Emma Meinrenken

Canadian-German violinist Emma Meinrenken is a musician praised for her effortless virtuosity and her skill in interpreting contemporary music. She is pursuing her Master of Music Degree at the Yale School of Music, under the tutelage of Augustin Hadelich. She is the 2023 recipient of Yale’s Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Ida Kavafian and was awarded the Milka Violin Artist Prize.

Meinrenken has won many awards internationally, including 1st place at the Stradivarius International Violin Competition. She was the 2019 winner of the Prix Ravel at the Ecole d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau and was also awarded the best interpretation of a new composition. She has participated in many music festivals, including the NUME Festival in Italy, Norfolk Music Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Verbier Festival Academy, and the Four Seasons Winter Workshop. Meinrenken is often a featured performer at the Music Niagara Festival and is a faculty member for the festival’s performance academy. She also recently founded her own Toronto-based chamber music series, Music Around the Corner.

Meinrenken debuted with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the age of ten and has since performed as a soloist with many other orchestras across North America and Europe. As a section player, she is on the roster of substitute players for the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has played for WHYY Radio, CBC Radio, and 96.3ClassicalFM. She is passionate about collaborating with composers and has been the dedicatee of many new works for the violin. She made her Carnegie Hall debut playing the New York premiere of a duet for violin and guitar by Fred Lerdahl. Meinrenken plays on the 1717 Windsor-Weinstein Stradivarius violin, generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts and receives support from the Sylva Gelber Foundation.