Julian Pranata has been a member of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s viola section since 2002. His formal education includes earning degrees from Oberlin College (in chemistry!), Missouri State University and the University of Memphis (both in viola). In addition to the ASO, he has played with other orchestras in the area, including the South Arkansas Symphony, the Jackson Symphony in Tennessee, and the Shoals Symphony in Alabama.

While primarily a violist, Julian also plays a few other instruments. A passion for early music led him to the viola da gamba (an instrument of the Baroque and Renaissance eras), which he studied with Grace Feldman at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT. With the ASO, he has appeared several times as a gambist on the River Rhapsodies Chamber Series.

Occasionally Julian also performs as a classical guitarist, usually in chamber music groups or accompanying singers and solo instrumentalists. A notable exception is playing guitar in the ASO’s performance of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony May 2025.