Biography

Gifted with stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism, and an unfaltering musicality, James Ehnes is a favorite guest at the world’s most celebrated concert halls. Recent orchestral highlights include the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony (with whom he made his debut in 2003), London Symphony, NHK Symphony, and Munich Philharmonic. Mr. Ehnes continues as artist in residence with the National Arts Centre of Canada in the 2022–23 season.

Alongside his concerto work, Mr. Ehnes maintains a busy recital schedule, performing regularly at the Wigmore Hall; Carnegie Hall; Symphony Center Chicago; Amsterdam Concertgebouw; and the Ravinia, Montreux, Verbier, and Dresden festivals. He leads the Ehnes Quartet and serves as the artistic director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Mr. Ehnes has won many awards for his extensive discography, including two Grammy awards, three Gramophone awards, and 11 Juno awards. His state-of-the-art home recordings of works by Bach and Ysaÿe, released as six episodes over two months, were acclaimed worldwide, and Mr. Ehnes was described by Le Devoir as being “at the absolute forefront of the streaming evolution.”

Mr. Ehnes began violin studies at age five and made his orchestral debut at 13. He continued his training at the Meadowmount School of Music and the Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding achievement and lead- ership in music. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba; a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada; and an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a visiting professor. He plays the 1715 “Marsick” Stradivarius violin.