Violist Joseph Shanks has been a passionate musician for most of his life. He was brought up in a very musical family and toured and competed with his family’s string quartet for most of his formative years. Joseph Shanks is currently working in the San Diego area and desires to share his love of music with those around him. Music was an integral part of Joseph’s upbringing, who began piano lessons at age five. After many years as a pianist, he took violin lessons before switching to viola. While still in high school, he and some of his brothers formed a string quartet that actively performed and competed, receiving high honors at a national fine arts competition. Joseph completed his BA in Music at California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly) and was awarded his MM degree in viola performance from San Diego State University, where he served as principal violist for both the symphony orchestra and chamber orchestra. Joseph has performed regularly with the San Luis Obispo Symphony, the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale, and Orchestra Novo. In addition to performing, Joseph is an active music educator and a dedicated member of his church as a pianist, violist, and congregational song leader.