Kai Gleusteen

“It took about a nanosecond on Sunday for Kai Gleusteen to establish his credentials as an important violinist.” (Washington Post)

“His playing had an incandescent technical brilliance as well as an irresistible seductive power…” (Aberdeen Paper)

“… he lifted up the orchestra and carried it with him in a performance of remarkable passion and sensitivity. Gleusteen has the rare knack of keeping suspense at the seething point, even during the most tender and delicate passages. The result was an extraordinarily moving experience….” (Glasgow Herald)
Kai Gleusteen started studying the violin at age 5 in his native Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Early on, he met with success in local, provincial, and national music competitions, in addition to receiving top academic awards. He spent summers at the Meadowmount School of Music, Aspen Music Festival, Banff School of Fine Arts, and Academy of the West (Santa Barbara, CA), working with Ivan Galamian, Dorothy Delay, Stuart Canin, and Nathan Milstein. Winters were filled with school, music, skiing, and badminton.

Wishing to broaden his horizons, Mr. Gleusteen chose to balance his post-secondary education between academics and music. At the University of Michigan, he studied anthropology, geophysics, and philosophy. To his great fortune, he found there the person who would become his greatest inspiration, both personally and musically: his violin teacher, Camilla Wicks.

After receiving a Master’s Degree from Rice University, Mr. Gleusteen moved to Europe to live in the heart of Western culture. Paris and Prague were his bases for nine years, allowing him to develop and perform as both a soloist and leader of numerous orchestras. Since 2000, he has been concertmaster of the Orchestra del Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain. In 2003, he formed his own chamber orchestra, the Kaimerata, and was appointed professor at the Escuela Superior de Musica de Catalunya. He continues to perform extensively as a soloist and a recitalist throughout Europe and North America.

In 1999, Mr. Gleusteen formed an acclaimed duo with pianist Catherine Ordronneau. They have recorded two CDs for AVIE Records, the first with works by Prokofiev, Janacek, and Shostakovich, and the second with works by Franck, Dvorak, and Grieg.

Mr. Gleusteen plays a violin made by J.B. Guadagnini in 1781.

March 9, 2008