PODCAST: Inside Berklee—Cristobal Cruz-Garcia

Cellist, composer, and arranger Cristobal Cruz-Garcia, a fifth-semester dual major in performance and contemporary writing and production, is no stranger to crossing borders. Hailing from Tijuana, Mexico, Cruz-Garcia used to wait hours to cross the border every morning to get to his high school in San Diego, California. Informed by such constant crossings, his playing style draws from many sources.

His stylistic precision reveals his classical training, but he’s found himself regularly performing and arranging everything from math rock and folk to ambient and mariachi. This willingness to blur borders has led him to high-level gigs such as Newport Folk Festival and FreshGrass, and a competitive slot in this year's Acoustic Music Seminar at the Savannah Music Festival.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, Cruz-Garcia speaks about overcoming negativity to achieve something positive, as well as the myriad lessons he's picked up from Berklee faculty members such as Darol Anger, Mike Block, and Eugene Friesen.

Producer: Bryan Parys
Engineer: Andres González Cardona
Recorded at the BIRN Studios