Canadian-born violinist Martin Beaver was First Violin of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet from June 2002 until its final concert in July 2013.  As such, he appeared to critical and public acclaim on the major stages of the world including New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Sydney Opera House.

As a member of the Tokyo String Quartet, Mr. Beaver was privileged to perform on the 1727 Stradivarius violin from the “Paganini Quartet” set of instruments, on generous loan to the quartet from the Nippon Music Foundation.  Recordings of the Tokyo String Quartet during his tenure notably include the complete Beethoven string quartets on the Harmonia Mundi label.

Mr. Beaver’s concerto and recital appearances span four continents with orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège and the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra and under the batons of Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Raymond Leppard, Gilbert Varga and Yannick Nézet-Séguin among others.  Chamber music performances include collaborations with such eminent artists as Leon Fleisher, Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Sabine Meyer and Yefim Bronfman.

Mr. Beaver is a regular guest at prominent festivals in North America and abroad. Among these are: the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, La Jolla SummerFest, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Edinburgh Festival (U.K.) and Pacific Music Festival (Japan).  Additionally, he was a founding member of several notable chamber ensembles including Triskelion and the Montrose Trio.

Mr. Beaver’s discography includes concerti, sonatas and chamber music on the Harmonia Mundi USA, Biddulph, Naim Audio, René Gailly, Musica Viva, SM 5000, Toccata Classics and Naxos labels.  His recorded repertoire ranges from Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to the music of 21^st century composers Alexina Louie, Gerard Schurmann and Joan Tower.

Following his early studies with Claude Letourneau and Carlisle Wilson, Mr. Beaver was a pupil of Victor Danchenko, Josef Gingold and Henryk Szeryng.  He is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth, Montreal and Indianapolis competitions. Subsequently, he has served on the juries of major international competitions including the Queen Elisabeth and Montreal violin competitions, the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Beaver has been the grateful recipient of generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts.  This includes Arts Grants for his studies at Indiana University, Career Development Grants and the 1993 Virginia-Parker Prize.  In 1998, through the generosity of an anonymous donor, the Canada Council awarded Mr. Beaver the loan of the 1729 “ex-Heath” Guarnerius del Gesù violin for a four-year period.

A devoted educator, Mr. Beaver has conducted masterclasses throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.  He has held teaching positions at the Royal Conservatory of Music, the University of British Columbia and the Peabody Conservatory.  More recently, he served on the faculty of New York University and as Artist in Residence at the Yale School of Music, where he was awarded its highest honor - the Sanford Medal.

Mr. Beaver joined the faculty of the Colburn School in Los Angeles in August 2013 where he is currently Professor of Violin and Chamber Music.

KATELYN MOON 20, born in Westwood, New Jersey, is earning her bachelor's degree at Northwestern University, studying with Jinjoo Cho. She was a 2022 National YoungArts Foundation Merit Winner and a Cooper International Competition Semi-Finalist. She is Concertmaster of the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra and teaches music theory at New Music School.

POYU LEE ('23) 24, born in Taiwan, Province of China, is earning his master's degree at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Simon James and Cordula Merks. He won the 2023 Telegraph Chamber Competition, is a regular substitute in the San Francisco Ballet, and has performed with the San Francisco Symphony.

YIN-SHIUAN TING 20, born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is earning her undergraduate degree at Park University International Center for Music, studying with Ben Sayevich. She won the National Student Music Competition in Kaohsiung in 2021, performed at the Heartland Chamber Music Festival, and is affiliated with the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra Festival.

ENSLEY KIM 21, born in Seoul, Korea, is earning her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Naoko Tanaka and Daniel Phillips. She won the National YoungArts Competition in 2021 and the New Jersey Sinfonietta Concerto Competition in 2022. She has performed with both the New York String Orchestra and the Juilliard Orchestra.

ARI HAN 19, born in Chesapeake, Virginia, is earning his bachelor's degree at The Colburn School, where he studies with Martin Beaver. He took third place in the Chicago Violin Competition in 2020 and was featured on NPR's From The Top in 2024.

JEROME ALEXANDER MCCOY 26, born in Joint Base Andrew, Maryland, has completed his master's degree at Florida International University, studying with Michael Klotz. He won the 2023 Florida International University Concerto Competition, serves as Associate Principal Violist with the South Florida Symphony, and performed with the Nu Deco Ensemble.

HO FEI NG 24, born in Hong Kong, is earning his Doctor of Musical Arts at Rice University Shepherd School of Music, studying with Ivo-Jan Van der Werff and serving as a Teaching Fellow. He won the Robert Oppelt Prize in 2022, serves as Principal Viola with the Shepherd School Orchestra, and has appeared as Guest Principal with Symphony in C.

CECILE MCNEILL ('24) 24, born in Whangārei, New Zealand, is earning her graduate certificate at USC Thornton School of Music, studying with Yura Lee. She won the 2020 Auckland Chamber Music Society Prize, was a finalist in the 2024 USC Thornton Solo Bach Competition, and has performed with the Auckland Philharmonia and Whakatipu Music Festival.

ARIUN-ENEREL GANTUMUR 20, born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is earning her bachelor's degree at Eastman School of Music, studying with Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliott. She took first place in the 2023 Washington State Regional Solo and Ensemble Contest. She has served as Principal in the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra.

SOPHIE DENG 18, born in Seattle, Washington, is earning her bachelor's degree at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Richard Aaron. She won the 2022 Oklahoma City Philharmonic Young Musician and 2021 South Kansas Concerto competitions, and has performed as a soloist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Oklahoma Youth Orchestra.

LAUREN MATHEWS 22, born in Houston, Texas, recently completed her bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, studying with Richard Aaron and Brinton Smith. She won the Aspen Music Festival Low Strings Concerto Competition in 2022 and performs with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Opera Orchestra.

JERRY HU 20, born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is earning his bachelor's degree at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, studying with John O'Conor and Michael Berkovsky. He won the 2025 Canadian Chopin Competition Jury Discretionary Award., and has performed with both the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.

ANSON NG 29, born in Hong Kong, is earning his Artist Diploma at McGill University, studying with Michael McMahon and Francis Perron. He won the 2015 Hong Kong Youth Piano Competition, and has worked as a répétiteur for Dialogue des Carmélites at Opera McGill, La chauve-souris at The Canadian Vocal Institute, and The Rape of Lucretia at Aspect Opera.

JULIA HOLOMAN 24, born in Raleigh, North Carolina, earned her master's degree at Rice University Shepherd School of Music, appearing as Ruggiero in Alcina and Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas. She was a semifinalist in the 2025 Houston Grand Opera Concert of Arias and a finalist in the 2025 National Opera Association Carolyn Bailey Argento Competition.