Meet Alec Santamaria | Violist, Violinist and Multi-instrumentalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alec Santamaria and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alec, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m was born and raised in Tujunga, CA, to a house full of immigrants: from the Philippines on my mom’s side and El Salvador on my dad’s, which makes me the ultimate Gen Y intersectional! My musical intake was eclectic from birth, ranging from showtunes and classical favorites on my grandparents’ piano to a mix of gangsta rap, college fight songs, Eurotrance, and alternative rock which my uncle blasted over late-night Jack-in-the-Box runs. With all these different sounds, it’s no surprise that my musical output would become as varied as it is!

At the age of six I picked up the violin at the fledgling South Pasadena Strings Program – now LA Children’s Orchestra. Hypnotized by the sounds a string instrument could make, and after playing at Carnegie Hall, which amounted to a 5th grade pilgrimage, my individual taste started to form. When I switched my main instrument to viola at age 12, thanks to its rich, deep tone and understated connective role in the orchestra, I also got an iPod and found this strange new site called YouTube – I’ve lived on the intersection of Bach and The Beatles ever since.

I made my first festival appearances as a student at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where I made some of my closest friends. I even studied jazz there, which was unusual for a violist. As a music major at UCLA, I found my mentor in Richard Yongjae O’Neill, then an Emmy- and now a Grammy award winner, and the most gracious man I have ever known. I teach myself now, coming full circle for the community.

So my work today is borne of this middle-class Angeleno experience at the new millennium. I’m a little bit of everything!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My heart and soul are given to music. I play the viola, violin, keyboard synthesizer, vocal effects, and recorders (though I’m formally trained in just the first two!). On the classical side, you’ll find me playing with the American Youth Symphony and your local wedding quartet; and on the non-classical side I record, arrange, and perform with Ember Knight, Smiling Beth, Hvile I Kaos, The Breathing Effect, and Natasha Agrama. This last year in quarantine has encouraged me to play more on Instagram and elsewhere online, so moving forward I see more hybrid programs in the works. My training (hitherto and always incomplete) took me only so far – the rest was talking to people that I wanted to work with and finding common ground. Show some good faith and the right people will come through for you.

In terms of overcoming the inevitable challenges, it’s important to work within the world of facts, thinking for yourself and citing your sources, then doing right by others according to what you know. To that end, I also teach. My full-time position at Renaissance Arts Academy, summer coaching at Wildwood Music Camp, and year-round private studio, keep me grounded in terms of both income and relevance to the community.

What sets me apart from other violists is my love of experimentation – I strive to be the musician who can play with anyone in all musics through-composed and improvised. But my standards don’t lower when I wade into fresh territory. The musician worth hiring plays with accurate rhythm, timbre, and intonation – but this means nothing without good humor, an open mind to one’s fellow musicians, and a respect for one’s audience. Richard Yongjae O’Neill taught me that. More prosaically, here’s a lesson I taught myself, you can take it or leave it: if you’re not having fun, then the least you could do is hustle some cash! Do this and then you can go home and rethink your life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In a pre- or post-Covid world: we’d picnic at the Hollywood Bowl for an LA Phil concert, relax at Leaving Records’ “Listen to Music Outside in the Daylight Under a Tree” at Tierra de la Culebra Park, witness an unsung synth pioneer at Ambient Church, hike to Ellen Reid’s Sound Walk at Griffith Park, get takeout at India Sweets and Spices, have ice cream (with non-dairy options!) at Wanderlust, smoke homegrown cannabis (it’s legal here!), and finish each day at my house spinning records and playing Nintendo. Throw in an herbal tea and Pacific Coast weather for good measure! 😎 🌴

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A big Shoutout goes to my family for their fervent love of life and music – anyone who’s sung karaoke with Filipinos knows what I mean! Also Kaoru Mansour, Brad and Jasper Dutz for expanding my perception of what an artist can do; Ember Knight in a similar vein; and a certain 10-day silent retreat at Joshua Tree. Not to mention Kakophonix of Hvile I Kaos recommending me in the first place!

Instagram: @violamachine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/violamachine/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/iamthepersonman/videos

Image Credits
American Youth Symphony; Jared Long; Russell M. James; Isabella Reyes; Alec Santamaria