Born in Madrid, violinist, Jaime Gorgojo, combines his performing career with his pedagogic vocation. He is a Violin and Viola instructor at Northeastern Illinois University. In addition to his teaching pursuits, Dr. Gorgojo is in great demand as a performer. In 2010, he was appointed Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and has performed under the baton of renowned conductors such as Ricardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Essa-Pekka Salonen and Cliff Colnot. He has been a guest Concertmaster for the Green Bay Symphony, and Assistant Concertmaster of the International Beethoven Festival in Chicago. As the newest member of Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues, he plays first violin and will be appearing with the ensemble this season in Chicago, Canada and Florida.

Recent highlights in Dr. Gorgojo’s career are chamber music appearances with Yo-Yo Ma on the Chicago Symphony Center Presents series, and on the DePauw Discourse at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has performed as a soloist, chamber and orchestra musician in Spain, the U.S., France, Mexico, Canada and the Middle East. For two seasons, Dr. Gorgojo worked with the MusiCorps Program, a training and access program of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that provides performances in schools and city parks around the Chicago metropolitan area. He is also the face of the CSO Institute in their 2010-2011 edition of “A Year in Review.”

Dr. Gorgojo is the recipient of the La Caixa Scholarship, the Spanish Culture Minister Scholarship, Indiana University Merit Award, the Bloomington Camerata Scholarship for Excellence in Orchestra Playing, and winner of the “Juventudes Musicales de Madrid Award.”

He recently completed his Doctor of Musical Arts thesis on Manuel Quiroga and Jesus de Monasterio Violin Caprices.

Besides music, Dr. Gorgojo has a wide range of interests. He speaks Spanish and English fluently, and he has intermediate knowledge of French and German. Before he came to the United States, he started college studies in physics. He performs on a Dalphin Violin made in 2005.