Nathan Medina was born in Portland, Oregon, where he began his music studies at the age of seven. He had violin lessons with Kathy Walden and Robert Hertzel and, in 1992, he passed the test for concertmaster of the Music in May Festival Orchestra. At eighteen, he won a scholarship to study with Kelly Farris at the Eastern Washington University and to perform with the Spokane Symphony, under the direction of Fabio Mechetti.

In the summers of 1994 and 1995, he began his studies in viola and continued devoting himself to the violin in the Meadowmount School of Music with Alan Bodman. He graduated in violin from the Eastern Washington University and obtained his Master’s degree from the University of Washington, where he studied with Steven Staryk and Robert Davidovici. He has also took part in masterclasses with Roberto Díaz, Steven Dann, James Dunham, Bruno Giurrana, Paul Neubauer and participated of the International Viola Congress in Seattle.

Nathan held the position of Principal Viola in the Yakima Symphony from 1998 to 2000. During the same period, he was chief of the Second Violins of the Federal Way Symphony and of the Spokane Symphony. In 2001, he started his doctorate studies at the University of Washington, receiving a Brechemin scholarship to study viola with Helen Callus and violin with Ronald Patterson. He has also studied at Le Domaine Forget Académie de Music in Canada (2003-2004).