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Simin Ganatra

Jacobs School of Music

Expert Bio

Simin Ganatra is first violinist of the Pacifica Quartet. She is also professor of violin and chair of the String Department at the IU Jacobs School of Music. She has won wide recognition for her performances throughout the United States and abroad and performed numerous times in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebeouw in Amsterdam and Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

Collaborations include performances with YoYo Ma, Anthony McGill, Lynn Harrell and Menahem Pressler. She is the recipient of several awards and prizes, including a Grammy for best chamber music performance, the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, the Cleveland Quartet Award, the Concert Artists Guild Competition and the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. She has many recordings on the Cedille Records label, including the complete String Quartets of Felix Mendelssohn, Elliot Carter and Dmitri Shostakovich. During the summer she serves on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Areas of Expertise

Violin performance and teaching, chamber music performance and teaching.

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