Paul Coletti is a Scottish viola soloist and music educator who was born in 1959. Born to Italian parents, he began playing the viola at age eight and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy, the International Menuhin Music Academy, the Banff Centre, and the Juilliard School. At age 18, Coletti became a student of Alberto Lysy in Switzerland, and he later returned to the academy at age 24 as a professor of viola and chamber music following a three-year period of study in the United States. During his education, he performed in more than 100 concerts with Lysy and collaborated frequently with Yehudi Menuhin. As a soloist and chamber musician, Coletti has appeared at international venues including the Sydney Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. He has performed Béla Bartók's “Viola Concerto” with Yehudi Menuhin conducting. His discography includes more than 30 albums, featuring recordings of Robert Schumann's “Märchenbilder” and the transcription for viola and piano of Hector Berlioz’s Harold in Italy. Coletti has held numerous academic positions, serving as the head of the string department at the University of Washington at age 25 and as a professor at the Peabody Institute at age 27. He has also taught at the Colburn School and the University of California, Los Angeles.
