Cellist Richard Treat has worked as a freelance musician and teacher throughout Southern California but has recently relocated to the Dash Point area of Tacoma. A native of Los Angeles, Richard earned both Bachelors and Masters Degrees from California State University at Los Angeles, where he studied with Stephen De’ak, Eleonore Schoenfeld, and Lucien LaPorte.
Mr. Treat has worked with several orchestras in greater Los Angeles, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Pasadena, Long Beach, and Glendale Symphonies.
In addition, Richard has been principal cellist of the Santa Barbara and South Coast Symphonies, the Mozart Camerata, and the Pasadena Chamber Orchestra and played for many years with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and the Deodara String Quartet.
As a freelance musician, Mr. Treat has played for Motion Pictures such as Lion King, Mission Impossible, Austin Powers and Thin Red Line. His recording career includes many television programs, commercials, and recordings, and he has appeared several times on the Tonight Show. Richard has also played in the orchestras for the shows Sunset Boulevard, Beauty and the Beast, Ragtime, and Titanic.
Mr. Treat has taught at California State University, Los Angeles and the University of California, Irvine, and was a long-time faculty member at Chapman University in Orange, California. He is now a member of the Max Aronoff Institute faculty in Kenmore, and is regularly featured in performances of solo and chamber music in the Northwest.
