About
Praised for his “brilliant technique and control” (Chronicle Journal) and “wonderful musical personality” (Winnipeg Free Press), Canadian violinist Gregory Lewis enjoys a dynamic 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 throughout North America, 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 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. The Callisto Quartet is managed exclusively by Kanzen Arts. Lewis’s passion for chamber music has led to performances at the Four Seasons, Norfolk, Olympic, Ravinia, and Yellow Barn music festivals, as well as residencies at the Avaloch Music Institute and Stauffer Center for Strings. He has performed alongside numerous esteemed artists, including Julie Albers, Ettore Causa, Julio Elizalde, Nicholas McGegan, Marcy Rosen, and David Shifrin, as well as members of the Aizuri, Ariel, Brentano, Orion 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 an Award of Excellence recipient, he sat concertmaster of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada during their 2015 national tour, and has also served as concertmaster the Colburn Orchestra and Yale Philharmonia. As concertmaster and principal second violin, Lewis has performed 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 American, appearing with A Far Cry in Jordan Hall and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at The 92nd Street Y. Lewis toured Scandinavia with Juilliard415, Southern California with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and completed a Canadian tour 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. Lewis currently studies at Yale University, where he is simultaneously pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Ani Kavafian and serving as Quartet in Residence alongside the Callisto Quartet, under the mentorship of the Brentano Quartet.
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 New Haven, 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" Gagliano, on generous loan by the Canada Council for the Arts.
© Gregory Lewis 2022