Violinist Martin Chalifour, who recently retired from his 30-year tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (the longest in its history), will soon begin a year-long residency at California's Sierra Madre Playhouse.

The first concert in the series, titled The Romantic Violin, took place on Valentine's Day, and featured both works in the Romantic tradition and works on the theme of love by Handel, Tchaikovsky, Morricone, Saint-Saëns, Grieg, Brahms, and Bizet. Chalifour was joined by pianist Steven Vanhauwaert. 

Hailing originally from Quebec, Chalifour studied at the Montréal Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music. He was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony when he was just 23 years old, and during his tenure there he also achieved distinction as a solo player — winning the Certificate of Honor at Moscow’s International Tchaikovsky Competition and becoming a laureate of the Montréal International Music Competition. 

Chalifour has played more than 50 different concerti as soloist, with the LA Phil, Montréal Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (Brisbane, Australia), the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and with the Sarasota Music Festival and Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego.

Further information about the upcoming concerts in the residency will be made available closer to the time.