Martin Beaver (born 10 November 1967) is a Canadian violinist best known as first violinist of the

Tokyo String Quartet The was an international string quartet that operated from 1969 to 2013. The group formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The founding members attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where they studied with Professor Hideo ...

. Beaver joined the Tokyo String Quartet as its first violinist in 2002 and remained until they disbanded in 2013. As a part of the Tokyo String Quartet, he played the ''Paganini-Comte Cozio di Salabue'' violin (circa 1727) on loan from the Nippon Foundation, part of the

Paganini Quartet The Paganini Quartet was an American string quartet founded by cellist Robert Maas and violinist Henri Temianka in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), had o ...

collection of instruments made by

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloq ...

. He currently performs on a violin made by the luthier Nicola Bergonzi. Now on faculty at the

Colburn School The Colburn School is a private music school in Los Angeles with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Dance Academy. It is located adjace ...

in Los Angeles, he remains active in both chamber music and as a soloist, and established the Montrose Trio with pianist

Jon Kimura Parker Jon Kimura Parker (born 25 December 1959) is a Canadian pianist. Early life and education Jon Kimura Parker was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Keiko Parker and John Parker. He began his studies with his uncle, Edward P ...

and cellist Clive Greensmith.

Early life

Martin Beaver was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, and raised in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Canada. His early violin teachers include Claude Letourneau and Carlisle Wilson. Subsequently, he studied violin with

Victor Danchenko The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

at the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edward ...

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname "Szeryng" is a Polish ...

at the Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve, and

Josef Gingold Josef Gingold (; January 11, 1995) was a Russian-born American classical violinist and teacher who lived most of his life in the United States. At the time of his death he was considered one of the most influential violin masters in the United St ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. He also played with the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra for many years.

Awards

Sanford Medal Samuel Simons Sanford (15 March 18496 January 1910) was an American pianist and educator. Early life He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Education He studied piano in New York with William Mason (son of Lowell Mason and student of Franz Liszt ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

2013 *Canada Council's Virginia P. Moore Award for most promising young Canadian classical artist in 1993 *Top prizes at the 1990

International Violin Competition of Indianapolis The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) is a Classical music, classical violin competition which takes place once every four years in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana. Since its founding in 1982, "The Indianapolis" has bee ...

, the 1991 Montreal International Music Competition, and 1993 Queen Elizabeth Competition in Belgium

Teaching

Beaver has previously taught at

The Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

, the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Hillfield Strathallan College Hillfield Strathallan College is an independent, co-educational day school in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The academic program runs from Montessori Toddler and Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12. The current Head of College is Marc Ayotte. Hillfield S ...

the

Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, the Steinhardt School of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and has been the Artist in Residence at the Yale School of Music. As of Fall 2013, Beaver joined the faculty at The Colburn School as co-director of the String Chamber Music Studies Program and Professor of violin.

Recordings

Beaver has recorded for the Rene Gailly, Naim Audio, NAXOS and both of Canadian Broadcast Corporation’s Record labels. With the Tokyo String Quartet, he recorded with Harmonia Mundi.

References

External links

Martin Beaver
at The Canadian Encyclopedia
Andrew Kwan Artist Management Bio

Tokyo Quartet Bio
Canadian classical violinists Male classical violinists 1967 births Living people The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Yale School of Music faculty The Royal Conservatory of Music faculty Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers {{violinist-stub