Gerard Kantarjian
United States of America, °1931
Violinist and teacher Gerard Kantarjian was born in Cairo of Armenian parents in 1931, and naturalized USA in 1964. A pupil of Adolph Menashes in Cairo and Váša Příhoda in Italy, he toured at 17 in Italy and Switzerland. After studies on scholarship at the Curtis Institute with Ivan Galamian (1953-58), he placed 11th in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1959.
He performed as a soloist with some 20 American orchestras, was concertmaster for a season in Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra, played in chamber groups, and participated from 1960 to 1967 in the Casals Festival, Puerto Rico. At the invitation of Seiji Ozawa he served from 1967 to 1970 as the concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony. He held the same positions with the Canadian Opera Company orchestra (1977-79) and with the Chamber Players of Toronto (1982-89), and he has been a member of many Toronto studio orchestras.
He has performed as a soloist in recital and with Ontario orchestras. From 1973 to 1976 he was the violinist in the Ararat Trio with the pianist Raffi Armenian and the cellist Gisela Depkat, and in 1986 formed the Rembrandt Trio with the pianist Valerie Tryon and the cellist Coenraad Bloemendal; the trio recorded works by Schubert and Mendelssohn in 1989 (Dorian DOR-90130 CD).
Gerard Kantarjian can also be heard on an album recorded in 1979 with fellow Armenian Raymond Leylekian and his Quintet (RLP 012980) and on the 1983 recital recording Kantarjian Live (Masters of the Bow MBS-2016).
He has taught privately, and was on staff in 1977 at the Toronto Summer School of Music (held at Upper Canada College) and the Blue Mountain School of Music, Collingwood, Ont. He began teaching at the University of Toronto in 1984, and has also taught at the Orford Arts Centre in 1988, and at the biennial Canadian Festival of Youth Orchestras in Banff in 1988 and 1990.
He performed as a soloist with some 20 American orchestras, was concertmaster for a season in Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra, played in chamber groups, and participated from 1960 to 1967 in the Casals Festival, Puerto Rico. At the invitation of Seiji Ozawa he served from 1967 to 1970 as the concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony. He held the same positions with the Canadian Opera Company orchestra (1977-79) and with the Chamber Players of Toronto (1982-89), and he has been a member of many Toronto studio orchestras.
He has performed as a soloist in recital and with Ontario orchestras. From 1973 to 1976 he was the violinist in the Ararat Trio with the pianist Raffi Armenian and the cellist Gisela Depkat, and in 1986 formed the Rembrandt Trio with the pianist Valerie Tryon and the cellist Coenraad Bloemendal; the trio recorded works by Schubert and Mendelssohn in 1989 (Dorian DOR-90130 CD).
Gerard Kantarjian can also be heard on an album recorded in 1979 with fellow Armenian Raymond Leylekian and his Quintet (RLP 012980) and on the 1983 recital recording Kantarjian Live (Masters of the Bow MBS-2016).
He has taught privately, and was on staff in 1977 at the Toronto Summer School of Music (held at Upper Canada College) and the Blue Mountain School of Music, Collingwood, Ont. He began teaching at the University of Toronto in 1984, and has also taught at the Orford Arts Centre in 1988, and at the biennial Canadian Festival of Youth Orchestras in Banff in 1988 and 1990.
