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Biography

violin + viola

Find access to downloadable press kit materials at the bottom of this page.

Described as "a consummate musician" (Naples Daily News) with "a divine sound... exquisitely sculpted" (The Prague Post), Canadian violist and violinist Sarah McElravy leads an exceptional and multifaceted  career as a chamber musician, soloist and pedagogue.

She begins the 2022/23 season with performances of the Walton Viola Concerto with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and conductor Jonathan Bloxham, the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. McElravy will also be making her debut at the Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw, Poland performing Britten's Lachrymae for  viola and string orchestra with the Radom Chamber Orchestra and conductor Jurek Dybal.

Alongside her duo partner and husband, the violinist and conductor  Julian Rachlin, she will perform a series of double concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Valles Symphony Orchestra at the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona. 


As a soloist, Ms. McElravy has appeared with major orchestras across the globe and highlights of recent seasons include the Helsinki Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonia, Warsaw Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Dortmunder Philharmoniker, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, Bayerischer Rundfunk Chamber Orchestra, Innsbruck Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic, and Sofia Philharmonic among many others.

She performed the UK premiere of the Penderecki Double Concerto for violin and viola with Julian Rachlin and the Royal Northern Sinfonia conducted by Alexander Joel, and Strauss’ Don Quixote with Boris Andrianov and the Russian National Orchestra under the baton of Dmitri Jurowski. She has also performed as soloist with the Moscow Soloists conducted by Yuri Bashmet, as well as the Slovenian Philharmonic, Nice Philharmonic, and Moscow Virtuosi. Ms. McElravy made her Japan debut with the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the “La Folle Journée” Festival.
 
2022/23 chamber music highlights include a string quartet performance of Beethoven's op. 130 with Grosse Fuge at Die Glocke (Bremen) with violinists Julian Rachlin and Boris Brovtsyn and cellist Eckart Runge. She will be returning to the Herbstgold Festival in Austria with Bach‘s Goldberg Variations for string trio as well as a performance of the The Music Critic with the legendary actor John Malkovich.

She has performed chamber music in such prestigious venues as the Vienna Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall and has taken part in the Prague Spring Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Caramoor Festival, Sion Festival, Kronberg Academy, and Schloss Elmau.

She has collaborated with many internationally recognised artists including Vilde Frang, Janine Jansen, Denis Kozhukhin, Itamar Golan, Andreas Ottensamer, Mischa Maisky, Nicolas Altstaedt, Boris Andrianov, and Daniel Müller-Schott.
 
A founding member of the award-winning Linden String Quartet (2008-2014), hailed as “polished, radiant and incisive” by The Strad Magazine, she has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe. The ensemble served as Fellowship Quartet-in-residence at Yale University, Apprentice Quartet at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and gave teaching residencies at  the University of Iowa, University of Idaho, Caramoor Festival, and Detroit Chamber Music Society amongst others. The quartet gave frequent masterclasses, lectures, and educational outreach performances across the United States and Canada. The Linden Quartet received Gold medal and Grand prize at the 2009 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, 2009 Coleman National Chamber Ensemble Competition, the 2010 Hugo Kauder Competition, the ProQuartet Prize at the 9th Borciani String Quartet Competition, and a prestigious New York Concert Artists Guild management contract.
 
In 2014, Ms. McElravy founded the Chamber Music Society México, an organization dedicated to presenting world-class chamber music in México City. As the Artistic Director, she brought leading North American artists to perform and provide educational programs for talented young Mexican musicians.
 
Ms. McElravy plays on a 1791 Ferdinando Gagliano violin and a 1785 Lorenzo Storioni viola on loan to her courtesy of the Dkfm. Angelika Prokopp Privatstiftung in Vienna, Austria.

**All edits to this biography must be approved by Ms. McElravy. 

Press Kit

Click the links below to download current press kit materials for Ms. McElravy.

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