Sphinx Virtuosi | Meet Us | Juan-Salvador Carrasco

Juan-Salvador Carrasco

Juan-Salvador Carrasco has forged a wide-ranging career that includes solo, chamber, and orchestral performance, performing and recording with pop artists, scoring films, composing concert works, and co-founding the pioneering alternative classical band Astral Mixtape.

He has appeared as a soloist with orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Broad Stage, and Mexico City's Auditorio Blas Galindo, and has performed alongside Itzhak Perlman, Phil Setzer, and Anthony McGill. In 2025/2026, he toured as part of the string quartet on jazz-pop icon Laufey's A Matter of Time world tour, which spanned North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia.

Juan-Salvador is currently a member of the New West Symphony and performs regularly with several Southern California orchestras, such as the Los Angeles Opera and Pacific Symphony. He was awarded First Prize in USC Thornton's 2019 Solo Bach Competition, has been a multiple-time semi-finalist in the Sphinx Competition, and has participated in the Perlman Music Program, Heifetz Institute Chamber Music Seminar, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and London Master Classes.

As a composer, Juan-Salvador has written and performed original soundtracks for several award-winning short films, including Ends and Means, Fear and Tremble, and The Return, and his chamber works have been featured in Salastina's concert series and at the Heifetz International Music Institute.

Astral Mixtape, the ensemble Juan-Salvador co-founded and performs in as a cellist, is known for its bold fusion of classical instrumentation, electronics, and improvisation. The group won the 2023 Astral Artists National Auditions and the 2024 Beverly Hills National Auditions. Their 2025 sophomore album, Biolumy, is a kaleidoscopic journey through lush orchestral textures, electronic energy, and jazz-inflected lyricism.

Juan-Salvador holds degrees from Northwestern University (B.M.) and the University of Southern California (M.M. and G.C.). His primary teachers include Ralph Kirshbaum, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Ron Leonard, and Eleonore Schoenfeld.