Born in 1959 in Scotland to an Italian family, Paul Coletti began viola lessons when he was 8 and at 18 became a student of Alberto Lysy and Yehudi Menuhin in Switzerland. During his study years, Coletti performed in over 100 concerts as a soloist throughout Europe, North and South America; on CD and in concert with Lord Menuhin at La Salle Pleyel, Paris and London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall; and in Berlin in Bartók’s viola concerto broadcast live on Eurovision TV.

At 23, Paul Coletti made his New York, San Francisco and Edinburgh Festival debuts. The New York Times wrote, “The violist Paul Coletti is a remarkable musician with a distinct artistic personality that is entirely his own. Although Mr. Coletti has an impeccable technique, there is nothing ostentatious about his playing; the mastery is there and needs no promotional fanfare. He is an elegant artist who enhances all he plays.” The San Francisco Examiner wrote, “He reminds me of a few times when I had the privilege of hearing the great William Primrose at his best”.

As a soloist, Coletti has performed in every major European capital, at over 50 international music festivals, with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Soloists, the Berlin and Hannover Radio symphonies, and with personalities André Previn, Gerard Schwarz, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Claude Bolling, Menahem Pressler, Leonard Nimoy, and former supreme court justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Paul Coletti has performed at the Sydney Opera House, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Suntory Hall, and at historic sites such as the 4th-century San Miniato al Monte in Florence.

A prolific recording artist, Coletti has won accolades for his Hyperion recording English Music for Viola, which won best CD awards from Gramophone and BBC Music magazines and was named one of the 100 best CDs of all time. With the Menuhin Festival Piano Quartet he won the Forderpreiz in Zurich for the best chamber music recording of the year; his recording of Nicholas Maw’s flute quartet was nominated for a Grammy. In Japan with his pioneering group Typhoon he reached No.1 in the classical charts with 3 of the group’s several CDs. Typhoon performed over five hundred sold-out concerts and two hundred children’s shows and was seen frequently on TV.

Professor Coletti has held teaching positions at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad, the University of Washington, the Peabody Conservatory, and UCLA. He now teaches exclusively at The Colburn School.

Among his many teachers have been Alberto Lysy, Sandor Vegh, Felix Galimir, Raphael Hillyer, Lillian Fuchs, Dorothy Delay, Felix Andriewsky, Don McInnes, and Zoltán Székely.