Biography

Javier Arias was born in Mexico City, where he started his musical training with his father, Emmanuel Arias y Luna. As a founding member of the Amernet String Quartet, Javier Arias has been the winner of the First Prize in the Fifth Banff International String Quartet Competition, First Prize in the Tokyo International Music Competition, with the Special Asahi Award, Grand Prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and First Prize winner of the Yellow Springs National Chamber Music Competition.

Mr. Arias also has been the winner of the First Prize in the National Young Artists Competition and has appeared as soloist with the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta de Camara de Bellas Artes and other orchestras in Mexico, Germany and Italy.

Javier Arias received his Bachelor of Music Degree from the Juilliard School, where he was awarded the Lincoln Center Scholarship, the Loeb Memorial Scholarship and the Cohen Memorial Scholarship. He also holds an Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His teachers include Zara Nelsova, Salomon van den Berg, Carlos Prieto, among others. Mr. Arias also was a participant in the Bach Seminar in Freiburg, Germany and took part in the Course of Phenomenology of Music at the University of Mainz in Germany, imparted by Sergiu Celibidache.

From 1996 to 2000 Javier Arias was on the Faculty at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he taught chamber music. In 2000 he became an Artist-in-Residence at Northern Kentucky University, where he taught cello and chamber music. He founded the Norse Festival at Northern Kentucky University, of which he served as Artistic Director.

Javier Arias performs regularly throughout the U.S. and abroad and has appeared in summer music festivals such as Mostly Mozart, Ravinia Rising Stars Series, Interlochen, Tanglewood, Newport, Rockport, Gretna and San Miguel de Allende, Xalapa, Veracruz, Puebla at the BUAP, among others.

In 2004 Javier Arias founded the Animato Summer Music Camp at Florida International University School of Music, and he serves as Artistic Director of this summer festival.

Javier Arias has presented Chamber Music and Cello masterclasses in the USA and Mexico.

As a recitalist, Javier Arias enjoys performing chamber music for cello and piano. His eclectic repertoire includes works from Bach to Piazzola. Currently, he performs in a duo with pianist Mia Vassilev.

Since the fall of 2004 Mr. Arias is an Artist-in Residence at Florida International University, where he serves as Chair of Strings and teaches Cello and Chamber Music.

Mr. Arias has recorded for the Gasparo, New World and Centaur labels.