Travis Galbraith
About
Born and raised in Houston, TX, Mr. Galbraith began playing violin at the age of four. He switched to viola during the summer of 1995, before his eighth grade year. After switching, he earned principle viola in his local region orchestra. He went on to attend the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, specializing in viola performance and graduating in 2000. There he was a member of the Texas All-State Symphony for two years, where he was placed 2nd chair in the state of Texas his senior year. From there he went to the Cleveland Institute of Music from 2000-2005, where he earned his Bachelors of Music degree in viola performance. His final degree was a Masters of Music, also specializing in viola performance, from the University of Houston, years 2006-2008, where he was given an Honorable Mention for his performance in the school's concerto competition. At the University of Houston Moores School of Music, Mr. Galbraith was a member of the Tomatz Graduate String Quartet. His teachers include Sheryl LaFayette (1986-1997), Rita Porfiris (1997-2000), Chauncey Patterson (1999-2001), Lisa Boyko (2000-2002), Jeffrey Irvine (2002-2004), Stanley Konopka (2005), and Lawrence Wheeler (2006-2008). He has also received lessons from James Dunham and Karen Ristcher. His chamber music studies began during junior year of high school and continued throughout his college experience. Mr. Galbraith has four years of teaching experience that ended in 2017. Since that date, he has studied his own personal skills with the instrument and is now ready to teach again from an enriched perspective.
After all of the instruction he has received, Mr. Galbraith's teaching style could be described as both open and encouraging. Open, in the sense that he is very accepting of the students gifts, and encouraging, in that his desire is to expound upon what has been given. He has the ability to teach from beginning to advanced levels of students from all ages.
Mr. Galbraith was a member of the Region Orchestras (starting in middle school) and the Texas All-State Symphony (when in high school). He has a BM from the Cleveland Institute of Music and an MM from the University of Houston. He was a finalist in the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition for two years of his high school experience, performing on the stage of the Jones Hall one year, and the Moores Opera House the other. He attended the Encore School for Strings in Hudson, Ohio for the summers of 1999 and 2002. While receiving his Masters, he was a member of the Tomatz Graduate String Quartet. Since his years in school, he has performed as a member of the viola section with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra in Victoria, TX and the Lake Charles Symphony in Lake Charles, LA.
Mr. Galbraith prefers to use the Suzuki Method for students through the intermediate level. The Suzuki method was developed by Shinichi Suzuki of Japan over the course of the 20th Century, and is very insightful in its method of growth and understanding. It's premise is that anyone can learn to play. After graduating from the intermediate level, Mr. Galbraith begins to work on advanced literature with the student. During this time, we are able to focus on advanced technical skills and further growth as a musician. He is a lover of all repertoire including chamber and symphonic. He can work with the student on private lesson material, or to develop a better understanding of what is being taught in the school orchestras.