Born in Los Angeles, Luke Santonastaso is a versatile musician, instructor, and mentor active across the United States, presently based in Orange County, CA. He currently serves as the principal 2nd violin for the Santa Cruz Symphony as well as section member of the New West Symphony and the Sarasota Opera Orchestra. His musical collaborations extend to various orchestras on the west coast, including the Long Beach Symphony, Santa Barbara Opera, San Bernardino Symphony, and Redlands Symphony, among others. Luke has had the privilege of collaborating with renowned artists such as Midori Goto, Maxim V engerov, Osmo Vänskä, Lynn Harrell, Gilbert Kalish, Kim Kashkashian, and Augustine Hadelich.

He has been a fellow at prestigious institutions including the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, and Incontri in Terra di Siena music festivals. Beyond his performance commitments, Luke is dedicated to nurturing emerging talents in his private studio along with serving as coach and instructor with institutions such as Junior Chamber Music and previous positions with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and the Crowden School in Berkeley, CA.

Luke holds degrees from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he studied with Movses Pogossian and Guillaume Sutre, member of Quatuor Ysaÿe. Outside of classical music, Luke is a member of the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles and enjoys folk music in all its forms. He is a loving cat dad and technophile.