Eric Gratz

About Eric

One of the most versatile American violinists to come onto the scene in recent years, Eric Gratz has performed as soloist or concertmaster with the Cleveland Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, and Santa Fe Opera, among many others. He appears at major festivals and concert halls around the world, including Mainly Mozart, Maui Classical Music Festival, Castleton Festival, Dame Myra Hess Recital Series, Severance Hall, De Falla Hall, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He has given masterclasses at various institutions in the U.S., as well as in Ecuador, Italy, and China. Gratz has recorded several TONEBASE Violin courses on music by Beethoven, Kreisler, and Ysaÿe.

Gratz served as concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony for nine seasons, where he regularly appeared as soloist in repertoire from Bach to Weill, took part in over a dozen world premieres, and often led the orchestra from the concertmaster chair. For three seasons he also served as Artistic Director of the Olmos Ensemble, notably producing the group's first major recording projects, and expanding programming to include more underrepresented or forgotten composers. He has collaborated with Vadim Gluzman, Orion Weiss, Jeffrey Kahane, Jon Nakamatsu, Jeannette Sorrell, and members of the Pacifica, Vertavo, Mendelssohn, Formosa, and Fine Arts String Quartets. He currently lives in Chicago.