Christopher Foerstel

Viola, Orchestra Principal

Born in Boise Idaho, violist Christopher Foerstel started playing violin at age 9. During his time at Central Washington University, he picked up the viola when another player was out sick for chamber music class. It was then that he truly found his voice as a musician. While still taking violin lessons, Christopher played viola with the Gestalt string quartet, and was a national finalists in the ASTA chamber music competition.

After two years of viola study with Don Erhlich in San Francisco, Christopher moved up to Seattle to start his musical career. During his time in the Pacific Northwest, Christopher has performed as principal viola with many groups including Federal Way Symphony, Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Rock Orchestra. He premiered the musical Bliss staring Mario Cantone with the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle, as well as many other musicals with the Village Theatre. You can also hear Christopher on multiple Macklemore tracks, as well as the Grammy nominated song “Praying” by Kesha. He even appeared at the American Music Awards, premiering a new song with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to 13 million viewers.

Christopher currently lives in Seattle with his wife and two cats, where he works as a UX researcher by day and musician by night. He performs with many local and traveling artists whenever they need strings, including Il Divo and the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Christopher also is routinely asked to record viola for artists of all musical genres. In his limited free time, Christopher and his wife love to travel and explore. He has been principal viola with the Bach Fest orchestra since 2006.