Swiss Global Artistic Foundation

24-year-old American violinist James Garlick was born in Port Angeles, Washington, and began studying violin at age five. Since moving to Seattle, he has been in increasing demand as soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster. This season, he debuted as concertmaster of the Cascade Symphony Orchestra, where he was featured in the violin solos of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and a duo-encore with Seattle Symphony principal cellist Joshua Roman. The pair was promptly invited to return next season as soloists in the Brahms' Double Concerto. Mr Garlick performs as concertmaster of the Northwest Sinfonietta on several programs this season, and recently joined the Seattle Violin Virtuosi. He is also an accomplished baroque violinist and a member of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra.

As winner of the prestigious Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Solo Competition in 2006, Mr Garlick toured the state of Washington, presenting solo recitals, master classes and public school outreach programs. He recently advanced to the semifinal round of the Stradivarius International Violin Competition in Salt Lake City, where he was one of fifteen competitors from around the world. He has appeared as soloist with the Port Angeles Symphony, the Turtle Bluff Orchestra, the Port Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Port Townsend Orchestra. A 2006 graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, he was frequently concertmaster of the Oberlin Orchestra and Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, and has worked closely with conductors such as Robert Spano at Carnegie Hall and Sir Simon Rattle. At Oberlin, he studied with Gregory Fulkerson.

Mr Garlick was a full scholarship student of Paul Kantor at the Aspen Music Festival, where he was a member of the Aspen Festival Orchestra and Chamber Symphony and worked with conductors such as David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, James Conlon and David Zinman. As a chamber musician, he has performed in China, Spain, Italy and the United States, and has performed live on Seattle's classical radio station, KING FM. This season, he will perform in chamber music collaborations with the Spectrum Dance Company, Tacoma City Ballet, the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington, and as a member of the Northwest Sinfonietta Trio.

Mr Garlick enjoys collaborating with living composers and performing music of our time. He has participated in world premieres and performed new works in critically acclaimed concerts in Carnegie Hall, New York's Merkin Hall and Columbia University's Miller Theatre. He has collaborated with composers Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Jennifer Higdon, Olga Neuwirth and many others. Most recently, he was concertmaster of the widely acclaimed American premiere of Ms Neuwirth's opera, Lost Highway. In 2008, he will present the world premiere of a hard rain fell for solo violin, which was written for him by Oberlin Conservatory professor Lewis Nielson. Mr Garlick performs on a late 19th century French violin by Justin Derazey.

Mr Garlick earned a bachelor's degree in neuroscience at Oberlin College and maintains an interest in neurobiology and music, especially the neural basis of musical emotion. He was a research scientist at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, studying the neurobiology of hearing loss and cochlear hair cell regeneration. In his free time, he enjoys competitive long distance running, hiking, skiing and sailing.