Kai Gleusteen was born in Calgary, Canada, where he began his musical studies at the age of five. Before he was ten, he started spending his summers under the tutelage of Ivan Galamian and David Cerone at the Meadowmount School of Music in New York State. At the age of fifteen, he set out on his first concert tour of England as soloist with his local youth orchestra. Gleusteen met with success in several competitions including being awarded first prize in the Commonwealth Concerto Competition in Brisbane, Australia and in the National Soloist Auditions in Chicago, and was finalist in the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Denmark. At seventeen, Gleusteen formed a small string chamber orchestra called The Group of Twelve, with whom he performed in Canada and Great Britain. On this tour, he was the recipient of the prestigious Skene Award in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Gleusteen has never allowed his passion for music to detract from his personal growth. A firm believer in the multidimensional human being, Kai chose to broaden his horizons. With the intent to learn the German language, Gleusteen spent half a year in Munich. Subsequently, he enrolled in the University of Michigan to study sciences and literature. During this period, he had the great fortune to study violin with Camilla Wicks, an extraordinary musician and individual. Gleusteen received his Master's Degree from Rice University in Houston in 1990. In 1991, Gleusteen arrived in Paris with the desire to be in the heart of French culture. He was immediately engaged by the Ensemble Orchestral I'lle de France as their concertmaster and guest soloist. In addition, Gleusteen was asked by Gerard Poulet to be his assistant and partner in chamber music in the Festivals des Arcs and to help prepare his students for the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris.

Two years later, Gleusteen left the chamber orchestra in pursuit of another realm of the music world. He made contact with Sander Vegh and received an invitation to spend a year at the Mozart Foundation in Prague. There, in the fascinating context of Czech history and culture, he devoted himself to chamber music. Since, Gleusteen has performed on numerous occasions with the Camerata Academica of Salzburg and is returns regularly to Vegh's chamber music festival in Prussia Cove, England.

Every year, Kai Gleusteen devotes a part of his summers to the sharing of his knowledge and experience with young talented musicians. In July 1999, he will fulfill a project on which he has been working for two years: a music festival in the Czech Republic in which the works will be studied in their historical and cultural context as well as a particular attention being given to the physical conditioning of each participant.

Reviews

"The Canadian violinist proved himself fully the master of this astonishing but too seldom heard score. His playing combined crackling bravura and soaring lyricism in well-nigh ideal measure. A violinist of Gleusteen's big, secure technique and refined musical instincts deserves to go far. And he will.

Chicago Tribune
 

"But as far as this audience was concerned, the most haunting music came from violinist Kai Gleusteen. His playing of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending evoked such emotion the audience was spellbound."

Evening Express
 

"His playing had an incandescent technical brilliance as well as an irresistible seductive power..."

Aberdeen Paper
 

"Violon magique.."

Nice Matin
 

"...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
 

"His playing was rapturous in its musical nature and precision"

Karlsbad, Czech Republic
 

Contact details and further information

Richard Paul Concert Artists
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Toronto, Ontario Canada
M5V 3C9

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