“The evening concluded grandly with Brian Lewis's impassioned liming of Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, Op. 14. Lewis…is a charismatic star whose impeccable virtuosity and emotional directness were stunning.  Singing with throbbing intensity, Lewis brought the crowd to a thunderous standing ovation…”

 

Sunflower Chamber Orchestra

TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL

 

 

 

 

One of the most versatile and charismatic violinists on the current scene, Brian Lewis is an exceptionally dedicated and gifted performer whose passionate artistry has been heard and embraced around the world. "There are a lot of fine violinists on the concert stage today, but few can match Lewis for an honest virtuosity that supremely serves the music,” reports the Topeka Capital-Journal. Acclaimed performances include concerto debuts in both New York's Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, as well as performances with the Amarillo, American, Berlin (Germany), Boulder, Eugene, Greenwich, Guadalajara (Mexico), Hartford, Kansas City, Lima (Peru), Louisiana, Midland-Odessa, Odense (Denmark), Pensacola, Spokane, Syracuse, Topeka and Wichita symphony orchestras, as well as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Sinfonia Toronto (Canada), among many others. Activities in Asia include concerto performances with the Taejon City Symphony in Korea, the Taipei Conductor’s Orchestra in Taiwan, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra in Japan. Mr. Lewis has recorded six CDs, most recently for Delos as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra in music by Leonard Bernstein and Hollywood composer Michael McLean. His numerous recital appearances include performances across the United States, including the Mostly Mozart Festival and the Great Performer’s Series at Lincoln Center in New York. Internationally, Mr. Lewis has been a featured recitalist in Australia, Canada, the French West Indies, Puerto Rico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, France, England, Denmark, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, and Brazil.

 

Mr. Lewis has won numerous young artists' competitions, including the Grand Prize in the Mid-America Violin Competition. In addition to the Waldo Mayo Talent Award presented to him at Carnegie Hall, he holds both the Peter Mennin Prize and William Schuman Prize awarded by Juilliard for outstanding achievement and leadership in the field of music. Mr. Lewis was one of the first recipients of the Sony ES Award for Musical Excellence, and he has received two Elizabeth B. Koch Fellowships from the Kansas Cultural Trust. A highly respected educator, Mr. Lewis has received both the Texas Exes Teaching Award and The University of Texas School of Music Teaching Excellence Award. Also active as concertmaster and soloist at the St. Barths Music Festival in the French West Indies, Mr. Lewis was presented the Medal of St. Barthélemy by the president of the island for 19 years of artistic service and dedication to the cultural life of St. Barths. He was also honored at a ceremony at half time of a UT football game where he was named an ING Professor of Excellence, a prestigious university-wide award recognizing outstanding teaching and achievement.

 

 Known for his variety in programming and ability to communicate with audiences of all ages, Mr. Lewis has performed frequently as a member of the Kansas Arts Commission Touring Program and the Mid-America Arts Alliance Regional Touring Program. Radio and television appearances include performances on WNYC, WFMT (Chicago), National Public Radio, and CBS “Sunday Morning.” An advocate for music education in the schools, Mr. Lewis frequently presents concerts, workshops, and master classes for Young Audiences of Houston. Named National Artist of the Year by Young Audiences, Inc., he was also presented the Fredell Lack Award by YAH for having performed for more than 165,000 young people in the Houston area.

 

As a student of Eleanor Allen, Mr. Lewis began his violin studies at the age of four, and participated in the Ottawa Suzuki Strings program under the direction of his mother, Alice Joy Lewis. He later studied with Tiberius Klausner, and twice traveled to Japan where he studied with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto. He holds both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School where he was a student of Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, and Hyo Kang. Highly committed and dedicated to teaching young artists, Mr. Lewis has quickly emerged as one of the leading violin teachers of his generation. He holds the David and Mary Winton Green Chair in String Performance and Pedagogy at UT where he is Professor of Violin. He is also Artistic Director of the Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School in New York City, concertmaster of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston, Artistic Director of the Brian Lewis Young Artist Program in Kansas, a founding member of the Texas Piano Quartet and Artistic Director of the Starling Distinguished Violinist Series at the Butler School of Music. This past year, Mr. Lewis finished his 2nd year in residency at the Yale School of Music as the Class of ’57 Visiting Professor in Music.

 

Mr. Lewis performs on a Gand Frères violin, made in Paris in 1863.

 

http://brianlewisviolin.com/

Biography

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