Gal Faganel joined the Phoenix Symphony in 2007 as the associate principal cellist. Growing up in a musical family, he began studying cello in his native Slovenia at the age of eight. He continued his studies in Croatia and ended up in the United States, where he attended University of Southern California. There he received a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Gal's mentors include Eleonore Schoenfeld, Nathaniel Rosen, Daniel Rothmuller and Dobrila Berkovic-Magdalenic.
Gal has won many international competitions and received numerous awards. In 1997 he was chosen to be "The Young musician of the Year" in Slovenia. The following year he represented Slovenia at the Eurovision competition in Lisbon, Portugal. He also has many radio and CD recordings to his credit. These include live broadcasts and archival recordings for National Radio Slovenia, Holland Radio, and Classical KUSC in Los Angeles. Recently he began to research, perform and record a complete cello reprtoire by Slovenian composers.
While in Los Angeles he toured and competed as a member of the Tetraktys String Quartet, as well as with other chamber ensembles. Since his teenage years he has regularly appeared in recitals in Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, and in the United States.
Gal greatly enjoys teaching cello at all levels and coaching chamber music. While in graduate school, he taught at the University of Southern California and maintained a private studio. He continues to teach and perform in various capacities in the United States and in Europe.