James Ehnes' 50th Canada Birthday Tour

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after musicians on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest at the world’s most celebrated concert halls. 

Recent and upcoming orchestral highlights include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Wiener Symphoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra. 

A devoted chamber musician, Ehnes is the Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society and the leader of the Ehnes Quartet. As a recitalist, he performs regularly at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Verbier Festival, Dresden Music Festival and Festival de Pâques in Aix.

During the 26/27 season, Ehnes will conclude his 50th birthday recital tour in his native Canada. The tour began during the 25/26 season with performances in every province and territory. In the spring, he will embark on a four-week tour in Asia, performing with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings, including two Grammys, three Gramophone Awards and twelve Juno Awards, the most of any classical musician in history. In 2021, Ehnes was announced as the recipient of the coveted Artist of the Year award at the 2021 Gramophone Awards which celebrated his recent contributions to the recording industry, including the launch of a new online recital series entitled ‘Recitals from Home’ which was released in June 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of concert halls. Ehnes recorded the six Bach Sonatas and Partitas and six Sonatas of Ysaÿe from his home with state-of-the-art recording equipment and released six episodes over the period of two months. These recordings have been met with great critical acclaim by audiences worldwide and Ehnes was described by Le Devoir as being "at the absolute forefront of the streaming evolution".

Ehnes began violin studies at the age of five, became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin aged nine, and made his orchestral debut with L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal aged 13. He continued his studies with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation in 1997. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a Visiting Professor. Since 2024, he has been Professor of Violin at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music

Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Canada, and the United States, including performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Prague’s Dvorak Hall at the Ruldofinum, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Warsaw’s National Philharmonic. Andrew’s orchestral engagements across the globe have encompassed a vast repertoire of more than 60 concertos with orchestra as well as solo recitals and in chamber music concerts at festivals around the globe. This 2026-27 season, Andrew joins longtime friend and duo partner, two-time winning violinist James Ehnes, in a cross-country tour of Canada, playing in each capital, province, and territory. In Tuscany, Italy, Andrew curates and hosts an annual Chamber Music Festival bringing together great music with magical venues and unforgettable experiences. Back in the States, year-round, Andrew directs and hosts four thriving chamber music series. Three of them are in South Carolina – in Beaufort (USCB Chamber Music), in Columbia (SC Philharmonic’s Andy & Friends), and in Greenville (Andy & Friends, at Furman University). He also directs New Canaan Chamber Music in Connecticut.  Andrew resides in Worcester, MA, with his wife Esty and their three children Jack (20), Elise (15), and Gabriel (9).

Carmen Braden is a creator and performer of new, beautiful and sometimes weird music.

She is a two-time JUNO nominated force in the world of new music, hailing proudly from the Northwest Territories. Moving smoothly between genres of composing and songwriting, Carmen is recognized as a “brilliant, young Yellowknife-based composer” (Ottawa Citizen) an “acoustic ambassador of the Canadian Subarctic” (Musicworks). Carmen’s work in music, theatre, songwriting and dance has been performed across Canada and beyond, from Atlin BC to Helsinki, Finland. Her work has a special focus on northern themes as well as the influences of play and parenthood.
 

Carmen has released four albums to national acclaim. Her contemporary classical compositions are regularly commissioned and performed across Canada, and are being increasingly recorded across Canada and beyond. Carmen is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre, and is signed to Truant Artist Management for representing her compositional work. She is actively engaged as a contemporary classical composer as well as a performer of her original quirky songs throughout Canada.
 

About her music: 
 

“a spacious and rich journey into how we as humans internalize and connect to our 
environment (The Sound Cafe - for Seed Songs) 
 

“Braden’s music is clear, and it is bright…this recording is captured psychogeography.” 
(Whole Note - for Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars); 

About her songwriting: “quirky and clever…à la Joni Mitchell” (The WholeNote - for 
Ravens).

Socials links: 

Website: https://www.carmenbraden.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmenBradenMusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackicesounds/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarmenBrade