A native of Oregon, Ethan Pernela joined the viola section of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra in spring of 2015. Ethan completed his Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Graduate Diploma with honors at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with James Dunham and Martha Katz.
After receiving a fellowship to the New World Symphony in 2007, Mr. Pernela won a viola position in the Honolulu Symphony under the baton of Andreas Delfs. Prior to his move to Honolulu, he performed with the Saint Louis Symphony, Portland Symphony, World Symphony Orchestra of Korea, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Verbier Chamber Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra, where he served as principal violist. Ethan also performed in festivals including Yellow Barn, Taos School of Music, Kneisel Hall, Musicorda and the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Orchestral concert tours have taken Ethan to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore as well as much of Europe and the United States, working with conductors including Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Robertson, David Zinman, Manfred Honeck and Michael Tilson Thomas.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Pernela has been a member of Chamber Music Hawaii’s Galliard String Quartet as well as the Ebb and Flow Arts modern ensemble. He has collaborated with artists including Donald Weilerstein, Jon Kimura Parker, Chee-Yun, Joyce Yang, Natasha Brofsky and the Borromeo String Quartet. His passion for chamber music comes from his work with Eric Rosenblith and Raphael Hillyer at New England Conservatory, where his quartet was accepted into the Honors Ensemble Program.
When not playing viola, Ethan Pernela enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, cellist Joanna Morrison, and their three dogs, Mochi, Olu and Riley.