James Ehnes

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage, and is a favorite guest of many of the world’s most respected conductors and orchestras. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Ehnes launched an online “Recitals from Home” series in June 2020, which was critically acclaimed by audiences worldwide. Recent orchestral highlights include the MET Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, San Francisco Symphony, and London Symphony Orchestra, among others. For the 2020–21 season, he was also named an artist in residence with the National Arts Centre of Canada. As a recitalist, Mr. Ehnes performs regularly at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, and the Ravinia, White Nights, and Verbier festivals. In 2010, he established the Ehnes Quartet, with whom he has performed throughout Europe. Mr. Ehnes has an extensive, award-winning discography, which includes a Grammy Award (2019) for his live recording of Aaron Jay Kernis’s Violin Concerto. Mr. Ehnes began violin studies at age five and continued his formal education at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and in 2010 was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. Mr. Ehnes plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715.