James Crawford · violin

James Crawford is a native of Charleston, SC, where he began violin studies at the age of seven as a pupil of Col. Charles Waid. He made his first solo appearance with the Charleston Symphony at age ten. At age twelve, he was awarded a full scholarship to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts where his principal teacher was Elaine Lee Richey. Mr. Crawford then continued his musical studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under the instruction of Aaron Rosand.

James joined the Grand Rapids Symphony as Concertmaster in January of 1994. He came to Grand Rapids from North Carolina, where he was Concertmaster of the Western Piedmont Symphony and Associate Concertmaster of the Winston-Salem and Salisbury Symphonies.

Mr. Crawford has been the recipient of many honors including first prize in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts “ARTS” Competition in Miami, Florida, and the North Carolina School of the Art’s Giannini Award. He was also a winner of the International Music Program Concerto Competition and was soloist on its European tour through Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

Mr. Crawford resides in Grand Rapids and is married to violinist, Megan Reiter Crawford. They have four children, Julia, Orion, Naomi and Kenji.