Christopher Whitley, Violin

Christopher Whitley began his violin studies at the age of five. A native of Toronto, Mr. Whitley studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music under Kelly Parkins-Lindstrom before moving to Montréal to study at the Schulich School of Music at McGill, where he is completing his BMus in Performance under Mark Fewer.

Mr. Whitley has performed has performed as a member of the McGill Symphony Orchestra under Alexis Hauser, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra under Alain Trudel, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada under Jacques Lacombe and in various orchestras as a member of the Young Artists Performance Academy at the Glenn Gould School.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Whitley has worked with many prominent chamber musicians including members of the SuperNova Quartet. An avid supporter of new music, Mr. Whitley frequently premieres and performs works by prize-winning young composers and is an active member of the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble. He is also involved in the world of improvised music and musique actuelle, having worked with many luminaries of the Montréal and Downtown New York scenes including Fred Frith, Marc Ribot, Mark Feldman, Jim Black, Mark Dresser, Lori Freedman and Malcolm Goldstein.

Mr. Whitley is the recipient of multiple scholarships at both the Royal Conservatory of Music and McGill University, scholarships that include the Bennie Schwartz Prize and a Schulich School of Music Scholarship.