Acclaimed violinist JAMES GREENING-VALENZUELA’s ties to the opera and vocal scene are extensive. He has worked as a vocal coach for many years, was a staff member for the International Institute of Vocal Arts for three years in Chiari, Italy, for three years and has served as studio and master class accompanist for Sherrill Milnes, Patricia McCaffrey, Mignon Dunn, Ellen Alexander, Olivia Stapp, Chloe Owen, and Judith Natalucci, among others.
As a violinist, Dr. Greening-Valenzuela made his solo debut while in his teens, at the Bach Festival de Font’Neuve in France and went on to win First Prize in the Shreveport Symphony National Young Artist Competition, followed by critically acclaimed debut recitals at Symphony Hall in Boston and New York’s Carnegie Hall. He has been featured on seven solo CDs, produced by Musical America, Locrian Recordings and as an artist on the Con Brio Recordings label: his recording of the Bach Sonatas for Solo Violin earned a submission for a Grammy Award nomination. He was the recipient of the Elebash Fellowship Award from The Graduate Center (City University of New York), for his doctoral dissertation on the life and career of composer Ruggero Leoncavallo.
Other performances include Internacional Festival de Musica in Costa Rica, San Francisco War Memorial Herbst Theater, Wildflower Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Las Vegas Summer Music Festival, Menton Music Festival in France, New York’s 92nd Street Y, Kosciuszko Foundation, Tibor Varga Festival in Switzerland, Rodolfo Lipizer Festival in Italy, as well as guest appearances at Yale, Boston, UCLA, UNLV, Hofstra, NYU and South Dakota State Universities. In addition, he was Founder and Artistic Director of California Music Festival, which ran for eight years.
He has served as an adjunct faculty member of Queens College, Brooklyn College and Boise State University. Dr. Greening-Valenzuela currently maintains a private violin/viola studio in California and is sought after as a master teacher, lecturer and competition adjudicator.