Stephen Sitarski Violin

“If you didn’t know that Sitarski was a brilliant violinist before, now there would be no doubt whatsoever.”

An Oakville, Ontario native, Stephen Sitarski enjoys an incredibly varied career as a violinist and musician. Acclaimed nationally in performances of Baroque music through to contemporary and jazz, he is also a recognized conductor, adjudicator, teacher and music administrator.

Currently Concertmaster of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (since 1997), he has also led many other Canadian orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony and Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, as well as orchestras in the United States and Europe.

He frequently appears as soloist with orchestra and, along with much of the standard repertoire, performs concertos written especially for him by Canadian composers Glenn Buhr and Kelly-Marie Murphy. In April, 2009, as part of the Open Ears Festival, Stephen performed R. Murray Schafer’s violin concerto ‘The Darkly Splendid Earth: The Lonely Traveller’.

He is 1st Violin of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, a founding member of Trio Laurier, and is a regular participant in diverse chamber groups and festival events both nationally and internationally with many of Canada’s finest musicians.

Routinely heard throughout Canada on disc and on live radio broadcasts, Sitarski has also performed countless television and film scores, including the solos in the recent film ‘Being Julia’. In addition, he has arranged music for the Emperor Quartet and Quartetto Gelato.

He is Artistic Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s popular Baroque and Beyond series for which he programs, hosts and conducts.

A dedicated educator, Stephen is a faculty member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, and Toronto’s Glenn Gould School.

“Sitarski finds the inner truth and beauty of the music and this is what he communicates.”

In recognition of his outstanding artistic contribution to the Kitchener-Waterloo community, he is a recipient of the Kitchener-Waterloo Arts Award for Music.

2009/10 Concerts
Abbey Road | Shostakovich: A Portrait