Faculty / John Irrera

Violin

Praised by critics for his “moving” and “hypnotic” performances, violinist John Irrera is quickly becoming known as an accomplished solo, chamber and orchestral musician.  At the age of 23, John made his solo Carnegie Hall debut as the 1^st prizewinner of an international competition.  In addition, John has taken top prizes in numerous competitions, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Young Artist Competition, as well as the David Hochstein Memorial Competition.  John has been featured as soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Penfield Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, as well as performing solo recitals at the International Violin Academy in Moulin d’Ande, France, as well as being broadcast live on WXXI.  He has also been invited to perform in master classes of Ilya Kaler, Lewis Kaplan, Juliana Athayde, Lynn Blakeslee, and Almita Vamos.

As a chamber musician, John has studied with members of the Grammy Award winning Ying Quartet, and in the fall of 2010, performed an all Shostakovich chamber music program at Syracuse University’s Music of Conflict and Reconciliation Symposium.  In the summer of 2008, John was a recipient of a full fellowship to the Music Academy of the West, where John worked with acclaimed chamber musicians Peter Salaff, Donald Weilerstein, and the Takács String Quartet. In addition, John has spent his summers performing at the Bowdoin International Music, and the Niagara on the Lake International Summer Music Festival.  

In addition, as an active orchestral musician, John has performed under the batons of conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Peter Oundjian, Larry Rachleff, Daniel Hege, and Thomas Adès, on a concert featuring Adès’ compositions. 

John received the prized Performer’s Certificate along with his Bachelor’s degree with High Distinction from the Eastman School of Music in 2007.  In 2009, John completed his Master’s degree in violin performance at Eastman where he is currently a candidate for his Doctorate Degree studying under Distinguished Professor of Violin Zvi Zeitlin.  John also serves as a Teaching Assistant for Professor Zeitlin, as well as serving on faculty at the Eastman School of Music’s Community Music School, a position he has held since 2008, and recently joined the faculty at the Kanack School of Music.