Simon James

Australian Hometown: Melbourne
Education: Victorian College of the Arts; Manhattan School of Music

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
A thirty year veteran of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the Australian World Orchestra, violinist Simon James has also been a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Orchestra. Mr. James often served as concertmaster with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera and has performed as guest concertmaster with the Vancouver Symphony, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, and the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra.  As concertmaster of the Northwest Sinfonia, Mr. James can be heard on hundreds of motion-picture, television, and video game sound tracks and has performed live with Pearl Jam, Elton John, Billy Joel, A R Rahman and many others.  He has recorded concerti with the Seattle Symphony and the Slovak Radio Symphony with whom he premiered Richard Englefield’s Violin Concerto.  In addition, he has performed at the music festivals of Tanglewood, Ravinia, Grand Teton, St. Barths, and Classical Tahoe. 

Simon James has attracted worldwide attention as one of the foremost teachers of violin in the United States. Currently Professor of Violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as head of the Coleman Violin Studio, he teaches at festivals across the country and is looking forward to serving on the jury of the Enescu Competition in September. His students have won positions in major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Vancouver Symphony.  James’ students have also won top prizes at many International Competitions including the Menuhin, Stradivarius, Stulberg, Vancouver, and Kocain, Spohr, Johansen, Grumiaux, and Postacchini, and have been awarded the Salon di Virtuosi and Avery Fischer Career Grants.

James’ students have been featured soloists with leading orchestras in the US and Canada, and in Europe with the London Philharmonia, Berlin Koncerthaus Orchestre, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. They have gone on to study at top conservatories such as Curtis, Colburn, Juilliard, San Francisco Conservatory, New England Conservatory, and the Royal Academy, and have participated in the Kronberg Academy Festivals, Aspen Music Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, Starling/Delay Violin Symposium, Heifetz Insitiute, Perlman Music Program, and New York String Orchestra Seminar. They are grateful to receive generous support from the Dorothy Richard Starling, Jack Kent Cooke, and Fulton Foundations.

Last updated 2023