From Boston, Massachusetts, Julia McLean is a violist, artist, and teacher. She currently lives in Berlin working as a freelance musician and is a member of the academy (KAPCampus) of the Kammerakademie Potsdam. Julia is a student of Wilfried Strehle at the Universität der Künste Berlin earning a second masters in Orchestral Studies. She earned her first Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School studying with Misha Amory, and her Bachelor of Science degree at Tufts University with a major in Biopsychology and a minor in music, studying viola with Rictor Noren. In 2020 she briefly joined the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, unfortunately cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. She plays a 2010 Reto Gasser viola.
Julia is also a visual artist mainly working in acrylic and oil paint. After being awarded a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing awards in 2014, she was a featured artist in an exhibit in Boston Town Hall. Her ongoing series, String Impressions, features paintings on unusable string instruments that were kindly donated to her from instrument shops and schools. These pieces are each inspired by her personal musical experiences or those of the commissioner and often represent a specific musical memory. Commissions and sales are considered upon request.