About
Praised for his “brilliant technique” (Chronicle Journal) and “wonderful musical personality” (Winnipeg Free Press), Canadian violinist Gregory Lewis enjoys an international career as a soloist and chamber musician. Since making his debut with Consortium Aurora Borealis at the age of fifteen, Lewis has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, TSM Festival Orchestra, Colburn Academy Virtuosi, and the Strathcona Symphony Orchestra, among others. Named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30” at the age of twenty, Lewis received First Prize at the Canadian National Music Festival and was selected as a winner of the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition, in addition to top prizes received in the Concours de Musique du Canada and WMC McLellan Competition.
Lewis joined the Callisto Quartet as their second violinist in 2022. Recently announced as Bowers Artists at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Callisto will join CMS for performance and teaching activities in New York City, as well as on tour throughout the United States and internationally. In recent seasons, the Callisto Quartet has received Grand Prize at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, Second Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and top prizes in the Bordeaux, Melbourne, and Wigmore Hall competitions. The Callisto Quartet maintains a busy international touring schedule, appearing at notable venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kauffman Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Ravinia Festival. With Callisto, Lewis has held residencies and fellowships at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Yale University, Stauffer Center for Strings in Italy, and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. Lewis enjoys frequent appearances at premiere festivals including the Agassiz, Four Seasons, Montreal, Norfolk, Olympic, Ottawa ChamberFest, Ravinia, Toronto Summer Music, and Yellow Barn chamber music festivals. He regularly performs alongside esteemed artists including Ettore Causa, Norman Fischer, Tai Murray, Tara Helen O'Connor, Marcy Rosen, and David Shifrin, as well as members of the Ariel, Brentano, Kronos, Orion, St. Lawrence, and Ysaye string quartets.
An active orchestral leader, Lewis served as returning Guest Principal Second Violin of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2018-2020, and has led orchestras under the baton of renowned conductors including Ludovic Morlot, Peter Oundjian, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alexander Shelley, and Leonard Slatkin, among others. Lewis frequently performs with premier chamber and symphony orchestras across North America, appearing regularly with ensembles including A Far Cry, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and The Cleveland Orchestra.
Lewis grew up in the isolated beauty of Northern Ontario, where he studied with Olga Medvedeva for eleven years. He holds degrees from Yale University and the Colburn School, where he studied with Ani Kavafian, Martin Beaver, and the Brentano Quartet. When not making music, Lewis enjoys reading, cooking, running, and cycling. He resides in Ohio with his wife Bethany Hargreaves, a concert violist. Together, they share their love for travel, food, nature, evenings passed alongside friends, and spoiling their Havapoo puppy, Misty.
Lewis performs on a 1775 Ferdinando Gagliano, on loan by an anonymous donor.
© Gregory Lewis 2026