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, Colburn Academy Virtuosi, Strathcona Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra. Named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30”, Lewis received First Prize at the 2017 Canadian National Music Festival and was selected as a winner of the 2023 Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition, in addition to top prizes received in the Concours de Musique du Canada, WMC McLellan Competition, Virtuoso e Belcanto Violin Competition, and Yale Chamber Music Competition.
In 2022, Lewis had the great privilege of joining the Callisto Quartet. In recent seasons, the Callisto Quartet has received Grand Prize at the 2018 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, Second Prize at the 2019 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. The Callisto Quartet was in residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts from 2020-2022, and now serves as Fellowship Quartet in Residence at Yale University and Associate Artists in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. Lewis’s passion for chamber music has led to performances at the Four Seasons, Norfolk, Olympic, Ravinia, and Yellow Barn festivals, as well the Agassiz, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto chamber music festivals. He has performed alongside numerous esteemed artists, including Julie Albers, Ettore Causa, Julio Elizalde, Nicholas McGegan, Frank Morelli, Marcy Rosen, and David Shifrin, as well as members of the Aizuri, 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. As concertmaster and principal second violin, Lewis has led under the baton of renowned conductors including Ludovic Morlot, Peter Oundjian, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alexander Shelley, and Leonard Slatkin, among others. Lewis is a frequent performer with chamber orchestras across North America, appearing with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and A Far Cry. Lewis toured Scandinavia with Juilliard415, Southern California with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and completed a tour of Western Canada with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Lewis grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where he studied with Olga Medvedeva for eleven years. He holds degrees from the University of Manitoba, Yale University, and the Colburn School, where he studied with Oleg Pokhanovski, Chris Anstey, Ani Kavafian, and Martin Beaver. When not making music, Lewis enjoys reading, playing chess, and cycling. Lewis occasionally tells himself that he likes running and cooking, although neither is particularly true, nor is he very good at either activity. He resides in Connecticut with his wife Bethany Hargreaves, a concert violist. Together, they share their love for travel, food, nature, and evenings passed alongside family and friends.
Lewis performs on the 1768 "Miller" Gennaro Gagliano, on generous loan by the Canada Council for the Arts.
© Gregory Lewis 2024