Born in Cuba, Luna Pantoja began studying the cello at the age of five. At eight, she entered the Vocational School of Arts in Matanzas, Cuba, where she completed her elementary music studies before continuing at the Amadeo Roldán Music Conservatory in Havana for her high school musical education.
Despite her young age, Luna has already built a promising career as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed in renowned festivals such as the International Leo Brouwer Festival, the Habana Clásica International Festival, Cello Biennale Amsterdam, Stift Music Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, and Lucerne Festival.
She has taken part in masterclasses with distinguished artists including Gary Hoffman, Jeroen Reuling, Dmitry Ferschtman, Pieter Wispelwey, Benedict Kloeckner, among others.
As a passionate chamber musician, Luna has an active artistic presence across Europe. She was selected to be part of Villars Music Academy in Switzerland, where she worked and performed with musicians from the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kolja Blacher. She has also played alongside artists such as Daniel Rowland, Anna Fedorova, Maja Bogdanovic, Dana Zemtsov, Nicholas Schwartz, Nicolas van Poucke, Olivier Patey, among others.
Luna received second prize at the Irvine Conservatory International Music Competition in Los Angeles (2022) and won first prize at the Cayo Competition for Young Cellists (2023).
She has performed in major international venues such as the KKL Luzern, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the Theater and Opera House of Wiesbaden.
Luna is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she studies in the class of Ella van Poucke.
She stands out for her natural and temperamental playing and her way of conveying every emotion in the music to an audience.
