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JOSE-LUIS GARCIA

JOSE-LUIS GARCIA is one of the most internationally recognized Spanish musicians of our time, having established a world-wide reputation as violin soloist, conductor and pedagogue.

Born in Madrid in 1944, Garcia began his violin studies at the age of six with his father. Upon winning First Prize in the 1960 Sarasate Violin Competition he moved to London to study at The Royal College of Music under the direction of Antonio Brosa. One year later he won the Stoutzker Prize, the College's senior violin award.

In 1966, at the age of 22, he was appointed Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music in London, the youngest professor ever appointed to any British senior music school.

In 1967 he was honored with the prestigious Harriet Cohen International Award, given annually in England to musicians of distinction.

During a substantial part of his life, Garcia studied with the great conductor Sergiu Celibidache, who became the strongest influence in his music making and with whom he had the privilege of appearing as soloist several times.

Mr. Garcia was Leader-Director of the world famous English Chamber Orchestra for more than twenty years. During this time he made hundreds of recordings with the ensemble, many of them as soloist and director. Some of his best known recordings have been those of the Mozart violin concertos, two versions of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, one of them under the direction of Leonard Slatkin, and numerous other recordings with other soloists.

Over the last thirty years he has appeared as soloist with many of the major orchestras in Europe with distinguished conductors such as Sergiu Celibidache, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Leonard Slatkin, Garcia Asensio and others. However, since the mid 1980's he has increased his activities in the U.S.A. and Canada, appearing frequently as conductor and soloist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra (of which he is Principal Guest Conductor), the Utah Symphony Orchestra and others. He has performed many times in Japan and other countries in the Far East, and has done several tours in Israel conducting the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Sinfonietta.

In 1986, Mr. Garcia began to visit Colorado College in Colorado Springs every year for their Summer Conservatory and Music Festival, where he performs chamber music with some of the best American musicians and teaches students from all over the world.

Since 1989 he has been Distinguished Visiting Professor to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and Music Director and Conductor of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra. His most recent appointment is to the Queen Sofia School of Music in Madrid where he spends one week every month as Violin Professor and Music Director and Conductor of the school's orchestra.

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