Paul Kantor (born November 29, 1955) is an American

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

teacher. Kantor is a professor at the

Shepherd School of Music The Shepherd School of Music is a music school located on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. From its inception in 1974Ericson, R."Unafraid, a New Music School Opens; NOT JUST MOSTLY MOZART" ''The New York Times'', March 10, 1974, p. ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

. He continues the pedagogical lineage of

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin teacher, instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medic ...

. He is often selected to participate as a jury member for international violin competitions.

Biography

Kantor is currently the Sally Shepherd Perkins Professor of violin at the

, having previously served as the Eleanor H. Biggs Memorial Distinguished Professor of Violin at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

. He received Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, studying violin with Dorothy DeLay and chamber music with

Robert Mann Robert Nathaniel Mann (July 19, 1920 – January 1, 2018) was a violinist, composer, conductor, and founding member of the Juilliard String Quartet, as well as a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music. Mann, the first violinist at Jui ...

. He served as chair of the string department at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

for 13 years and has served on the faculties of the

, the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He was appointed as artist-in-residence of

The Glenn Gould School The Glenn Gould School is an elite institution for the training of professional musicians in performance at post-secondary and post-bachelor levels in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1987 and renamed in 1997 after the pianist ...

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edwar ...

and has been on its faculty since 2008. In addition, he has presented master classes at institutions including

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

, and the

New World Symphony Orchestra The New World Symphony is an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida. Established in 1987, the organization is a training ensemble for young musicians in preparation for professional careers in classical music. Since 2011, the ...

, among others. His students have consistently won major awards at international competitions including the

Klein Competition The Irving M. Klein International String Competition is a music competition held annually in June in San Francisco, California. The Klein is open to string players between the ages of 15 and 23 who are not under professional management. The compet ...

, Fischoff Competition, Stulberg International String Competition,

International Violin Competition of Indianapolis The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) is a Classical music, classical violin competition which takes place once every four years in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana. Since its founding in 1982, "The Indianapolis" has bee ...

, and the Montreal International Violin Competition, among others. For the past 30 years, he has been an artist and faculty member of the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...

, where he was concertmaster of both the Festival Orchestra and Chamber Symphony. He has performed as a soloist with numerous symphony orchestras and has performed with the New York String Quartet, the Berkshire Chamber Players, the Lenox Quartet, and the National Musical Arts Chamber Ensemble. He served as concertmaster of the New Haven Symphony for 10 years, and the Aspen Chamber Symphony for 10 years, as well as the

Lausanne Chamber Orchestra The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra) is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The OCL is resident at the Salle Métropole in Lausanne. The OCL is an artistic partner with Lausanne Opera and reg ...

, and Great Lakes Festival Orchestra. He was appointed as guest concertmaster of the

New Japan Philharmonic The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. From 2003 to 2013 its music director ...

and the

Toledo Symphony Orchestra The Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts was created in 2019 when the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the Toledo Ballet merged. Based in Toledo, Ohio, it operated with a $13.2 million budget in its fiscal year 2020 and maintains the two brand ...

. He has performed the world premieres of Dan Welcher's Violin Concerto and

John Corigliano John Paul Corigliano (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. With over 100 compositions, he has won accolades including a Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, and a ...

's ''Red Violin Caprices''. His recordings are on the Equilibrium, CRI, Delos and Mark Records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kantor, Paul American male classical violinists Aspen Music Festival and School faculty Living people 1955 births Juilliard School alumni Juilliard School faculty Rice University faculty Cleveland Institute of Music faculty Musicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio University of Michigan faculty Classical musicians from Ohio 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American classical violinists