Cam Audras

Cam Audras is completing a Master of Music in viola performance under the instruction of Jonathan Moerschel, and recently earned a Master of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB. Polymathic at heart, Cam Audras believes musicians possess the power to serve as advocates for social good. Audras has served as a violist in Pink Martini, the Los Angeles Dream Orchestra, American Youth Symphony, Santa Barbara String Quartet, Organic String Quartet, Santa Barbara Master Chorale, and the Debut Chamber Orchestra. He holds the Associate Principal Viola fellowship with the prestigious California Young Artists Symphony, a section viola position in the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and frequently substitutes in the Santa Barbara, New West, and Long Beach Symphonies. Audras has claimed top prizes in the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition, Valley Talent Music Scholarship Competition and Henry Schwab Violin and Viola Competition. Past festival appearances have included the Center Stage Strings Music Festival at the University of Michigan, Credo Chamber Music Festival at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Manchester Music Festival. He has performed in masterclasses for Kim Kashkashian, Rachel Barton Pine, and Dimitri Murrath, and has studied with Helen Callus, Che-Yen (Brian) Chen, Yura Lee, and Peter Slowik.

Audras graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) summa cum laude in 2021 with degrees in Viola Performance and Environmental Studies. At USC, Audras was the sole inaugural recipient of the prestigious Nathaniel Rosen Strings Prize and Pi Kappa Lambda Scholarship, served as a Thornton Student Ambassador Leader, and volunteered with the Thornton Community Engagement Program, introducing elementary school classes in disadvantaged communities to classical music. Cam was honored to be selected as the USC Thornton School strings department’s outstanding undergraduate. In 2021, Audras won a grant from the LA-based Arts and Climate Collective to found, direct, and perform in a climate action performance series. “The Resilience Project” features dance, an original soundtrack, and poignant slam poetry, and was featured in a showcase to raise money alongside community-based arts organizations fighting for environmental justice. Cam holds a small private violin and viola studio in the Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks areas.