ERIC GRATZ
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"Spellbinding . . . a disciplined musician beyond his years"
~San Antonio Express-News
BIOGRAPHY
Since his concerto debuts at the age of 14 in the United States, Spain, and Portugal, American violinist Eric Gratz has been celebrated as a thrilling performer, combining an old world style with a modern musical intellect. Equally desired as soloist, concertmaster, chamber musician, conductor, artistic director, and educator, he maintains a uniquely varied schedule that has taken him to four continents, performing in the world’s great concert halls with leading musicians of our time.
In 2013, at the age of 22, Gratz became the youngest Concertmaster in North America, accepting the post with the San Antonio Symphony. During his nine seasons with the orchestra, he took part in numerous world premieres, play-conducted the orchestra from the Concertmaster chair, and frequently appeared as soloist in a far-reaching repertoire ranging from Bach to Kurt Weill. Additional past and present solo appearances include The Cleveland Orchestra, The Phoenix Symphony, Euclid Symphony, Kings Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland, Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, McCall MusicFest Orchestra, Mid-Texas Symphony, and the Waterbury Symphony, with conductors Giancarlo Guerrero, David Danzmayr, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Akiko Fujimoto, Noam Aviel, Tito Muñoz, and Jeannette Sorrell. In demand as a Guest Concertmaster, he has appeared with the Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, and the Santa Fe Opera. He served as Artist-in-Residence for the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle during the 2024-25 season.
Since 2024, Gratz has served as Director of the American Chamber Music Society in Chicago. A devoted interpreter of chamber music and recital repertoire, he appears at major festivals and concert halls around the world, including Mainly Mozart Festival, Maui Classical Music Festival, Castleton Festival, Austin Chamber Music, Dame Myra Hess Recital Series, Santa Cruz Foundation for the Performing Arts, Severance Hall, Auditorio Manuel De Falla, and the Kennedy Center. A former Artistic Director of the Olmos Ensemble, he frequently performs as a core member of the San Antonio-based group. Among Gratz’s many collaborators, some have stood out as particularly memorable, including violinist Vadim Gluzman; cellist Julian Schwarz; pianists Anton Nel, Orion Weiss, Jeffrey Kahane, John Novacek, and Jon Kimura Parker; harpsichordists Jeannette Sorrell and Ian Pritchard; and members of the Vertavo, Pacifica, Mendelssohn, Formosa, and Fine Arts String Quartets.
As a recording artist, Gratz has appeared on several albums. His debut album of virtuoso works for violin and piano (Eric Gratz, with pianist Eliot Goldmund) charted on Billboard Classical as the top independent release in the United States for its first week. He has subsequently recorded two other albums with the Olmos Ensemble, Olmos Live and Made In France, performing works by Harbison, Prokofiev, and Ravel.
Gratz believes it is of the utmost importance to inspire the next generation of musicians and currently serves on the faculty at the New Music School and North Central College. For three years he served as an Apollo’s Fire Senior Teaching Artist-in-Residence at Southland College Prep, helping to build a string program in South Chicago. He has given masterclasses at various institutions in the U.S., as well as in Ecuador, Italy, and China. In the summer he serves as Valade Concertmaster Faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp. A proponent of utilizing new technology to help democratize education, he has recorded several hours of video courses for Tonebase Violin, focusing on the music of Kreisler, Beethoven, and Ysaÿe.
A prizewinner of national and international competitions, Eric Gratz holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and his former teachers include Cho-Liang Lin, William Preucil, Linda Cerone, Claudia Shiuh, and Cynthia Stuart. For more information, please visit ericgratz.com.
CONTACT
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SCHEDULE
8.24.25
Olmos Ensemble
Khachaturian: Clarinet Trio
Czerny: Premier Grand Trio
Jeff Garza, Horn
Ilya Shterenberg, Clarinet
Scott Cuellar, Piano
San Antonio, TX
8.31.25
Olmos Ensemble
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio no. 2
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Anton Nel, Piano
San Antonio, TX
9.6.25
American Chamber Music Society
Brahms: Viola Quintets op. 88 & 111
Rubén Rengel, Violin
Teng Li, Viola
Colin Brookes, Viola
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Chicago, IL
10.5.25
Waterbury Symphony
Frucht: Finding Religion
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Waterbury, CT
https://www.waterburysymphony.org/
10.26.25
Olmos Ensemble
Kahn: Quintet
Jeff Garza, Horn
Ilya Shterenberg, Clarinet
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Christopher Guzman, Piano
San Antonio, TX
11.15.25
North Central College
Piano Trios by Beethoven and Britten
Yeon Ji Yun, Cello
Susan Chou, Piano
Naperville, IL
