Karla Galva

Karla Galva, violin, was born and raised in Chicago, IL. Daughter of a Dominican father and East-Indian Trinidadian mother, she studied at the DePaul University Community Music Division, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland.

Karla's diverse portfolio of performances include soloing with the Annapolis Symphony and Southwest Symphony, collaborations with artists as far ranging as Emanuel Ax and Harry Connick Jr., performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, serving as Principal Second Violin of Orchestra Iowa for seven years, and various runs as violinist and violist on Broadway in Chicago.

After completing the Paul Freeman Orchestral Fellowship with Chicago Sinfonietta, she won a seat as a full member of the orchestra's first violin section. Karla is also active as a teacher and educator in the Chicago area, having been on the faculty of the Merit School of Music, Suzuki-Orff School of Chicago, and The People’s Music School. She has delivered hundreds of performance demonstration and masterclasses to Iowa City/Cedar Rapids and Chicago area public schools and continues her outreach initiatives through the Chicago Musical Pathways Program where she serves as a mentor for pre-college musicians.

She currently teaches violin and viola at Lake Forest High School and her own private studio. In addition to Karla’s training as a classical musician she is also a student of Indian Classical Violin and has studied jazz improvisation. She performed throughout Germany as a Jazz Violinist and Actor in Mad Joy Theatrics.

When she is not on stage with a Symphony Orchestra, she loves playing non-classical music from Beyoncé to Johnny Cash with local bands and exploring the rich landscape of diverse musical genres.