James Garlick

Violinist James Garlick was born in Port Angeles, Washington, and is equally at home as a chamber, orchestral, or solo musician. As the violinist of the Onyx Chamber Players, James recently recorded the piano trio works of David White, to be released on the Naxos label later this season. He made his Carnegie Hall concerto debut performing Saint-Saens’ Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso in the Isaac Stern Auditorium and has performed concerti from Tchaikovsky to Piazzolla with orchestras including the Northwest Sinfonietta, Everett Philharmonic, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Cascade Symphony, Philharmonia Northwest, Lake Union Civic Orchestra, and Octava Chamber Orchestra.

James served as Concertmaster of Orchestra Prometheus Chicago under the direction of Matthias Pintscher, and has also led the Amarillo Symphony, Juilliard Orchestra, Northwest Sinfonietta, Cascade Symphony, Bellevue Philharmonic, and Oberlin Orchestra. While on tour in Cuba as concertmaster of the Northwest Sinfonietta, he led an ensemble of Cuban and American musicians in the Mendelssohn Octet—the first time musicians of both countries have shared a stage since 1959. James earned degrees in violin performance from Oberlin Conservatory and neuroscience from Oberlin College as well as a graduate degree from The Juilliard School. His teachers include Gregory Fulkerson, Sylvia Rosenberg, Stephen Clapp, and Joseph Lin.

Since moving to Minnesota in 2012, James has enjoyed performing regularly with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and chamber musicians throughout the Twin Cities. James teaches violin at Macalester College and previously taught at St. Olaf College. He performs on a 1991 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin and lives in Saint Paul with his wife Emily and dog Ellie.