11.17.25
Purdue University
Piano Trios by Beethoven and Britten
Yeon Ji Yun, Cello
Susan Chou, Piano
West Lafayette, IN
12.6.25
American Chamber Music Society
Recital
Works by Schubert, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev
Eliot Goldmund, Piano
Chicago, IL
12.8.25
Chamber Orchestra of the New Music School
Conductor
Works by Mozart and Grieg
Chicago, IL
https://www.newmusicschool.com/
12.12.25
Opus 71 Concerts
Matthew Cohen, Viola
Julian Schwarz, Cello
New York, NY
1.4.26
Olmos Ensemble on Tour
Works by Strauss
Portland, OR
1.11.26
Music From St. Marks/Olmos Ensemble
JS Bach: Concerto in E Major
Vivaldi: Concerto, RV 544A
San Antonio, TX
1.31.26
American Chamber Music Society
String Trios & Duos
Matthew Cohen, Viola
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Chicago, IL
2.22.26
Mid-Texas Symphony
Selections from:
Vivaldi: 4 Seasons
Piazzolla: 4 Seasons
Akiko Fujimoto, Conductor
New Braunfels, TX
3.13.26
American Chamber Music Society
Piano Trios
Chicago, IL
3.29.26
Olmos Ensemble
Smetana: Piano Trio
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Marika Bournaki, Piano
San Antonio, TX
4.17.26
Faculty Recital
North Central College
Susan Chou, Piano
Naperville, IL
5.3.26
Olmos Ensemble
Verdi: String Quartet
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet
San Antonio, TX
5.9.26
American Chamber Music Society
Piano Quartets
Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, Viola
Alexander Hersh, Cello
Marta Aznavoorian, Piano
Chicago, IL
5.23-30.26
Recital Tour
Susan Chou, Piano
Taiwan
PAST PERFORMANCES
8.10.25
Olmos Ensemble
JS Bach: Sonata in F Minor
Ian Pritchard, Harpsichord
San Antonio, TX
5.17.25
American Chamber Music Society
John Novacek: 4 Rags
Britten: Introduction & Allegro
Coleridge-Taylor: Petite Suite de Concert
Schoenfield: Café Music
Yin Xiong, Cello
Scott Cuellar, Piano
Chicago, IL
5.5.25
Olmos Ensemble
Strauss: Don Quixote
Spohr: Septet
San Antonio, TX
4.4.25 & 4.6.25
Guest Concertmaster
Tucson Symphony
Tucson, AZ
3.21.25
American Chamber Music Society
Kodaly: Duo
Beethoven: String Trio in C Minor
Matthew Cohen, Viola
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Chicago, IL
3.10.25
Olmos Ensemble
Kodaly: Duo
Beethoven: String Trio in C Minor
Matthew Cohen, Viola
Julian Schwarz, Cello
San Antonio, TX
2.8.25
American Chamber Music Society
Recital
Works by Kreisler, Ravel, Clara Schumann, Brahms, Lili Boulanger, Bloch, Mendelssohn, Bartok
Eliot Goldmund, Piano
Chicago, IL
1.25.25 & 1.27.25
Olmos Ensemble with Agarita
San Antonio, TX
11.22.24
Recital
North Shore Congregation Israel
Tartini/Kreisler: "Devil's Trill Sonata"
Wieniawski: Legende
Beethoven: Sonata no. 3 in E-Flat Major
Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen
Marta Aznavoorian, Piano
Glencoe, IL
11.10-17.24
Artist-in-Residence
Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle
Durham, NC
https://www.chamberorchestraofthetriangle.org/
11.8.24
Faculty Recital
North Central College
Brahms: Sonata in A Major
Schubert: Sonatina in A Minor
Ravel: Sonata in G Major
Susan Chou, Piano
Naperville, IL
10.26.24
American Chamber Music Society
Schubert: Sonatina in A Minor
Faure: Piano Quartet in C Minor
Lawrence Neuman, Viola
Kenneth Olsen, Cello
Christopher Guzman, Piano
Chicago, IL
10.21.24
Dahl: Concerto a tre
Copland: Vitebsk
Harbison: Songs America Loves to Sing
Ilya Shterenberg, Clarinet
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Mark Teplitsky, Flute
Inna Faliks, Piano
San Antonio, TX
9.7.24
American Chamber Music Society
Mendelssohn: D Minor Trio
Esmail: Saans
Brahms: B Major Trio
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Marika Bournaki, Piano
Chicago, IL
8.25.24
Brahms: B Major Trio
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Marika Bournaki, Piano
San Antonio, TX
8.11.24
Bach: Concerto in A Minor
Brandenburg Concerto no. 5
San Antonio, TX
8.4.24
Recital
Beethoven: Sonata no. 10
Szymanowski: Nocturne and Tarantella
*Intermission*
Brahms: Scherzo from FAE Sonata
Chopin: Nocturne in C# Minor
Kroll: Banjo and Fiddle
Kreisler: Caprice Viennois
Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen
Ravel: Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera
ET Kim, Piano
San Antonio, TX
7.23 - 7.27.24
Soloist and Concertmaster
McCall Music Festival
McCall, ID
6.24 - 7.6.24
Valade Concertmaster Faculty
Interlochen Arts Camp
Interlochen, MI
5.16-5.26.24
Maui Classical Music Festival
Maui, HI
www.mauiclassicalmusicfestival.org
5.5.24 & 5.6.24
Brahms: Sonata no. 1 in G Major, op. 78
Jon Nakamatsu, Piano
San Antonio, TX
4.10.24
Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts
Mozart: Sonata in G Major, K 301
Prokofiev: 5 Melodes, op. 35b
Price: Fantasie in G Minor
Ravel: Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera
ET Kim, Piano
Chicago, IL
https://classicalmusicchicago.org/ourprograms/damemyrahessmemorialconcerts/
3.4.24
Bonis: Suite, op. 59
Clara Schumann: 3 Romances
Bonis: Suite, "dans style le ancien"
Janice Carissa, Piano
San Antonio, TX
1.22.24
Mozart: Sonata in G Major, K 301
Johan Novacek, Piano
San Antonio, TX
1.13.24
Guest Concertmaster
Louisiana Philharmonic
New Orleans, LA
1.11.24
Guest Concertmaster
Louisiana Philharmonic
New Orleans, LA