Juan-Miguel Hernandez
The Washington Post has praised violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez as having “…the sweetest, most sonorous tone…” (Charles T. Downey). The Atlanta Journal Constitution describes him as “…tender, lyrical, loaded with personality” (Pierre Ruhe).
Performances as soloist and chamber musician have seen Juan-Miguel Hernandez on some of the world’s leading halls, including Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Salzburg Mozarteum, King’s Place (London), Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and The White House.
As a soloist Juan-Miguel has made appearances with orchestras, including the Rochester Philharmonic, San Fransisco Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, iPalpiti Orchestra, as well as the Colorado and Atlanta Symphonies. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Kim Kashkashian, Gérard Caussé and Itzhak Perlman.
Chamber music being at the forefront of his career, Juan-Miguel was a founder and member of the Harlem Quartet from 2006 to 2012 after which he joined the legendary Fine Arts Quartet from 2013 until 2018. He is a also founder and member of the "Trio Virado" (Flute, Viola, Guitar) as well as the "Boreal Trio” (Clarinet, Viola, Piano), both specializing in the creation of new repertoire.
Festival and program appearances as guest artist and pedagogue include the Festival Pablo Casal (Prades, France), the Festival Des Arcs (France), the Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy), Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (South Africa), the Brevard Summer Institute (USA), the Mozaic Festival (USA), Festicamara (Colombia), Montreal Jazz & Panama Jazz Festivals and Musica Mundi International Festival (Belgium), Borromeo (Switzerland) & Madeline Islands (USA) Chamber Music Festivals and the Festival Del lago (Mexico).
Juan-Miguel has been featured on radio airwaves and television broadcasts throughout Canada, and the United States including NBC's Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR radio, PBS and the Telemundo Network. His recordings were released by Cedille records, the White Pine, Navona and Naxos music labels.
Juan-Miguel Hernandez was born in Montreal, Canada and began his musical studies at the age of seven. Among his teachers were Jean MacRae, Paul Coletti at the Colburn Conservatory and Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory. He also worked with Dimitri Murrath, Paul Neubauer, Karen Tuttle, Steven Dann, James Dunham, Barbara Westphal and Pinchas Zukerman.
Juan-Miguel won the first Prize at the International Johannes Brahms Competition (Austria), adding to other top prizes won at the National Canadian Music Competition, and the 9th National Sphinx Competition, presented by JPMorgan Chase. He was honored with the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec for his significant international achievements.
His strong commitment to educate and engage new audiences all around the globe have brought him to reach young musicians and various communities through art convoys in South Africa and Venezuela, various music festivals in South America and outreach projects in Europe and North America.
In 2016 Juan-Miguel was appointed as a professor at the Royal Academy of Music (London). He was invited to serve on the Jury of the 2017 Johannes Brahms International Competition/Austria and the 2018 Sphinx Competition/USA.
Beyond his extensive classical repertoire he has regularly performed with Jazz living legends Gary Burton, Stanley Clark, Paquito D’Rivera and Chick Corea.
He is currently working on a project which will feature classical repertoire for viola and analog synthesizer with Yamaha artist Merlin Etorre.
Further collaborations include Nora Jones’ album “Broken Little Hearts” as well as the album "Hot House" playing alongside Chick Corea and Gary Burton for which a Grammy was awarded.
Juan-Miguel Hernandez plays on a 2008 Miralles viola from Altadena/CA and is a recipient of the Sphinx Organization’s MPower Artist Grant.