Latvia-born and Nevada City, CA-based violin teacher Imant Airea is a lifelong musician with MA degrees in both Violin and Symphony-Opera Conducting. Throughout his long music career, he has raised many professional and passionate musicians.
Early in his career, he worked as a violinist at the Latvian National Orchestra, performed solo concerts, and served as a professor in music colleges and institutions in Riga and Daugavpils, where he also led chamber orchestra classes and worked with the college orchestra as a conductor. In Monterey, CA, Airea served as both a violinist and conductor for the Monterey Symphony Orchestra, as well as just performed in various quartets in the Bay Area. In Stockton, CA, he worked as Orchestra and Opera Conductor and Assistant Professor of Conducting at University of the Pacific, where he closely mentored string department students. He also served as the Music Director of youth symphony orchestra Gradus ad Parnassum, where he toured with the orchestra to New York and performed at Carnegie Hall.
Imant Airea is one of the rare violin teachers who not only offers a holistic approach to music education but also accompanies his students on the piano. He works with a wide range of students, from those who are taking their very first steps in music, to those who want to participate in international competitions, to those who want to pursue music professionally at the college and university levels. He can conduct lessons in English, Latvian, and Russian, depending on the language needs of the student, and offers classes both online, as well as in-person within the following regions: Nevada City, Grass Valley, Auburn, Roseville, Rocklin, Sacramento.
From his deep background working with orchestra musicians as both a conductor and member of the orchestra, Imant Airea has worked with prominent violinists, pianists, cellists, and other musicians. It is with this well-rounded perspective that he teaches his students, many of whom have participated in many youth orchestras like San Jose Youth Symphony and Gradus ad Parnassum, some of which performed with these orchestras as soloists and concertmasters. Additionally, his students also won prizes in competitions such as US Open Competition, as well as Carnegie Hall, where they successfully competed to perform solo, and numerous others. Many of his students have gone on to universities and have chosen to double major or minor in music.