As the winner of the highly prestigious 48th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music (known as the E-Gré), violinist Justin Saulnier is excited to bring a recital of solo violin and piano music to audiences across Canada in the Fall of 2024! Justin is joined on this tour by collaborative pianist, Gaspard Tanguay. The recital includes music by Canadian composers Ana Sokolovic and Dinuk Wijeratne, along with a major work by Alfred Schnittke. Of particular note is the composition titled, Let the Stain Remain, by Canadian composer, Melody McKiver, an Indigenous Canadian composer, that was the competition’s commissioned test piece that all semi-finalists had to perform. 

Justin Saulnier is an 18-year-old Canadian violinist. He made his orchestral solo debut at age 12 with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra and has since performed with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Canada’s National Arts Center Orchestra, The Pembroke Symphony Orchestra and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra. He has also been invited to play with the Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin this spring. Justin has received many awards, notably the first prize in the NACO Bursary Competition, second prize in the Concours OSM, the grand prize in the Orchestre Métropolitain OMNI Competition, and the OMFA’s provincial competition. He is pursuing his undergraduate degree at McGill University with Andrew Wan. Justin plays a 1680 Ruggeri violin from Cremona, generously loaned to him by Canimex.