Los Angeles Philharmonic Concertmaster to Retire After 30 Years

Canadian violinist Martin Chalifour is the longest-serving concertmaster in the orchestra's history

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced that its concertmaster, Canadian violinist Martin Chalifour, will retire from his post at the end of the 2024/25 season — bringing a remarkable 30-year tenure to a close.

In celebration of his work, Chalifour will curate a special chamber music concert in November 2024, and appear as a soloist in two concerti: Vivaldi's Four Seasons (April 2025) and Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending (July 2025).

Hailing originally from Quebec, Chalifour studied at the Montréal Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music. He was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony when he was just 23 years old, and during his tenure there he also achieved distinction as a solo player — winning the Certificate of Honor at Moscow’s International Tchaikovsky Competition and becoming a laureate of the Montréal International Music Competition. 

A five-year stint as Associate Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra followed, after which Chalifour was appointed to his current position in Los Angeles. Beginning his tenure in 1995, he played under just two Music Directors, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel.

Chalifour has played more than 50 different concerti as soloist, with the LA Phil, Montréal Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (Brisbane, Australia), the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and with the Sarasota Music Festival and Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego.

He teaches students at home in Québec, as well as at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music.

"It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Principal Concertmaster of the LA Phil, performing orchestral works and chamber music with some of the greatest artists in the world," Chalifour said. "While much has changed over these past three decades, the orchestra has kept its passion for making music, and its ambition to keep rising to higher and higher artistic levels."

"It has been an honor and a privilege to have Martin Chalifour as Principal Concertmaster for my entire tenure at the LA Phil," said Gustavo Dudamel, the orchestra's Music and Artistic Director. "He sets the example for the orchestra each day with his skill, taste, knowledge, consistency, and deep love of the music. I am so grateful to have one more season with Martin by my side, and wish him all the happiness in the world as he enters this next chapter."