Jennifer Gilbert — Violin

Jennifer Gilbert is the Supersoliste (Concertmaster) of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL), a position she has held since 1999. Celebrated for her artistry and leadership, she also enjoys an active international career as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe, the United States, and Japan.

Born into a distinguished musical family, Ms. Gilbert is the daughter of New York Philharmonic violinists Michael Gilbert and Yoko Takebe, and the sister of conductor Alan Gilbert. She studied at the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she worked with Jaime Laredo, and she also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature from Harvard University.

Ms. Gilbert is a regular member and concertmaster of the Saito Kinen Orchestra, founded by Seiji Ozawa, and has been invited as guest concertmaster with ensembles including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, and the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. In addition, she serves as Professor and Director of the Music Masters Course Japan, an international summer academy held in Yokohama.

Her chamber music and recital partnerships have brought her to the stage with many of today’s leading artists, including Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Midori, Julia Fischer, Hélène Grimaud, Peter Serkin, Emanuel Ax, Leon Fleisher, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Jennifer Gilbert performs on a 1781 Guadagnini violin, bringing to her performances a distinctive voice shaped by her cosmopolitan training, chamber music collaborations, and long-standing orchestral leadership.