mr. Garcia received a conducting fellowship to the Conductor’s Institute at Bard College, where his mentors included Harold Farberman, Leon Bolstein, Marin Alsop, and Raymond Harvey. In 2004 Mr. Garcia was appointed Music Director of the Eastman String Fellowship Orchestra, and subsequently created an exchange program with the Hampton Roads Chamber Players, in Virginia, where he is a frequent guest conductor. Mr. Garcia is also a Co-Director of the Eastman Kaleidoscope Community Orchestra with his wife Karine Stone, and a frequent guest conductor of the Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Garcia is currently on the cello faculty of the Eastman Community Music School as well as Principal Cellist of the Rochester Oratorio Society. He is an active composer and arranger, most recently composing original music for the film “Heart of Tango”.