Steven Sam Staryk, OC is a Canadian violin virtuoso. He had a distinguished solo career and was concertmaster of several major orchestras, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Staryk was offered the concertmaster position with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra but chose to pursue solo work at that time. He appeared frequently as soloist in violin concertos with these orchestras. Staryk also had an extensive and awarded teaching career.
In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.
Walter Prystawski, CM is a Canadian classical violinist, conductor and teacher. For many years he was the concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.
Ilya Kaler is a Russian-born violinist. Born and educated in Moscow, Kaler is the only person to have won Gold Medals at all three of the International Tchaikovsky Competition ; the Sibelius ; and the Paganini.
Leonidas Kavakos is a Greek violinist and conductor. He has won several international violin competition prizes, including the Sibelius, Paganini, Naumburg, and Indianapolis competitions. He is an Onassis Foundation scholar. He has also recorded for record labels such as Sony/BMG and BIS. As a conductor, he was an artistic director of the Camerata Salzburg and has been a guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Frank Xin Huang is a Chinese-born American violinist and teacher. Since 2015 he has been the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. Previous to his position in New York, Huang was the first violinist of the Ying Quartet and a professor of violin and chamber music at the Eastman School of Music, then served as the concertmaster of the Houston Symphony from 2010 to 2015. He has won several international music competitions, most notably the 2003 Naumburg Competition. Huang has concertized widely as a soloist, and his debut recording on Naxos was critically acclaimed.
Valery Klimov was a Russian violinist.
Chin Kim is a Korean-born American classical violinist, largely educated in the United States through the Juilliard School, and the Curtis Institute of Music.
Albert Chamberland was a Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, music producer, and music educator. As a violinist he performed as a chamber musician with a number of ensembles, including the Beethoven Trio with whom he made some early recordings for His Master's Voice (HMV) during the first decade of the 20th century. He also made some solo recordings for HMV and was a concert soloist. He performed with a variety of orchestras, serving as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra's first concertmaster. Chamberland also created several compositions for band and orchestra.
Albert Pratz was a Canadian violinist, conductor, composer, and music educator. He was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967. His compositional output was modest and consists of only instrumental works. Some of his compositions, such as Melanie Waltz (1956) and A Tango (1957), were recorded by the CBC Symphony Orchestra; of which he was concertmaster from 1953 to 1961. He worked in the same capacity for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1966 to 1969, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1970 to 1979. He was also active as a teacher, both privately and at a number of universities, and made recordings as both a violinist and conductor.
William (Bill) Barbini is an American violinist. He took his diploma from Juilliard School in 1970, studying with Ivan Galamian among others. He thereafter became one of the youngest members selected to the New York Philharmonic violin section. During his tenure with the NY Philharmonic, Barbini also performed as principal violinist with the Gramercy String Quartet. With Barbini as principal, the Gramercy was commissioned by Pierre Boulez for a number of pre-concert performances at Avery Fisher Hall. While in New York, Barbini also served as concertmaster for the Joffrey Ballet and soloist with the Festival Orchestra at the Norwalk Performing Arts Festival.
Nancy Zhou is a Chinese-American classical violinist. She has performed as a soloist in recital and with orchestras throughout the world. Zhou has been a prizewinner in several major competitions, including first prizes in the 2018 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition and the 2018 International Music Competition Harbin.
David Chan is an American violinist, conductor, and a concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He is one of the most sought-after violinists of his generation. He is a prizewinner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, among many others. As a conductor, Chan is praised for his deep understanding of the music and interpretive depth.
Timothy Chooi is a Canadian violinist and University of Ottawa professor of Chinese-Indonesian ethnic background. He won the First Prize at the 2018 International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition and Second Prize at the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition. He has also won prizes at the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition, the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, and the Grand Prize at the 2010 Montreal ManuLife Competition.
Betty-Jean Hagen was a Canadian-born violinist and musical educator living in the United States.
Ning Feng is a Chinese violinist. He was born in Chengdu, China, and is based in Berlin.
Nadezda Tokareva is a Russian-Slovenian classical violinist and teacher, based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Blake Pouliot is a Juno-nominated Canadian professional classical violinist. Pouliot is currently Soloist-in-Residence at the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal.
Juliette Kang is a Canadian violinist. In 1994, she earned the gold medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Kang went on to have an international solo career. She joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2005, where she holds the position of first associate concertmaster.
Malcolm Lowe is a Canadian and American violinist and teacher. He held the Charles Munch chair as concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1984 to 2019, making him the second-longest-serving concertmaster in the orchestra's history.
