“One of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime.”
— Toronto Star
Described as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned,” (ArtsATL) Toronto-born violinist Blake Pouliot (pool-YACHT) has established himself among the leading violinists of his generation. Praised by The Toronto Star as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime,” Pouliot pairs commanding technique with an interpretive depth that has made him a sought-after soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician on four continents.
Pouliot’s 2026–27 season features two major orchestral debuts. He launches his engagement with the Kansas City Symphony internationally at Musikfest Berlin, where he joins Music Director Matthias Pintscher for the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, before making his subscription debut in Kansas City with Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish,” in January. That same month he also debuts with the New Jersey Symphony in the same Mozart concerto under conductor Valentina Peleggi. His collaboration with Pintscher further extends to San Diego, where he joins the San Diego Symphony for Pintscher’s own Assonanza and Ravel’s Tzigane.
In recital, Pouliot tours “Follow the Lieder” with his longtime collaborator, pianist Henry Kramer, featuring the world premiere of Jimmy López’s Memori Mei, a new work for violin and piano co-commissioned by Cal Performances and 92NY, with performances at Cal Performances at UC Berkeley and 92NY in New York. Pouliot also appears as both leader and soloist in two programs: one pairing Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and the other featuring Cameron Wilson’s Canadian Seasons alongside the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières.
Further engagements take Pouliot around the globe: the Prague Philharmonia with Emmanuel Villaume in the Barber Violin Concerto, an appearance with Spain’s ADDA Simfónica Alicante and Josep Vicent in Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and his South African debut with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra with Pietari Inkinen. Across North America, he performs concertos by Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Brahms with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, he reunites with violinist Simone Porter and pianist Hsin-I Huang for “Sounds of California,” presented by Stanford Live and California State University, Northridge, with festival appearances at Toronto Summer Music, ChamberFest West, the Bellingham Festival of Music, La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, and Bay Chamber Concerts.
