Kristine Pacheco-Bernt is a professional violinist, arts administrator, and music educator motivated to make instrumental music relevant within the community. Raised at the intersection of mariachi and minuets, she draws upon over a decade of performing and teaching experience. Kristine strongly believes in the power of creative youth development through music and is proud to bring her perspective and skills to all kinds of projects.

Prior to her work at the Music Academy, Kristine served as a Teaching Artist at the Incredible Children’s Art Network (iCAN) music program, an El Sistema-inspired initiative in Santa Barbara providing free after-school music classes and academic enrichment to 120 elementary school children from an under resourced community. More recently Kristine served as the Director of Education at the Santa Barbara Symphony where she managed a continuum of music programs serving over 8,000 children throughout Santa Barbara County. She currently maintains a private violin studio designed to support students at all levels of musical development. She enjoys bringing together school administrators, families, and music professionals to create dynamic music education programs.

Kristine holds a master’s degree in violin performance from San Francisco State University and dual bachelor’s degrees in music and premedical studies from University of California Berkeley. She performs regularly throughout the central coast with the Santa Barbara Symphony, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and the Santa Maria Philharmonic.