Biography

David Juritz was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and began playing the violin at the age of five. He was awarded an Associated Board Scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he won the RCM’s top award, the Tagore Gold Medal.

On leaving the RCM, he joined English Chamber Orchestra before being appointed leader of the London Mozart Players, a position he held until 2010. He made many appearances as soloist and director with the LMP, including his debut at the 2006 BBC Promenade Concerts.

In October 2019, he was invited to direct the English Chamber Orchestra at their debut in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Other performances have included appearances as soloist and director at the Tonhalle in Zurich, performances of the Beethoven and Brahms violin concertos in Tokyo, the Tchaikovsky concerto with the London Concert Orchestra at the Barbican, solos with the English Chamber and City of Birmingham orchestras, and the world premiere of Tales from South America, a tango concerto written for him by Cecilia McDowall.

In 2018, together with his regular duo partner, pianist Sarah Beth Briggs and conductor/cellist Ken Woods, he formed the Briggs Trio. Their debut recording of piano trios by Hans Gal and Dmitri Shostakovich (for the Avie label) received glowing reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. His many other recordings include Vivaldi Four Seasons, re-released by Nimbus Alliance in 2012, and hailed by critics as one of the finest interpretations of that much-recorded work. David has also recorded  Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo and his transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for violin, guitar and cello was released by Nimbus in April 2021.

In 2005, David took on the role of Director of the Burton Bradstock Festival in Dorset, where he presents unique programmes to capacity audiences and has developed a real musical community. During a five-month sabbatical in 2007, David busked around the world. On the 60,000 mile journey through 50 cities in 24 countries on six continents, he paid for the entire journey with his busking earnings by playing Bach on the streets. He formed the charity Musequality and used the trip to raise funds for music education projects for disadvantaged children in developing countries. He remains deeply committed to encouraging young musicians in the developing world, working in Kurdistan with young musicians from the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq and students at Xiquitsi in Maputo, Mozambique.

David is in demand as a chamber music artist and performs regularly with the London Tango Quintet, London Tango Trio, Craig Ogden (guitar), Miloš Milivojević (accordion), Sarah Beth Briggs (piano) and the Soloists of London. He is also a prolific arranger and has arranged many substantial works for a wide variety of instrumental combinations, including music by Couperin and Debussy for the London Tango Trio and most recently, Bach’s Goldberg Variations for guitar, violin and cello which he performs with Craig Ogden and Tim Hugh. David is regularly invited to perform on film and television soundtracks including solo violin in Long Walk to Freedom, The Theory of Everything and Last King of Scotland. His fleeting on-screen appearances include the award-winning drama series Downton Abbey, Youth starring Michael Caine and Ammonite.

David plays on a violin made by J.B. Guadagnini in Piacenza in 1748.