Martin Chalifour

About Martin

Violinist Martin Chalifour recently celebrated his 30th season as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Born in Canada, he graduated with honors from the Montreal Conservatory at age 18 before continuing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. Shortly after receiving a Certificate of Honor at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, he was named a laureate of the Montreal International Music Competition.

In addition to his leadership role with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chalifour has maintained an active solo career, performing more than sixty concertos. He has appeared as soloist under Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Neville Marriner, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. International appearances include performances with the Auckland Philharmonia, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Appointed Concertmaster in 1995 by Esa-Pekka Salonen following an international search, Chalifour became a central artistic presence during a transformative era for the orchestra. He was featured as soloist at Lincoln Center and performed in numerous special projects, including Salonen’s own works. In 2003, he inaugurated Walt Disney Concert Hall with a solo Bach performance from the organ loft, launching three special opening galas that were broadcasted internationally.

He began his orchestral career with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Associate and Acting Concertmaster, and later held the same positions with The Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi. During his time in Cleveland, he taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music and co-founded the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio.

Chalifour continues an active performance schedule and serves on the faculty of the University of Southern California and Caltech’s Performance and Visual Arts program.

The most important thing I look for in a student is communication skills, as well as talent. I like to nurture students and help identify their individual strengths, which is a key factor in shaping a musical persona that will make its mark both on and offstage. I do not advocate a uniform technique for all students. Physical differences and learning styles are always taken into consideration. Potential is as important to me as early achievements and experience. My goal is to help students become self-sufficient, discriminating artists. I discuss practice techniques often and develop individualized scale routines. I encourage initiative and expressive musicality as well as precision. Above all, music needs to bring obvious joy to the student, regardless of the difficulties.