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, and the Mid-Texas Symphony, with conductors Giancarlo Guerrero, David Danzmayr, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Akiko Fujimoto, Noam Aviel, and Tito Muñoz. In demand as a Guest Concertmaster, he has appeared in recent seasons with the Santa Fe Opera, The Phoenix Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic.
Beginning in the fall of 2024, Gratz assumes the role of Director of the American Chamber Music Society in Chicago. He will also serve as Artist-in-Residence for the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. 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 violinists Vadim Gluzman and Eric Silberger; cellist Julian Schwarz; pianists Anton Nel, Orion Weiss, Jeffrey Kahane, John Novacek, and Jon Kimura Parker; harpsichordist/conductor Jeannette Sorrell; 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 ET Kim) 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 (2016) and Made In France (2019), 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 as an Apollo's Fire Senior Teaching Artist-in-Residence at Southland College Prep in South Chicago, as well as on the faculty of North Central College. He has given masterclasses at various institutions in the U.S., as well as in Ecuador, Italy, and China. In summer of 2024 he serves 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.
