Valentin Gregor is a jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist, singer and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

.

Gregor is the son of the German folk music researcher Josef Gregor. He began playing the violin at the age of seven. Following his studies at the college of music in Cologne (1988-1992), he received a scholarship from Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

, Boston, USA (1995-1997). During his stay at Berklee, he worked with accomplished musicians like Stephane Grappelli

Stéphane Grappelli

Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....

, Herb Geller, Ed Harris, Garrison Fewell, Duduka da Fonseca, Hans Glawischnig and Nicolas Simion. When he returned from Berklee, he performed both as solo violinist and musical director in various theatres and band projects. His performances included Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...

, Deutsche Schauspielhaus, Hamburg, Maxim-Gorki-Theater, Berlin, Deutsche Theater, Berlin, Deutsche Schauspielhaus, Hanover and Hans-Peter Wodarz’s Dinnershow Pomp Duck and Circumstance.

Gregor also played as a solo violinist with Calexico and the Electric Light Band (with Phil Bates, singer and songwriter of ELO Part II ). Furthermore, he performed with Carlos Bica and his project DIZ, exploring new ways in Fado Jazz.

He has lived in Berlin since 2004 and has been a lecturer at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, USA since 2006. His latest album (The Berlin Songbook), where he is exploring new avenues with the piano player Victor Alcántara, was released in March 2007.

External links

http://www.valentin-gregor.de

http://www.berlynatic.com