Return to the Proms with the Orchestras of the Royal Academy of Music and the Julliard School

James returns to the Royal Albert Hall on 22 July for a BBC Prom full of personal significance. Together with conductor Edward Gardner, he performs Britten’s Violin Concerto with a combined orchestra made up of musicians from the Royal Academy of Music and the Julliard School. James studied at the Julliard School from 1993 to 1997, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation, and he is currently the Visiting Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music.

James has recorded Britten’s Violin Concerto with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kirill Karabits. It was released on Onyx in 2013, click here to purchase or stream the album. 

See James and Kirill discuss the recording during a session break in the following video: 

Residency week at Bravo Vail Festival

James begins his residency week at Bravo! Vail Festival on 25 June, performing three concerts in the spectacular Gerald R. Ford Amphitheatre. Presenting all-Beethoven programmes throughout the week, James is joined by friend and longtime collaborator Andrew Armstrong on 25 June for Beethoven Sonatas Nos. 2, 5 & 7. Later in the week he joins the Dallas Symphony and Donald Runnicles Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, followed by with the Triple Concerto on 29 June with cellist Knut Weber and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.

James posted a photo of the beautiful views in Vail on Instagram:

Always happy to be in Vail for Bravo! Music Festival. #bravovail

848 Likes, 7 Comments - James Ehnes (@jamesehnes) on Instagram: "Always happy to be in Vail for Bravo! Music Festival. #bravovail"

Bruch with San Francisco Symphony and Marek Janowski

James returns to the San Francisco Symphony to perform Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in three concerts at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. Marek Janowski. conducts the concerts on 2, 3 and 4 May 2019. 

Watch a video of James discussing the concerto (“one of the first violin concertos I ever played!”) and performing a few excerpts at Utah Symphony’s Abravanel Hall.  

National Arts Centre Orchestra European tour

James embarks on a major European tour this month as he performs in the Netherlands and Scandinavia with the NAC Orchestra Ottawa from 20 May 2019. The tour is a celebration of the orchestra's 50th anniversary and is led by its Music Director, Alexander Shelley. James is the soloist for Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, performing the concerto at Utrecht’s TivoliVredenburg (20 May), the Koncerthuset in Copenhagen (22 May) and Stockholm’s Royal Palace and Concert Hall (24 May). 

James has recorded the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, released in 2011 on Onyx, to widespread acclaim. The Sunday Timesdescribed it as “playing of phenomenal control, allied to musicianship of the highest order.”

Update: Artsfile reviewed the performance, describing it “full of the passion and emotion that is in what is considered one of the great concertos for violin. Ehnes handled it with his typical ease and grace.”

Sibelius in New York with the London Philharmonic Orchestra

James joins the London Philharmonic Orchestra on tour this week for concerts in New York and Connecticut on 15 and 16 April 2019. James performs the Sibelius Violin Concerto under the baton of his long-standing musical collaborator Edward Gardner at Lincoln Center, New York and Palace Theater, Stamford.

James is a noted interpreter of Sibelius' concerto and his performances have received critical acclaim around the world:

"... a revelation. With unobtrusive brilliance and flawless technique he traced the composition even in such passages where other colleagues leave it as a mere atmospheric depiction…”  
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“Ehnes brought not only striking virtuosity but also genuine expressive intensity."
TribLive