Originally from Boston, Julia McLean is a viola 2nd soloist in the Opera Orchestra National Montpellier in Montpellier, France and a viola and violin teacher. Before moving to Montpellier, Julia was a member of the Kammerakademie Potsdam academy (KAPCampus). She has previously played as guest solo viola with the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau, and in the viola sections of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Academy of American Music, the Charleston Symphony, and the Boston Philharmonic. Julia studied with former Berlin Philharmonic principal violist Wilfried Strehle at the Universität der Künste Berlin and with Misha Amory at The Juilliard School. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Tufts University with a major in Biopsychology and a minor in music, studying viola with Rictor Noren. She plays a 2010 Reto Gasser viola.
