Viviana Castillo Antonio

My musical background ranges from many ways to which genre I perform, rehearse, or practice. To start off, I am currently part of my local orchestra called the Bay Youth Symphony Orchestra as a cellist and have been through their Strings and Concert levels starting in 2012. I also study cello in the instrumental music department at The Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia and have been since 2017. In addition to that, I’ve also been teaching beginner cellists in my mom’s studio called the VALRR Studios since 2016. Early on in my freshman year, my music director formed my quartet called the “Castonio Quartet” and we perform annually during the summer time at “Live! On Atlantic” at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. We arrange our own versions of Pop songs and are also inspired by existing arrangements as well. My family band is also part of “Live! On Atlantic” and we call ourselves “Two Arms of Flight.” I am the pianist, vocalist, and cellist in our band and we cover artists from Journey all the way to Ariana Grande. My family and I also serve with the music ministry at our Church called the Church of Ascension and I’ve played cello for my church since 2012. Recently, I have joined a Gospel Choir called “Voices Of Fire,” and I am one of the sopranos. We’ve been formed for 2 years and since then, we’ve had opportunities to perform at the Global Citizen Festival with Pharrell Williams, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! In November 2020, we released a Gospel docu-series on Netflix. The ultimate reason for doing all these things relating to music is to sacrifice the vulnerable ways I feel when playing music to inspire others. Performing, rehearsing, or practicing any type of genre or instrument has always been my background growing up and it’s a gift I learn and grow from everyday.

You can find Viviana’s performance here.