Raphael Chinn is a California-born violist based in Glasgow. He undertook pre-conservatory training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division and Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, and had the privilege of mentorship from many of the finest classical artists in the United States––among them Paul Yarbrough, the founding violist of the Alexander String Quartet, Kay Stern, concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and Chauncey Patterson, violist of the Miami String Quartet. A keen chamber musician, he has performed in various capacities on both coasts of the United States, from the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina to various appearances in his native San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2014 he received a scholarship to begin studies in Viola Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), from which he has received both his Bachelor of Music with Honours and his Master of Arts in Chamber Music. He studied under the tutelage of Duncan Ferguson throughout his time at the RCS. Raphael has also appeared in numerous masterclasses with many of today’s most esteemed viola players, including Roger Chase, professor of viola at Trinity Laban, Robert Vernon, former principal violist of the Cleveland Orchestra, and the soloist Paul Coletti, professor of viola at the Colburn Conservatory of Music.

He has toured throughout the United Kingdom and the Continent. As a freelancer he is well-established in Britain, appearing with such orchestras as the Glasgow Barons and Manchester Camerata. His primary role has been as the violist of the Resol String Quartet since early 2020.