ADDA SIMFÒNICA ALICANTE
BLAKE POULIOT, violin
JOSEP VICENT, director titular
Shostakovich, Concierto para violín núm.1
Shostakovich, Sinfonía núm.1
SALE OF SINGLE TICKETS: From July 30, 2026.
BLAKE POULIOT, violin
Described as “immaculate, at once refined and passionate” (ArtsAtlanta), violinist Blake Pouliot (pool-YACHT) has established himself among the ranks of classical music’s great prodigies. A tenacious young artist, with a passion that captivates his audience in every performance, Pouliot has asserted himself as “one of those special talents that come along once in a lifetime” (Toronto Star).
As a soloist, among the highlights of his concerts for the 2025-26 season is his return to the National Arts Centre Orchestra to open the season with its music director, Alexander Shelley, performing Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. He will make his debut with the Illinois Symphony, performing Rózsa’s Violin Concerto with its music director, Taichi Fukumura, and with the Columbus Symphony, performing Korngold’s Violin Concerto with Josep Vicent. Other concerto appearances include engagements with the Rochester Philharmonic, as well as a tour with the Prague Philharmonia across Spain and the United States, culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall, marking Blake’s debut in the Stern Auditorium. His recitals this season include Newport Classical, the Vancouver Chamber Music Society, the Artist Series of Sarasota and Portland Ovations, together with his long-time collaborator, pianist Henry Kramer.
Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Pouliot has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco and Seattle, among many others. He has collaborated with numerous leading figures in the musical world, including conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Matthias Pintscher, Sir Neville Marriner, David Afkham, Pablo Heras-Casado, JoAnn Falletta, Marcelo Lehninger, Vasily Petrenko and Thomas Søndergård.
Pouliot has taken part twice in Rob Kapilow’s What Makes it Great? series and has been a resident artist on NPR’s Performance Today in Minnesota (2017/18), Hawaii (2018/19) and throughout Europe (2021/22). Earlier, he won the Grand Prize at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s Manulife Competition in 2016 and was named First Laureate in both 2018 and 2015 by the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.
Pouliot plays a 1729 Guarneri del Gesù, generously loaned by an anonymous donor.
