Masterclass: Ian Swensen, Violin

Ian Swensen Biography

Ian Swensen is a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Sacramento State University. A native of New York, he was born from a musically gifted family of Norwegian and Japanese-Hawaiian descent. He is a devoted and passionate teacher and his students won positions in major symphony orchestras, teaching institutions, and chamber groups around the world.

Swensen also maintains a diverse and dynamic performing schedule as soloist and chamber musician, appearing at Music-at-Menlo, The Banff Centre, Toronto Summer Music, Morningside Music Bridge, the Chamber Music Masters Series at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Institution, and performances in Switzerland, Australia, Ireland, and Korea. He has performed with members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, Emerson, Takács, Concord and Tokyo quartets, as well as Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Mark O'Connor, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Swensen is one of the few musicians to have been awarded the Walter W. Naumberg International Competition’s top prize for both chamber music and violin. Swensen studied at The Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and the Eastman School of Music with Donald Weilerstein and members of the Cleveland Quartet. His recordings can be found on the Telarc and Deutsche Grammophon labels.

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