Julian Pranata has been a member of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s viola section since the 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 also plays with the Texarkana, South Arkansas, and Delta Symphony Orchestras.

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. As a gambist, Julian was one of three instrumentalists that accompanied Vanderbilt University’s Collegium Vocale for performances in Memphis and Nashville of the Musikalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz (the OG German Requiem, some 230 years before Brahms). With the ASO, he has appeared on the Neighborhood Concert Series and the River Rhapsodies Chamber Series.

Julian also performs occasionally as a classical guitarist. During later stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, he appeared with former ASO violinist Daniel Gilbert in pop up performances at the Crosstown Concourse in Memphis.