Lara St. John

Canadian-born violinist Lara St John has performed as soloist with the orchestras of Cleveland, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Seattle, Brooklyn, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Boston Pops and many more in North America. In Europe, she has played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the NDR Symphony, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Bournemouth Symphony, and the Amsterdam Symphony, among others. In Asia, solo appearances have included the Hong Kong Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony and the Shanghai Broadcasting Orchestra. Lara has also performed with the Queensland Orchestra in Australia.

The Los Angeles Times has written, "St. John brings to the stage personal charisma, an unflagging musical imagination and genuine passion." Recitals in major concert halls have included New York, Boston, San Francisco, Ravinia, Washington DC, Prague, Berlin, Toronto, Montreal, and the Forbidden City.

Her debut CD, Bach: Works for Violin Solo, has sold over 50,000 copies and received resounding acclaim. The Chicago Tribune described Ms. St. John as having "superb technique and an irresistible vitality", while US News and World Report called the recording "an exquisite performance." Her second album, Gypsy, was described as "a sizzling display" by Gramophone, and The Strad called her "an electrifying player, as deeply satisfying in Bach as she is bewitchingly seductive in Waxman's Carmen Fantasy."

Her third recording, Bach: The Concerto Album, appeared in the "strongly recommended" section of Gramophone, which stated, "It is difficult to argue with such a technically dazzling and unfailingly musical interpretation." In June of 2005 the recording was released on iTunes where it immediately became No. 1 in the classical category. Lara has also recorded for Sony Classical.

She has been featured in People, US News and World Report, on CNN's Showbiz Today, and NPR's All Things Considered, Fox News, CBC and a Bravo! Special: Live At the Rehearsal Hall.

Lara began playing the violin when she was 2 years old. She made her first appearance as soloist with orchestra at age four, and her European debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon when she was 10. She toured Spain, France, Portugal and Hungary at ages 12 and 13, entered the Curtis Institute at 13, and spent her first summer at Marlboro three years later. Her teachers have included Felix Galimir and Joey Corpus.

Lara's fifth recording, Bach: The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo, described as "awe-inducing" by The Toronto Star, and "wild, idiosyncratic, and gripping" by the Los Angeles Times, was released in the autumn of 2007 and was the year’s best selling double album on iTunes.

Her sixth recording, Hindson – Corigliano – Liszt (arr. Kennedy/St. John) was released in 2008 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring two world premiere works; the Matthew Hindson Violin Concerto and the Martin Kennedy/St. John arrangement of Totentanz by Franz Liszt, as well as The Red Violin Suite by John Corigliano. In writing of his impressions of the recording, John Corigliano commented: "I'm thrilled to be included in a new recording by the brilliant and always surprising Lara St. John. She is a real maverick, as a performer and in her choice of repertoire. An opulent and virtuosic new violin concerto and my Red Violin suite are coupled with a newly arranged version of a 19th century pianistic tour de force in her latest stunning release."

She performs on the 1779 "Salabue" Guadagnini thanks to an anonymous donor and Heinl & Co. of Toronto.