Carmen S. Flores

            Originally from San Diego, California, Carmen Flores is Principal Viola of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, having been appointed to the position in 2007.  She has enjoyed a career as a recitalist, chamber, and orchestral musician in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  Carmen attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.  In 2000 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study Filipino music in Manila, Philippines.  Carmen continued her viola studies at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.  Her principal teachers were Yizhak Schotten and Steven Dann.  As a winner in the Virtu Foundation String Competition, Carmen played on a contemporary viola made by luthier Raymond Schryer.

            Previously, Carmen was Principal Viola with the Canadian Opera Company under the direction of the late Richard Bradshaw.  In Canada, Ms. Flores has been featured on several CBC Radio broadcasts, most notably as a member of the ARC Ensemble (Artists of the Royal Conservatory) in Toronto.  She has participated in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan and was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival.  In the United Kingdom she has performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, and the orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.  She lives in London with her husband Dan.

Photo Credit: Emma-Lee of Stripped Media