About
Canadian violinist Mary-Elizabeth Brown enjoys parallel careers as a performer and pedagogue. In concert, she has delighted audiences around the world and earned accolades for her “ability to unfold bittersweet magic” (Rhein Main Presse) and “perfect command of her instrument” (Florsheim Zeitung). In recent seasons, she has appeared as an invited soloist with orchestra more than forty times in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as numerous chamber music festivals including Festival Campos do Jordao (Brazil), Mozarteum Uruguay, The White House (USA), the Aldeburgh Festival (UK), Indian River Festival, Elora Festival and Banff Summer Arts Festival (Canada). Her recording of the last 3 Mozart Violin Concerti for Mozart Effect recordings released worldwide in 2017.
Equally at home as in the first chair, critics have praised Mary-Elizabeth as “superbly confident in her role as leader” (Norfolk Times) and “…an outstanding concertmaster” (El Adelantado, Spain). Over 15 years as a concertmaster, she led nearly 1000 concerts on 4 continents under the direction of some of the most noted conductors of our time including Lorin Maazel, Placido Domingo, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Vasily Petrenko. She was the solo violinist for the recording of John Burge’s Flanders Fields Reflections that won the 2009 Juno for best composition. Leader posts include Orchestra of the Americas (2006-2008), the Britten-Pears Orchestra (2007-2009), Orchestra London Canada (Assoc. CM, 2006-2015), the award-winning chamber orchestra Sinfonia Toronto (2007-2016), Montreal’s longstanding McGill Chamber Orchestra (2016-2019) and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (2017-2020).
In addition to a rich career as a soloist and concertmaster, she is a sought-after teacher, clinician, adjudicator and speaker in Canada and abroad. Since founding the AVIVA Virtual Young Artist Program (the first web-based pre-college music program in the world) in 2012, she has touched lives around the world, teaching thousands of lessons to students on five continents via webcam, piloting projects aimed at accessibility, and training hundreds of teachers and creative entrepreneurs. She was one of the youngest in history to be named a Teacher of Distinction by the Royal Conservatory (2020).
Mary-Elizabeth is widely recognized as a pioneer in the world of innovation in classical music and technology. She was the lead musician on Canada’s first federally funded project exploring 3D printed string instruments, and her work in developing effective methods for distance music education has been featured in numerous broadcasts and publications including CBC’s “Q,” The Strad Magazine, the Canadian Suzuki Journal, and the American String Teacher.
Mary-Elizabeth plays on a Giuseppe Gagliano violin, c.1766 (Naples)
Qualifications:
In addition to her studies in music at The University of Toronto, DePaul University and l’Université de Montréal (where she completed a doctorate as a Schmeelk Fellow), she also holds a certificate in Managerial Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science and professional qualifications in Educational Leadership and School Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Business School. She is a trained Suzuki teacher, RCM Advanced Specialist, and a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music's College of Examiners.
Recent Conferences
2020: American String Teachers’ Association (Orlando FL); Global Leaders Program (Washington DC); Annual Conference of the Society for Online Music Education; Illinois String Teachers Association (USA)
2019: 1st Suzuki Convention of the Americas (Mexico); Royal Conservatory of Music’s Annual Summer Summit (Toronto); International Music Education Summit (Colorado); Quebec Association of Homeschoolers (Montreal)
Professional Affiliations
