Co-Director of Operations and Community Liaison
Grace M. Alexander (b. 2001) is an American violinist, collaborator, musical leader, arts administrator, and photographer. Currently based in Vancouver, BC Canada, she is passionate about creating thoughtful, musical, and creative experiences for people of all backgrounds and interests. Growing up between Santa Monica, CA and Plains, MT, nature has always been a centerpiece of her creative inspiration. Grace aims to integrate the natural world into all artistic avenues of her life. Grace is a freelance orchestral player, chamber musician, private instructor, and recital artist in the greater Pacific Northwest area in the U.S. and Canada, as well as a substitute musician with various regional and professional orchestras in the area. She is a violinist of the Kermode String Quartet, based in Vancouver, BC. Grace actively performs in Duo Emersi with collaborator Will Rand, where they regularly commission new composers for recital programming and collaborate with storytellers, ecologists, and other artists.
Grace currently attends the University of British Columbia, pursuing a Masters of Music in Violin Performance with a focus in chamber collaboration, pedagogy, and community engagement. She is a recent magna cum laude graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN with a Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance. Her recent teachers include Jasper Wood, Mary Sokol-Brown, Ryan Davis, Charles Gray, and Natsuki Kumagai.
She has attended summer festivals around the United States and Europe, and is a prizewinner in the finals of national chamber music competitions such as the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition and Frances Walton Competition with the (Høyde String Quartet), and more recently the first-prize winner at the Friends of Chamber Music Young Artist Competition — Vancouver (Kermode String Quartet).
Grace was the concertmaster of the St. Olaf Orchestra and held other various leadership roles within the St. Olaf music department. As an arts administrator, Grace co-founded and was the co-artistic director of the Synergy Musicians' Collective at St. Olaf College to promote collaborative and innovative artistry in the collegiate setting. She currently holds the role of Co-Director of Operations at the International Cello Institute.