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Lara St. John, violin
Described as "something of a phenomenon" by The Strad magazine and a “high-powered soloist” by the New York Times, Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John has performed as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, among many others, and given recitals around the world. The L.A. Times has said: “St. John brings to the stage personal charisma, an unflagging musical imagination and genuine passion.”
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Lara at two
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Lara St. John continues a heavy schedule of appearances with orchestra and on the recital stage, both at home and abroad. Recent and upcoming engagements include Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Quebec Symphony Orchestra, California Symphony, Hamilton Festival, Lincoln Center’s “What Makes Music Great?” series with Rob Kapilow where she appeared with brother Scott St. John, and the symphonies of Missouri, Virgina, and Bartlesville, Graz, and Edmonton. In addition she will perform the Tchaikovsky Concerto on tour with the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra in Holland’s major halls. The rest of her schedule is filled with the wildly successful touring company, Bowfire.
Season 2003/04 marked her debut at Tanglewood with the Boston Pops under Keith Lockhart, followed by performances with the Vancouver Symphony, Pensacola Symphony, San Jose Sillicon Valley Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, as well as major recitals in San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto and elsewhere. Overseas, she performed with the Beijing Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphoy in China, Graz Orchestra in Austria, Oulu Symphony in Finland and the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra Leipzig in Germany during that season. Season 2002/03 continued the array of appearances on the recital stage and as soloist with orchestra, among them the symphonies of Portland, Delaware, Knoxville, Windsor, Nova Scotia, the Florida Orchestra, and Northwest Sinfonietta.
Also an exceedingly successful recording artist, Lara St. John was signed to an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical. Her first disc, re: Bach, featuring innovative renditions of works by Bach was released nationwide in May 2004 and has since climbed to the top 15 of the classical Billboard charts.
Her debut CD on an independent label Bach Works for Violin Solo has sold over 30 000 copies and received resounding acclaim. The Chicago Tribune describes Lara as having “superb technique and an irresistible vitality,” while the US News and World Report calls it an “exquisite performance.” Her second album, Gypsy, featuring Lara with pianist Ilan Rechtman, has attracted wide attention for its burning intensity and take-no-prisoners approach. “A sizzling display” writes Gramophone, and the Montreal Gazette headline was “Lara St John is out on the edge—with captivating results.” The Strad magazine selected her as one of "the stars of the next decade" and called her "an electrifying player, as deeply satisfying in Bach as she is bewitchingly seductive in Waxman's 'Carmen' Fantasy. Her two albums to date are bona-fide classics of the violin discography." In January 2002, Lara released her third CD on her own label, Ancalagon Records. Bach: The Concerto Album and has once again received enthusiastic reviews, with Gramophone Magazine, placing the disc in its strongly recommended section and saying "It is difficult to argue with such a technically dazzling and unfailingly musical interpretation." In June 2005 it was launched on iTunes where it immediately jumped to No. 1 in the classical category.
She has been victorious in several competitions and in 1997 won the use of the 1702 Lyall Stradivarius for two years from the Canada Council for the Arts and an anonymous donor. Upon hearing her audition, the panel of judges exclaimed, “Today we have heard one of the great violinists of our time! Inspirational.” Currently, she performs on the 1779 “Salabue” Guadagnini thanks to an anonymous donor and Heinl & Co., Toronto.
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Lara today
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Lara began playing the violin when she was 2 years old. She first soloed with orchestra at age 5, and made her European debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra (Lisbon) five years later. She toured Spain, France, Portugal and Hungary at ages 12 and 13, entered the Curtis Institute at 14, and spent her first summer at Marlboro three years later.
Upon her graduation from Curtis, at age 17, Lara took off for Moscow to find out if there was really more to life than just music --- there was. At this time, most teachers at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (including hers) were indefinitely extending their journeys west, and being without a teacher for the first time gave her the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. She also spent two years in England at the Guildhall school, holds a certificate from the Mannes College in New York City, and an Artist’s Diploma from the New England Conservatory in Boston. Her teachers over the years have included Linda Cerone, David Takeno, Arnold Steinhardt, Felix Galimir and Joey Corpus.
Lara is a great fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, reptiles, and the American Museum of Natural History. Home for her is now New York City. www.larastjohn.com
May 2005
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