JACQUES FORESTIER, Violin

Winner of the 2024 Joseph Joachim International Competition, 19-year old violinist Jacques began playing the violin at the age of two, and his performed across North America, Europe, and Asia. Hailed by CBC Music as one of the “Top 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30”, Jacques has performed with orchestras including the Edmonton Symphony, NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Western Michigan Symphony, among others, and looks forward to appearing in the coming seasons with the Dresden, Bremen, and Duisburg philharmonics, the Potsdam & Württembergisches chamber orchestras, the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, Staatskapelle Karlsruhe,, reappearing with the NDR Radiophilharmonie, as well as performing at a number of important chamber music and concert venues across Europe such as the Cologne Philharmonie among others. 

Jacques made his début at the age of 11 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the Winspear Centre and has since been re-invited regularly as a soloist. 

In addition to winning the 1st Prize, laureate prize, and audience prize at the 2024 Joseph Joachim International Competition in Hannover, Germany, the Warner Classics Label will be working with Jacques to produce and promote his début album.  

A recipient of the Thomas. D Watkins Fellowship at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Jacques is a student of Shmuel Ashkenasi and Pamela Frank as well as Itzhak Perlman at the Perlman Music Program. He is the laureate of a number of important international competitions including the Stulberg, Klein, Johansen, OSM Manulife, and Shean competitions. 

Jacques is grateful for the support of many and would like to thank the Edmonton Community Foundation and the Anne Burrows Foundation for their generosity in supporting his growth as a musician. 

Jacques plays on a G.B. Guadagnini (c. 1765 Parma) violin on generous loan by the Fritz Behrens Foundation.