About
Since his concerto debuts at the age of 14 in the United States, Spain, and Portugal, American violinist Eric Gratz has been celebrated 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, orchestral leader, 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.
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 orchestral leader, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Reviews
“In the warmth and poise that the violinist brought to the deliberative opening solo statement [of Bernstein’s Serenade After Plato’s Symposium], Mr. Gratz was like a great story teller immediately gaining the confidence of his listeners. He knew where he would be taking us, and we wanted to follow him. Throughout the performance, he combined superb technique – virtually perfect intonation, incisive rhythms, rich double-stops – with a sense of humanity.”
––Mike Greenberg, Incident Light
"Spellbinding”
––San Antonio Express-News
"A muscular, red-blooded performance"
––Classical Voice North America
"Eloquent"
––Dallas Morning News
Schedule
9.28.25
Frankly Music
Ullmann: String Quartet #3
Frank Almond, Violin
Anthony Devroye, Viola
Alexander Hersh, Cello
Milwaukee, WI
10.5.25
Waterbury Symphony
Frucht: Finding Religion
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Waterbury, CT
10.26.25
Olmos Ensemble
Kahn: Quintet
Jeff Garza, Horn
Ilya Shterenberg, Clarinet
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Christopher Guzman, Piano
San Antonio, TX
11.6.25
Louisiana Philharmonic
Guest Concertmaster
New Orleans, LA
11.15.25
North Central College
Piano Trios by Brahms, Haydn, and Bolcom
Yeon Ji Yun, Cello
Susan Chou, Piano
Naperville, IL
11.17.25
Purdue University
Masterclass and Concert
Piano Trios by Brahms, Haydn, and Bolcom
Yeon Ji Yun, Cello
Susan Chou, Piano
West Lafayette, IN
12.6.25
American Chamber Music Society
Recital
Works by Mozart, Messiaen, Leclair, Saint-Saens
Eliot Goldmund, Piano
Chicago, IL
12.12.25
Opus 71 Concerts
Matthew Cohen, Viola
Julian Schwarz, Cello
New York, NY
1.4.26DX
Chatter PDX
Olmos Ensemble
Strauss: Don Quixote
Portland, OR
1.11.26
Music From St. Marks
Olmos Ensemble
JS Bach: Concerto in E Major
Vivaldi: Concerto, RV 544A
San Antonio, TX
1.31.26
American Chamber Music Society
Martinu: Madrigals
Ravel: Duo
Dohnanyi: Serenade
Weinberg: Trio
Matthew Cohen, Viola
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Chicago, IL
2.22.26
Mid-Texas Symphony
Selections from:
Vivaldi: 4 Seasons
Piazzolla: 4 Seasons
Akiko Fujimoto, Conductor
New Braunfels, TX
3.2.26
Live From WFMT
Mozart: Sonata K. 305
Kodaly: Duo for Violin and Cello
Schonfield: Cafe Music
Ani Aznavoorian, Cello
Marta Aznavoorian, Piano
Chicago, IL
3.13.26
American Chamber Music Society
Janacek: Violin Sonata
Dvorak: Trio in B-Flat Major
Smetana: Trio
Chicago, IL
3.21.26
Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra
Guest Concertmaster
Indianapolis, IN
3.26.26
Roosevelt University
Mozart: Trio K 564
Russell Rolen, Cello
Junghwa Moon Auer, Piano
Chicago, IL
3.29.26
Olmos Ensemble
Smetana: Piano Trio
Julian Schwarz, Cello
Marika Bournaki, Piano
San Antonio, TX
4.17.26
Faculty Recital
North Central College
Susan Chou, Piano
Naperville, IL
4.19.26
Memphis Chamber Music Society
Foote: Piano Quartet
Turina: Piano Quartet
Brahms: Piano Quartet in G Minor
Matthew Lipman, Viola
Gabriel Martins, Cello
Victor Asuncion, Piano
Memphis, TN
5.3.26
Olmos Ensemble
Verdi: String Quartet
Mozart: Flute Quartet
San Antonio, TX
5.9.26
American Chamber Music Society
Joseph Skerik, Viola
Alexander Hersh, Cello
Marta Aznavoorian, Piano
Chicago, IL
5.23-30.26
Recital Tour
Works by Beethoven, Schubert, Britten and Ravel
Susan Chou, Piano
Taiwan
Media
BARTÓK
ROMANIAN FOLK DANCES
Béla Bartók's legendary concert work for Violin & Piano, Romanian Folk Dances
Brooklyn, NY
October, 2024
BRAHMS
SONATENSATZ
Johannes Brahms's Scherzo from the F-A-E Sonata, a work written in collaboration with Schumann and Dietrich
Brooklyn, NY
October, 2024
JS BACH
SARABANDA
JS Bach's contemplative Sarabanda from the Partita no. 2 in D Minor for Solo Violin
San Antonio, TX
October, 2018
BEETHOVEN
ALLEGRO ASSAI
The sparkling first movement from Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata no. 8 in G Major for Violin & Piano
San Antonio, TX
October, 2018
JS BACH
ALLEGRO
A fiery performance of the finale from JS Bach's Sonata in A Minor for Solo Violin
San Antonio, TX
August, 2016
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