James Ehnes

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after musicians on
the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene
lyricism and an unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest at the world’s most
celebrated concert halls.

Recent orchestral highlights include the MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall,
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony, NHK
Symphony and Munich Philharmonic. Throughout the 23/24 season, Ehnes continues
as Artist in Residence with the National Arts Centre of Canada and as Artistic Partner
with Artis–Naples. During this season, he will make debuts with Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alongside his concerto work, Ehnes maintains a busy recital schedule. He performs
regularly at the Wigmore Hall (including the complete cycle of Beethoven Sonatas in
2019/20, and the complete violin/viola works of Brahms and Schumann in 2021/22),
Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Ravinia,
Montreux, Verbier Festival, Dresden Music Festival and Festival de Pâques in Aix. A
devoted chamber musician, he is the leader of the Ehnes Quartet and the Artistic
Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings,
including two Grammy’s, three Gramophone Awards and eleven Juno Awards. In
2021, Ehnes was announced as the recipient of the coveted Artist of the Year title in
the 2021 Gramophone Awards which celebrated his recent contributions to the
recording industry, including the launch of a new online recital series entitled ‘Recitals
from Home’ which was released in June 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
and subsequent closure of concert halls. Ehnes recorded the six Bach Sonatas and
Partitas and six Sonatas of Ysaÿe from his home with state-of-the-art recording
equipment and released six episodes over the period of two months. These recordings
have been met with great critical acclaim by audiences worldwide and Ehnes was
described by Le Devoir as being “at the absolute forefront of the streaming evolution”.

Ehnes began violin studies at the age of five, became a protégé of the noted
Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin aged nine, and made his orchestra debut with
L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal aged 13. He continued his studies with Sally
Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, winning the
Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his
graduation in 1997. 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.

Ehnes plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715.