Juan-Miguel Hernandez, viola

The Washington Post has praised violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez as having !...the sweetest, most sonorous tone...” (Charles T. Downey). The Atlanta Journal Constitution describes him as !...tender, lyrical, loaded with personality” (Pierre Ruhe). Performances as soloist and chamber musician have seen Juan-Miguel Hernandez on some of the world"s leading halls, including Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Salzburg Mozarteum, King"s Place (London), Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Wigmore Hall (London) and The White House. As a soloist Juan-Miguel has made appearances with orchestras, including the Rochester Philharmonic, San Fransisco Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, iPalpiti Orchestra, as well as the Colorado and Atlanta Symphonies. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Kim Kashkashian, Gérard Caussé and Itzhak Perlman. Chamber music being at the forefront of his career, Juan-Miguel was a member of the legendary Fine Arts Quartet (2013-2018) and original member of the Harlem Quartet (2006-2012), as well as a founder of the "Boreal Trio” (2012-2018) and ”Trio Virado" (2012-2021), both specialized in the creation of new repertoire. He has also been a member of the UK based Kaleidoscope chamber collective since 2018. Festival and program appearances as guest artist and pedagogue include the Festival Pablo Casal (Prades, France), the Festival Des Arcs (France), the Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy), Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (South Africa), the Brevard Summer Institute (USA), the Mozaic Festival (USA), Festicamara (Colombia), Montreal Jazz & Panama Jazz Festivals and Musica Mundi International Festival (Belgium), Borromeo (Switzerland) & Madeline Island (USA) Music Festivals, Toronto Summer Music & Orford Academy and the Heifetz International Music Institute (2023). In the summer of 2021 he was appointed Associate Artistic Director of the Festival del Lago International Music Festival (Mexico). He has been featured on radio airwaves and television broadcasts throughout Canada, United Kingdom and the United States including NBC's Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR radio, PBS, BBC 3, and the Telemundo Network and Radio-Canada. His collaborative recordings have been released by Cedille records, the White Pine, Navona, Chandos and Naxos music labels. Juan-Miguel was born in Montreal, Canada and began his musical studies at the age of seven. Among his teachers were Paul Coletti at the Colburn Conservatory and Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory. He also worked with Paul Neubauer, Karen Tuttle, Steven Dann, James Dunham, Barbara Westphal, Garth Knox and Pinchas Zukerman. Juan-Miguel won the first Prize at the International Johannes Brahms Competition (Austria), adding to other top prizes won at the National Canadian Music Competition, and the 9th National Sphinx Competition, presented by JPMorgan Chase. He was honored with the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec for his significant international achievements. His strong commitment to educate and engage new audiences all around the globe have brought him to reach young musicians and various communities through art convoys in South Africa and Venezuela, various music festivals in South America and outreach projects in Europe and North America. He is also a regular mentor for the Benedetti Foundation. In 2016 Juan-Miguel was appointed as professor of Viola at the Royal Academy of Music (London) where he now remains as visiting professor after moving back to Montreal. In September 2021, he joined the faculty of music at Montreal university as invited Professor of viola. He was invited to serve on the Jury of the Johannes Brahms International Competition/Austria (2017), the Sphinx National Competition/USA (2018, 2022 & 2023) and the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2022). Beyond his extensive classical repertoire he has regularly performed with Jazz living legends Gary Burton, Stanley Clark, Paquito D"Rivera and Chick Corea.Further collaborations include Nora Jones"#album !Broken Little Hearts” as well as the album "Hot House" playing alongside Chick Corea and Gary Burton for which a Grammy was awarded. Juan-Miguel plays on a beautiful 2008 Miralles viola from Altadena/California.