Since his concerto debuts at the age of 14 in the United States, Spain, and Portugal, American violinist Eric Gratz has established himself as an artist of fearless musical imagination and exceptional versatility. Combining an old world style with a modern musical intellect, he’s carved a path as a soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster, artistic director, and educator. His uniquely varied schedule has taken him to four continents, performing in the world’s great concert halls with leading musicians of our time.

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Gratz is Artistic Director of the American Chamber Music Society in Chicago, and frequently performs on the series. He previously served for nine seasons as concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony, where he took part in numerous world premieres and regularly play-conducted the orchestra. As both soloist and concertmaster, he has appeared with more than two dozen orchestras, including those of Cleveland, Louisiana, Phoenix, San Antonio, Tucson, Santa Fe Opera, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. He served as Artist-in-Residence for the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle during the 2024-25 season. Equally at home performing complete Bach Brandenburg cycles with Jeannette Sorrell as he is championing modern concerti by Kurt Weill, Béla Bartók, and Alvin Etler, he possesses an unusually large repertoire, reflecting an ever-expanding range of interests. He enjoys collaborations as soloist with conductors Giancarlo Guerrero, David Danzmayr, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Akiko Fujimoto, Noam Aviel, and Tito Muñoz.

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Gratz made his Kennedy Center recital debut at age 17, and has since appeared regularly on major series, including Austin Chamber Music, Mainly Mozart Festival, Maui Classical Music Festival, Cactus Pear Festival, Castleton Festival, Frankly Music, Chatter PDX, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and Memphis Chamber Music Society, performing with artists such as Vadim Gluzman, Julian Schwarz, Orion Weiss, Anton Nel, and members of the Pacifica, Vertavo, Mendelssohn, Formosa, Rosamunde, and Fine Arts Quartets. He makes his Taiwan recital debut in May of 2026, with a multi-city tour culminating in an appearance at the National Concert Hall in Taipei. Formerly Artistic Director of the Olmos Ensemble, he has served as a core member of the San Antonio-based group for over a decade. A dedicated recording artist, his debut album (Eric Gratz, with long-time collaborator Eliot Goldmund) charted on Billboard Classical as the top independent release in its first week. He has two albums scheduled for release in 2026 on Centaur and Divine Art labels.

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Gratz believes it is of the utmost importance to inspire the next generation of musicians and currently serves on the faculty at Music Institute of Chicago and North Central College. For three years he served as an Apollo’s Fire Senior Teaching Artist-in-Residence at Southland College Prep, helping to build a string program in South Chicago. He has given masterclasses at various institutions in the U.S., as well as in Ecuador, Italy, and China. In the summer he serves as Valade Concertmaster Faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp. A proponent of utilizing new technology to help democratize education, he has recorded several hours of video courses for Tonebase Violin, focusing on the music of Kreisler, Beethoven, and Ysaÿe.

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A prizewinner of multiple international violin competitions, Eric Gratz holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and his former teachers include Cho-Liang Lin, William Preucil, Linda Cerone, Claudia Shiuh, and Cynthia Stuart. For more information, please visit ericgratz.com.