BIOGRAPHY

Lowell Crystal was born into a family of musicians, making him the third generation of that lineage. His grandfather, Abraham Koodlach, played the violin and viola professionally and became a world famous luthier of violins, violas and cellos, as did his uncle, Benjamin Koodlach. His mother, Clara Koodlach Crystal was a concert pianist and teacher. The fourth generation of this lineage, is his daughter, Nori Tatiana Crystal, a professional violinist.

Lowell began piano lessons with his mother at age 5 ½, and took up the violin six months later. He remained dedicated and loyal to his passion for music and the violin and subsequently earned the LRSM [Licentiate in Violin Music Performance], ABRSM [ Diploma in Violin Performance], Certificate of Distinction in Violin Performance, & Certificate of Merit in Music Theory from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. London, England, a Music Diploma from the U.S. Navy School of Music, Norfolk, Virginia; two years of study at the Dick Grove Music Workshops for Jazz Studies , the University of California, Los Angeles towards the Bachelor of Music in violin performance, and Scholarship student at Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. His principal teachers in violin, viola, musicianship and performance include Eunice Wennermark Price, Joachim Chassman, Stanley Plummer, and Pepe and Angel Romero. He is a member of MU 47 (Professional Musicians' Union Local 47 & 7, Los Angeles & Orange County), the RMALA (Recording Musicians Association Los Angeles), and the American String Teachers' Association. He currently holds positions as violin, viola faculty member and Westside Youth Orchestra Director at Cornerstone Music Conservatory in West Los Angeles.

An active free-lance violinist in numerous symphony orchestras, opera and special event performances, studio and session violinist for numerous film & television recordings and on-screen appearances. Performances with the following conductors, artists and film stars have included, David Weiss, David Burks, Andrew Shulman, Dr. Herbert Zipper, Thomas Osborne, Mehli Metha, Roger Wagner, Lalo Schriffrin, Bruce Healey, Victor Vener, Russell Stenger, Frank Fetta, Joseph Valenti, and artists, Carlos Montoya, Pepe Romero, Yehudi Menuhin, Zino Francescotti, Shirley Jones, Helen Reddy, John Raitt, Eddie Murphy, Suzanne Guzman, Diane Schurr, Lorna Luft, Mickey Rooney, Andy Garcia, Olivia Dukakas, Dick Van Dyke, Hector Elizondo, Edward James Olmos, Marie Osmond, Jason Alexander, John Stamos, Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth, Jon Voight. Formerly the Music Director, founder and conductor of the award winning Pasadena Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, 1998 - 2007, a faculty member at the Gelsenkirchen Conservatory of Music, Germany, 1979 - 1984 and at the Crossroads School, Santa Monica, California. from 1976-1979. His International concert performances include Cologne, Heidelberg, Gelsenkirchen, and Essen, Germany and Graz, Austria. He is the author of a Thesaurus of Scales and Arpeggios titled "Velocity Studies for Violin".