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James Ehnes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Ehnes
CM OM FRSC
Born (1976-01-27) January 27, 1976 (age 48)
Brandon, Manitoba
Genres
Instrument(s)Violin, Viola
Websitejamesehnes.com

James Ehnes, CM OM FRSC (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian concert violinist and violist.

Early life

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Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes,[1] long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey Ehnes, former ballerina with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ruth Page's International Ballet, and Chicago Ballet, and former director of the Brandon School of Dance. Ehnes began his violin studies at the age of four and at age nine became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin.[2] He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and from 1993 to 1997 at The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation.[3]

James Ehnes toured with Jeunesses Musicales Canada during the 1992–1993 season, when he was only 16 years old.[4]

Career

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Ehnes has performed with all of the major orchestras in North America including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony in the U.S., as well as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada.[5]

In Europe he has performed as soloist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the London Symphony Orchestra, London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Ulster Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, plus many others.[5]

In October 2005, he was awarded a Doctor of Music degree (honoris causa) from Brandon University and in July 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2010, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.[6]

Ehnes performs on the 1715 "ex-Marsick" Stradivarius.[7] His commercial recordings have won many awards and prizes, including 11 Junos, two Grammies,[8] and two Gramophone Classical Music Awards - 2008 Best Concerto[9] for Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto - 2021 Artist of the Year.[10]

Ehnes was awarded the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards in the Instrumentalist category.[11]

Ehnes joined the Royal Academy of Music as visiting professor of violin in 2017.[12][13]

Ehnes joined the The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music faculty as a professor of practice in violin as of August 1, 2024.[14][15]

Ehnes is artistic director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society. He and violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, violist Che-Yen Chen, and cellist Edward Arron perform as the Ehnes Quartet.[16]

Ehnes lives in Ellenton, Florida with his wife and two children.

Discography

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James Ehnes

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Ehnes Quartet

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ehnes, Alan Charles". Brandon Sun. 12 Oct 2019. Retrieved 4 Feb 2020.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ King, Betty Nygaard (13 Dec 2013). "Francis Chaplin". Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 Feb 2020.
  3. ^ Hanson, Philip (1 October 1998). "The Boy from Brandon: Canada's Violin Hope". La Scena Musicale. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  4. ^ "BAnQ numérique". Numerique.banq.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  5. ^ a b "James Ehnes | School of Music". Brandonu.ca.
  6. ^ Cloutier, Annabelle (30 June 2010). "Governor General announces 74 new appointments to the Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  7. ^ Fishman, Elly (2023-01-17). "The Man Who Fixes the World's Finest Violins". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2019-02-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Concerto". Gramophone.
  10. ^ "Artist of the Year | James Ehnes". Gramophone.
  11. ^ "Instrumentalist: Winners to date". Royal Philharmonic Society.
  12. ^ "James Ehnes". Royal Academy of Music.
  13. ^ "James Ehnes joins London's Royal Academy of Music as visiting professor of violin". The Strad. March 16, 2017.
  14. ^ "Violinist James Ehnes appointed to Jacobs School of Music faculty". Jacobs School of Music. October 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "Violinist James Ehnes Joins Jacobs School of Music Faculty". The Violin Channel. October 16, 2023.
  16. ^ May, Thomas (14 July 2015). "Star violinist James Ehnes on his 'other' life as a chamber musician". The Strad. Archived from the original on 2015-07-17.
  17. ^ Andrew Clements (2009-10-22). "Paganini: 24 Caprices: James Ehnes/Paganini: 24 Caprices: Thomas Zehetmair". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  18. ^ Fiona Maddocks (2013-01-19). "Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano Vol 2: Sonatas and Folk Dances – review". The Observer. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
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