Farran Sylvan James

Farran James began studying violin in her native city of Vancouver, Canada, at the age of three. She completed her Masters in violin performance at the State University of New York and the Juilliard School, with Joel Smirnoff (first violin of the Juilliard String Quartet) and Joyce Robbins (a student of the famed pegagogue Ivan Galamian). She has being performing professionally since the age of sixteen, in many different ensembles around the world ,including Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble based in Harvard, Les Violons du Roy from Quebec and the Montreal Chamber Orchestra.
Since moving to Europe fifteen years ago, she has naturally gravitated towards early music performance, and has performed in numerous important ensembles. As soloist and concertino of Ayre Español (conducted by Eduardo Lopez Banzo ) and Bach Consort Wien (directed by Ruben Dubrovsky) first violinsist of La Tempestad and the Albada String Quartet, she performs regularily in prestigious concert halls such as the Musikverein in Vienna ( where she has recently performed as soloist) Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris, Concertgebow in Amsterdam, and the Berliner Philharmonie ( where Ayre performed in the spring of 2012). She has played with many other ensembles and conductors, including Jordi Savall, Ottavio Dantone,Monica Huggett, Pablo Valetti(Cafe Zimmerman), Skip Sempe(Capriccio Stavagante), Alfredo Bernardini, Gabriel Garrido.
Farran hasa prolific recording career, having performed on CD’s with important labels such as Harmonia Mundi, Ambroisie, Naive, Challenge, Sony and Arsis. She has recently recorded “Handel’s Memories”, a selection of Grand Concertos from Opus 6 by George Frederic Handel, as Concertino of Ayre Español for Challenge records.
She has also been invited as leader and conductor of the Granollers Chamber Orchestra, Menorca Chamber Orchestra, Parry Sound Festival Baroque Orchestra and the Baroque Orchestra of Sevilla.
Apart from classical music she has been drawn to both improvising and playing other kinds of music. She has collaborated with , flamenco singer Mayte Martin, is part of a duo with Luis Paniagua, lyre, and has formed an overtone singing choir in Barcelona, Muom. Her violin is a Johannes Cuypers from 1790.