2015 | Classical Album of the Year: Solo or Chamber Ensemble | James Ehnes | | The JUNO Awards

James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba. He began violin studies at the age of four, at age nine he became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and at The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation. Mr. Ehnes first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The following year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival, the youngest musician ever to do so.
He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the first-ever Ivan Galamian Memorial Award, the Canada Council for the Arts’ prestigious Virginia Parker Prize, the 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant and nine JUNO Awards. In July 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada. In 2010, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2013 he was named Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music. He lives in Bradenton, Florida with his wife and daughter.