Ethan Moffitt

Ethan Moffitt grew up playing music from the age of four, starting on the violin and moving to progressively larger instruments as he grew. Coming from a family of musicians and artists, he was surrounded by many different types of performance and artistic expression, leading him to pursue an eclectic and diverse musical life.

Hailing from Los Angeles, Ethan studied at the Colburn School of Performing Arts from age 7 through high school, where he studied violin, viola, double bass (with both Dr. David Young and Peter Lloyd), chamber music, composition, jazz improvisation, and performance, while submitting his original works to competitions and festivals. His works have been performed in Prague, Czech Republic, Austria, Salzburg, Munich, New York City, and Boston by ensembles such as the Colburn Youth Orchestra, the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra, and he has received multiple honors from these institutions. During his time at USC, he studied with artists such as Andrew Norman, Ted Hearne, Donald Crockett, Christopher Trapani, and Vince Mendoza for composition, as well as double bass with David Moore and early music performance under Drs. Rotem and Adam Gilbert. Ethan was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2022 and 2023 and a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival in 2024.

As a non-classical instrumentalist, Ethan has collaborated and recorded with artists such as David Binney, Justin Brown, Rachel Eckroth, Louis Cole, Genevieve Artadi, Steve Lehmann, and Dasha. Ethan holds a dual bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in double bass performance and composition, magna cum laude. Ethan is currently principal double bass with San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and when he is not playing music, he likes to rock climb, read, compose, and write.