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"Spellbinding . . . a disciplined musician beyond his years"

~San Antonio Express-News

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Since his concerto debuts at the age of 14 in the United States, Spain, and Portugal, American violinist Eric Gratz has been celebrated as a thrilling performer, combining an old world style with a modern musical intellect. Equally desired as soloist, concertmaster, chamber musician, and educator, he maintains a uniquely varied schedule that has taken him to four continents, performing in the world’s great concert halls with leading musicians of our time.

In 2013, at the age of 22, Gratz became the youngest Concertmaster in North America, accepting the post with the San Antonio Symphony. During his nine seasons with the orchestra, he took part in over a dozen world premieres, and appeared numerous times as soloist in a far-reaching repertoire ranging from Bach to Kurt Weill. Additional solo appearances include The Cleveland Orchestra, The Phoenix Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland, Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Euclid Symphony, Kings Symphony, McCall MusicFest Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony, with conductors Giancarlo Guerrero, David Danzmayr, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Akiko Fujimoto, Noam Aviel, Tito Muñoz, and Jeannette Sorrell. In demand as a Guest Concertmaster, he has appeared in recent seasons with the Santa Fe Opera, The Phoenix Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic. He also served as Artist-in-Residence for the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle during the 2024-25 season.

Since 2024, Gratz has served as Director of the American Chamber Music Society in Chicago. A devoted interpreter of chamber music and recital repertoire, he appears at major festivals and concert halls around the world, including Mainly Mozart Festival, Maui Classical Music Festival, Castleton Festival, Austin Chamber Music, Dame Myra Hess Recital Series, Santa Cruz Foundation for the Performing Arts, Severance Hall, Auditorio Manuel De Falla, and the Kennedy Center. A former Artistic Director of the Olmos Ensemble, he maintains an active performing schedule with the San Antonio-based group. Among Gratz’s many collaborators, some have stood out as particularly memorable, including violinist Vadim Gluzman; cellist Julian Schwarz; pianists Anton Nel, Orion Weiss, Jeffrey Kahane, John Novacek, and Jon Kimura Parker; harpsichordists Jeannette Sorrell and Ian Pritchard; and members of the Vertavo, Pacifica, Mendelssohn, Formosa, and Fine Arts String Quartets.

As a recording artist, Gratz has appeared on several albums. His debut album of virtuoso works for violin and piano (Eric Gratz, with pianist Eliot Goldmund) was released in 2016 on his own label. It charted at #11 on Billboard Classical, making it the top independent release in the United States for its first week. He has subsequently recorded two other albums with the Olmos Ensemble, Olmos Live and Made In France, performing works by Harbison, Prokofiev, and Ravel.

Gratz believes it is of the utmost importance to inspire the next generation of musicians, and currently serves on the faculty of North Central College. Since 2022 he has also served as an Apollo’s Fire Senior Teaching Artist-in-Residence at Southland College Prep in South Chicago. He has given masterclasses at various institutions in the U.S., as well as in Ecuador, Italy, and China. Since 2024 he has served as Valade Concertmaster Faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp. A proponent of utilizing new technology to help democratize education, he has recorded several hours of video courses for TONEBASE, focusing on the music of Kreisler, Ysaÿe, and Beethoven.

A prizewinner of national and international competitions, Eric Gratz holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and his former teachers include Cho-Liang Lin, William Preucil, Linda Cerone, Claudia Shiuh, and Cynthia Stuart. He plays a violin by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, c. 1840. For more information, please visit ericgratz.com.

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5.17.25

American Chamber Music Society

John Novacek: 4 Rags

Britten: Introduction & Allegro

Coleridge-Taylor: Petite Suite de Concert

Schoenfield: Café Music

Yin Xiong, Cello

Scott Cuellar, Piano

Chicago, IL

americanchambermusic.org

5.5.25

Olmos Ensemble

Strauss: Don Quixote

Spohr: Septet

San Antonio, TX

olmosensemble.com

4.4.25 & 4.6.25

Guest Concertmaster

Tucson Symphony

Tucson, AZ

tucsonsymphony.org

3.21.25

American Chamber Music Society

Kodaly: Duo

Beethoven: String Trio in C Minor

Matthew Cohen, Viola

Julian Schwarz, Cello

Chicago, IL

americanchambermusic.org

3.10.25

Olmos Ensemble

Kodaly: Duo

Beethoven: String Trio in C Minor

Matthew Cohen, Viola

Julian Schwarz, Cello

San Antonio, TX

olmosensemble.com

2.8.25

American Chamber Music Society

Recital

Works by Kreisler, Ravel, Clara Schumann, Brahms, Lili Boulanger, Bloch, Mendelssohn, Bartok

Eliot Goldmund, Piano

Chicago, IL

americanchambermusic.org

1.25.25 & 1.27.25

Olmos Ensemble with Agarita

San Antonio, TX

olmosensemble.com

11.22.24

Recital

North Shore Congregation Israel

Tartini/Kreisler: "Devil's Trill Sonata"

Wieniawski: Legende

Beethoven: Sonata no. 3 in E-Flat Major

Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen

Marta Aznavoorian, Piano

Glencoe, IL

11.10-17.24

Artist-in-Residence

Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle

Durham, NC

https://www.chamberorchestraofthetriangle.org/

11.8.24

Faculty Recital

North Central College

Brahms: Sonata in A Major

Schubert: Sonatina in A Minor

Ravel: Sonata in G Major

Susan Chou, Piano

Naperville, IL

10.26.24

American Chamber Music Society

Schubert: Sonatina in A Minor

Faure: Piano Quartet in C Minor

Lawrence Neuman, Viola

Kenneth Olsen, Cello

Christopher Guzman, Piano

Chicago, IL

www.americanchambermusic.org

10.21.24

Dahl: Concerto a tre

Copland: Vitebsk

Harbison: Songs America Loves to Sing

Ilya Shterenberg, Clarinet

Julian Schwarz, Cello

Mark Teplitsky, Flute

Inna Faliks, Piano

San Antonio, TX

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"Spellbinding . . . a disciplined musician beyond his years"

~San Antonio Express-News

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