Eric Gratz, violin
Currently in his 7th season as concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony, Gratz has enjoyed numerous solo collaborations with the ensemble, performing repertoire of Bach, Vivaldi, Massenet, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, John Williams, Barber, Bartok, Bernstein, and presents Kurt Weill’s Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra this season under the baton of David Danzmayr. He also makes his solo debut with the Mid-Texas Symphony performing Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen under the baton of Akiko Fujimoto. He has appeared as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra, among others. Gratz has appeared as guest concertmaster of a number of orchestras over the past decade, most recently serving as guest concertmaster of the Santa Fe Opera for the 2018 season.
In demand as a chamber musician, Gratz has been invited to appear at leading festivals in the United States, Europe, and South America, including Mainly Mozart, Cactus Pear, Austin Chamber Music, Incontri Musicali, Musical Bridges Around the World, and Musíca Ocupa. Recent/upcoming chamber collaborators include Vadim Gluzman, Karim Wasfi (the Baghdad cellist), Jon Kimura Parker, and principal players from the orchestras of Cleveland, Los Angeles, Toronto, Utah, and Fort Worth. Since his Kennedy Center recital debut at the age of 17, he has maintained regular recital activities around the U.S., and makes his Patagonia, AZ recital debut in January 2020 with pianist Evan Kory.
As a recording artist, Gratz released his eponymous debut album of virtuoso works in 2015, with long-time collaborator Euntaek Kim on piano. The album was a success, landing at #11 on the Billboard Classical Chart for its first week. The following year, he co-produced Olmos Ensemble's debut album release, Olmos Live, performing Harbison’s Twilight Music. The group’s second album, Made In France, was released summer of 2019, with Gratz again co-producing and performing Prokofiev’s 5 Melodies and Ravel’s Sonate Posthume with Euntaek Kim. Olmos continues to be a strong presence in the American chamber music scene, appearing on American Public Media's Performance Today as well as countless Texas Public Radio broadcasts.
A former student of Cho-Liang Lin, William Preucil, Linda Cerone, Claudia Shiuh, and Cynthia Stuart, Gratz believes it is of the utmost importance to inspire the next generation of musicians, and maintains a small private studio of advanced students. He has served on competition juries from the local to national level, and is regularly invited to teach throughout the Texas university system. A prizewinner of national and international competitions, he holds a Young Artist Diploma and BM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, as well as a MM at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he served as a graduate teaching assistant and was a recipient of the Anne and Charles Duncan Concertmaster Chair award. For more information, please visit ericgratz.net.