BIOGRAPHY
Grace M. Alexander (b. 2001) is a professional modern and baroque violinist, arts administrator, and aspiring pedagogue currently based in Vancouver, BC. Her musical interests are primarily rooted in collaborative work with musicians and artists, but enjoys playing in ensembles of all kinds. In addition to being a current rotating principal-position violinist of the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra and West Coast Symphony, Grace is a freelance chamber musician and recital artist in the greater Pacific Northwest area in the U.S. and Canada. She is a violinist of the recently-formed Kermode String Quartet, based in Vancouver, BC. Grace actively performs in a violin/piano duo with collaborator, Will Rand, where they strive to push the boundaries of standard performance practice, and regularly commission new composers for recital programming. Visit her PERFORMANCES page to learn more about upcoming solo, chamber, and orchestral performances, and COLLABORATIONS dropdown to explore future projects.
Grace is currently a rotating concertmaster/principal of the University of British Columbia Symphony Orchestra, and she was formerly the concertmaster of the St. Olaf Orchestra. Grace held other various leadership roles within the St. Olaf Music Department. She has attended summer festivals and institutes around the United States and Europe, including Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Borromeo Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, Við Djúpið Music Festival, and IU Jacobs String Teacher’s Pedagogy Institute. Grace has competed in the finals of national chamber music competitions such as the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition and LMC Frances Walton Competition with the Høyde String Quartet.
Grace has been hired for many public-facing opportunities, including as a guest baroque violinist for Gallo Baroque Chamber Players, quartet and orchestra member of a “Weird Al” Yankovic L.A. concert, Rick Springfield’s “Orchestrating My Life” L.A. tour concert (including radio and television appearances), a Carol Burnett honorarium, jazz violin performance with Danilo Pérez, weddings, and more. Playing in the pit orchestra for various musical productions and the Arts for the Arts (AFTA) program has also broadened her musical experiences. She was a former section player of Santa Monica Symphony under the direction of the late L.A. Philharmonic musician, Guido Lamell.
As an arts administrator and musical leader, she co-founded and was the co-artistic director, along with her partner Samuel J. Ivory, of Synergy Musicians' Collective at St. Olaf College to promote collaborative, interdisciplinary, and innovative artistry in the collegiate setting. She is on the founding team and hold the Associate Director position at EarthStory, an organization focused on the intersection of storytelling, ecology, and the arts. Grace currently holds the positions of Co-Director of Operations for the International Cello Institute in Minnesota, USA, Development Assistant at the Við Djúpið Music Festival in Ísafjörður, Iceland, and she also works as a freelance grant-writer for organizations like FilAm Music Foundation, Grand Rapids Youth Choruses, and more.
Grace began her Master of Music (M.Mus) degree studies at University of British Columbia School of Music in fall 2024. She is a magna cum laude graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN with Bachelors of Music (B.M.) in Violin Performance. Her recent private teachers and mentors include Jasper Wood, Ryan Davis (Radia), Mary Sokol-Brown, Charles Gray, Natsuki Kumagai, Francesca Anderegg, Scott Anderson, Dr. Chung Park, Steven Amundson, and Jessica King.
Grace is extremely grateful to practice and perform on a 2023 Bronek Cison Violin (original owner), and an 1878 François Nicolas Voirin Bow (prev. owner, Guido Lamell).
