Barry Shiffman Canadian violinist and violist Barry Shiffman has a rich and varied career as a performer, recording artist, teacher, and creator of special projects. Shiffman made his debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15. As a soloist he has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. Recent appearances include his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall, a concert tour of Northern California as soloist with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and a Canadian tour as guest violist with the Gryphon Trio. In 1989, he co-founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ).

During his 17 years with the quartet he appeared in over 2,000 concerts in venues around the globe, and recorded several critically acclaimed discs under an exclusive contract with EMI Classics. The SLSQ won the 1992 Banff International String Quartet Competition and were participants in many of the programs at The Banff Centre. In addition to performing and recording, Shiffman is a sought-after violin and viola teacher and20chamber music coach. As part of his role in the St. Lawrence, Shiffman served as artist-in-residence at Stanford University from 1998-2006 and as visiting artist at the University of Toronto from 1995-2006. He is the recipient of the Nadia Boulanger Prize for Excellence in the Art of Teaching awarded by the Longy School of Cambridge, MA, and in 2009, he received an honorary doctor of laws from the University of Calgary for his work in the music industry. Passionately committed to the composers of our time, he has been involved in the premieres of hundreds of new works, both in the St. Lawrence Quartet and beyond. Since the fall of 2006, Barry Shiffman has been director of music programs at The Banff Centre, and executive director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition.